MEREDITH writes:

I too am saddened by the extreme casualness of our society’s dress. Just this past weekend, my daughter and I traveled to Dallas for a baby shower that was a tea party theme. Since we were going to Dallas (which tends to be much dressier than my city) I had assumed that the women would be better dressed than I, so I was sure to wear a nice, albeit homemade, dress (brown calico with a floral print) and my daughter who is six and a half years old, wore a bishop dress that I’d just finished sewing and smocking.

I nearly made myself blind to get the thing done in time for the shower, but it turned out beautifully. I was dismayed to see that most of the hostesses were wearing jeans, or short skirts and leggings with boots … only one was in a dress, but it was a leopard print and she wore it with black tights and four-inch heel pumps, which she complained were hurting her feet. Not exactly what I was expecting. Most of the guests wore pants or slacks, very few wore a skirt or dress. One lady brought her 15-month-old daughter, who was wearing a t-shirt for her alma mater, leggings, and sparkly shoes. Apparently they were going to a party after the shower to watch the game, and this young mother saw fit to dress her daughter for the game rather than the tea party. Even the expectant mother was wearing pants.

Rather than being uplifted by the culture, I was sad that so few of these women took the time to choose an appropriate, feminine outfit for such a celebratory event.

Admittedly, I do wear jeans at home, but they are well fitting and have no holes or stains, and are definitely NOT made for a man. My husband loves to see me in feminine, pretty clothing. When I go out, I always try to look nice, and usually wear a skirt, or a dress. My daughter loves to wear dresses and understands that wearing such garb requires one to pay attention to one’s clothes. She acted like a little lady the whole time and I don’t think she ever realized that she was almost overdressed. I doubt that the toddler who was rolling around on the floor at the shower in her team-wear will ever get the notion that she shouldn’t do that in a dress, IF her mother ever chooses to put her in one.

Ah, well. I will keep wearing nice things and if the stores stop carrying things I like, I will just MAKE things I enjoy wearing, and have the pleasure in that as well.

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