Girl Beside a Stream, Arthur Rackham

LAUREN writes:

I am eight weeks post partum with our third child and my husband has given me the opportunity to purchase some new clothes. I spent much of this pregnancy wearing dresses (mostly because it was a hot summer), but I felt much more feminine in them. Interestingly, it seemed to help my overall outlook toward my day-to-day duties, most likely because I felt attractive. I would like to continue wearing dresses or skirts as opposed to going back to jeans for my everyday wear, but do not know where to shop. Read More »

KAREN writes:

I’m visiting my in-laws in North Alabama, and stopped by the local outdoor, upscale mall. They have a lot of stores that you can only find in large cities, and I enjoy window shopping there and occasionally picking up some stuff on sale. Anyway, I wanted to stop at the Strasburg Children store. The store sells beautiful smocked dresses for girls and jon jons for little boys. It’s the kind of place where you would buy a baptismal dress, or a Christmas dress, or just a set of pretty clothes for your children to wear at church or for a family portrait. At least, that’s what the store used to sell! Read More »

ALAN writes:

Many excellent points were made in the recent discussions, here and here, of proper dress. I contribute this additional example:

In 1957, the manager of a motion picture theatre in North Tonawanda, New York, was plagued with rowdy behavior by youngsters dressed in leather jackets, blue jeans, shorts, and boots. So he decided to enforce a dress code. All people who wanted to see movies in his theatre had to be properly dressed before they would be admitted into the theatre. Read More »

THE DISCUSSION in the previous entry of the search for modest and feminine clothing in the desert of feminist junkwear and ultra-bland chinos and polo shirts continues here. It has yielded great suggestions from readers of retailers and styles. You can even go so far as to buy historical reenactment wear. This dress above could be worn with a a white bolero cotton sweater such as this when going out to make it more modest. Obviously, sewing things yourself is far more economical. But if you are like me and do not sew, it makes sense to spend a little more on a dress that you may wear over and over again. There are also great deals. I wore one calico blouse which I bought at a thrift store for 25 cents about 5,000 times because it was pretty and modest. I finally was so embarrassed by its overuse (it was virtually indestructible cotton) that I gave it away to charity.

Aminty writes:

First off, thank you for your website. I don’t have the time to go into it right now, but I find much of what you say to be true, true, true. As a woman with a degree in philosophy, masters in writing, and a law degree, I bought into feminism hook, line and sinker like so many of my contemporaries. Read More »

AMY writes:

I have been enjoying your blog for nearly two years now and have been enjoying a look down “blog memory lane” while perusing your archives. The wisdom contained in your archives is immense and your perspective both refreshing and fascinating. Several afternoons a week I sit at my computer with a cup of tea and a treat to enjoy while soaking in the latest commentary on The Thinking Housewife. Read More »