Summertime and the dressing is easy

Oh how I love sun dress season.

Maybe I'm not a sexy, young Bohemian anymore but there's something about breezy, cotton sun dresses that make me long for the days when a tan, a loose bun and a yard or two of colorful fabric was all I needed to take me from an afternoon at the lake to an evening at the club.

Funky, colorful sun dresses are everywhere this year and after the winter we just endured, we deserve a trip down memory lane.

I've already snapped up three (including the one at left for 24.99 at Urban Planet) and as much as I'm enjoying them I've realized that nothing is quite the same the second (or 20th) time around.

Let me tell you what I've learned...

Sun dresses are cheap. The dress above was the most expensive of the three shown here. This is good and bad. It's good because while my income is a little more mature than it was in my schoolgirl days, so are my responsibilities: I can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a summer wardrobe and I was positively giddy to snap up the one at right for $19.99 at Joe Fresh.

It's bad because the older you get, the harder it is to pull off cheap. Do not skip the pedicure and remember that lots of skin, no chest support and flimsy fabric that turns invisible in the sun works for 18-year-olds, but borders on skanky for 30-somethings.

Always try the dress on to determine just how bare it really is and consider wearing it with a strapless bra, a cami or a plain, unbuttoned white shirt - yes I know you would never have done that back in the day, but unfortunately, no matter how much of a free spirit you may feel like, the dress does NOT have the power to give you your 18-year-old body back.

And speaking of which...sun dresses give you an instant attitude adjustment.

Good and bad. Good, because the right dress can make you feel like a little bit of the beach is traveling with you all the time. Bad, because the dress does not have the power to transport your boss, your work colleagues or your fellow churchgoers into the same head space.

Case in point: I adore the dress at left that I scooped up for $19.99 at Urban Planet but it will not be making an appearance in my workplace this summer. I will be tempted, oh how I will be tempted, but the fact is, it's not appropriate and I'm past the age where I can blame a fashion faux pas in the office on my tender age and immaturity.

But now for some good news: sun dresses provide a much -needed boost of color. This is just good, girls, it's all good. Sure black and dark colors are slimming but there's something to be said for the way bright hues light up your face and put a spring in your step.

So go forth and enjoy the gorgeous sun dresses that are sprouting like summer flowers in malls across the nation, just do it responsibly.

Oh, and one last word of caution: tread carefully around the floor-length caftan-type numbers that are currently in vogue thanks to Hollywood starlets like Nicole Ritchie and Kate Botsworth.

I know fashion types are everywhere right now going on about how forgiving they are, but I don't buy it. Fashion types will lie through their teeth to get people to jump on a trend and conventional fashion wisdom has always held that draping yourself in yards of fabric is NOT slimming and should be avoided by those weighing more than 80 pounds.

So I'm gonna go with the old-fashioned advice and avoid the floor-skimming sun dresses that are everywhere this summer. Sure, I'm a self-proclaimed diva, but there are certain looks that I'm just not ready for...

Comments

[Jenn @ Juggling LIfe]

I agree with you on the long dresses completely--maybe for a day one plans to spend entirely at home!

[Shannon]

Yes, the long dresses are a big no in my book too. I love the shorter ones, and adore them on super hot days, but I find I am leaning towards the "can't pull it off" category anymore. Maybe once I'm finished nursing and need less support for the girls I'll be back in them . . . but for this summer I might just keep watching the other divas look chilled and relaxed in their sun dresses!

I did see a few Joe Fresh dresses at Loblaws - wow, they looked so cute. I was pleasantly surprised.

[Kayris]

Why is it that so many sundresses have those itty bitty straps! Strapless bras are the devil, particularly when you have a baby on one hip and a preschooler hanging on your hand on the other side. What I wouldn't give for a cute sundress with wider straps that can be worn with a regular bra.

[chelle]

I am a skirt girl. Those are so cute but for the curvy crowd we look like we are blown up! hehe!

[kgirl]

I am dying to infuse my horrible post-natal wardrobe with a cute new sundress or two, but like kayris pointed out, few look good over nursing bras.

I thought you wrote ..."when a tan and a loose bum..." I sure did a double take up there. I hate to admit it but now that I'm almost fourty I just can't wait 'til fall and long sleeves!

[nomotherearth]

I love the green one! But, alas, I am wearing a nursing bra too. I'd put a tshirt under it no problem, but it would be hard to feed the baby. Sigh. I want to be fashionable, I do!