In Which I Wear a Dress

Well, a skirt, actually.

It all started yesterday when I had to wear a responsible adult disguise for a work-related court appearance. I have quite a few of those outfits left over from my previous job where competitive dressing was a form of office politics. Rummaging around in the darker corners of the Home for Wayward Textiles (aka, my closet) I found some things I had forgotten about, including this skirt and the purple ultrasuede suit that went to court with me.

These days, my job usually entails a lot of getting in and out of the car, sitting on the floor, and other activities not conducive to skirt or dress wearing. Today, however, I had to go to some meetings and then down to Monroeville for a guild retreat meeting, so I decided to wear the skirt. It has an elastic waist and promised to be comfortable. The poor thing had been lurking in the back of the closet for a couple years, still with tags on, and had never been worn. It deserved a day out. Then I realized I could wear my favorite boots with it. I don't know about you, but I just feel in charge of my day when I've got leather up to my knees. Even better, I could wear the burnt orange jacket with the wool embroidery. A decision had been made.

It was interesting, having a skirt on. I stepped outside to go to work and the first thing I noticed was..........I was cold. It was 37 degrees out. Not exactly the worst weather western Pennsylvania can throw at you in December, but suddenly the purpose behind our foremothers' quilted petticoats became clear. Erin on the Dress a Day blog swears that tights will keep you warm while skirt-wearing. Either her hot flashes are better than mine or she lies. I sashayed into the office meeting where one of my coworkers asked me what the occasion was. How do you explain a sudden decision to wear a skirt? Should you have to explain why you are wearing a skirt? "Oh, ah, just an experiment," I mumbled.

I went to the quilt guild meeting. Oh, those girls! NO subtlety there! Gladys grabbed her heart when I walked into the room. Bunch of hams, they are.

Now that I've got the skirt wearing urge out of my system for a few years, everything can return to normal. It was kind of fun, in a way, to walk down the stairs with my skirt trailing behind me. The elastic waist was nice for sitting all day and it was kind of fun to feel it swinging around as I walked (doing the boot-wearing walk!). People treat you differently when you have a skirt on. They're more polite and there's more door holding. Tomorrow, though, it'll be jeans and a sweater. Ready for action!