Inspirations: A tough, cynical dress for tough, cynical times September 4, 2008 17:41 1 Comment

Balenciaga_LBD So. I was determined to find a dress, a suit, a coat, something that I really wanted to duplicate on my sewing machine. Not tonight. Not today. Not next week. But one day, in the future, the distant future, when my dressmaking skills are there. And they will be, one day. Because I have intent. I have resolve. I just need to clear out the clutter. In my house. In my life. In my head.

But. Back to the topic. Which is this incredible dress by Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga. It is the absolute most. The tip-top. The cream. I love the sleeves, which allow for a few missed sessions at the gym. I crave the boat neckline. It's ladylike. Tough. Cynical. Sexy. All at once. I covet the peplum detail at the waist and hip, which references my favorite era, the 1940s. I adore the slit in the skirt.  I am sold on this dress. Totally gone. Wrap it up. I will take it.

And that is saying something, because, as you know, I am not one for modern fashion. I am fond of things vintage. Very.

Of course, this dress doesn’t really fit my small-town lifestyle. It doesn’t. So easy to be a fashion slug in a small town. A regular sloth. Deep sigh. Heavy sigh.

Still. I can dream. Can’t I? The ubiquitous they says so. And they wouldn’t try to fool me. Would they?

(And while I'm dreaming, I want to be a cock-eyed optimist, a Nellie Forbush in my next life. If there is such a thing.)