Ruby Shoesday # 13: A dress! A dress!

(Matalan red bow shoes (last seen here), with: Skirt, H&M (last seen here); cami top, Gap Body; boat-neck sweater, Zara; belt, free with this dress; corsage, Dorothy Perkins)

So, I was out walking the dog earlier today (an event which I changed into flats for, I should add, although in my defence, the flats were also red), and on the way home I rounded a corner and found myself face-to-face with a woman and three children, who were walking in the opposite direction. “Awww!” the children chorused, looking at Rubin. Then their eyes moved upwards, and they saw me. “SHE’S WEARING A DRESS, MUM!” one of the little girls shouted in excitement. “SHE’S WEARING A DRESS! A dress, mum! A DRESS!” Then they walked on, and until they were out of earshot, all I could hear was, “But she was wearing a dress! Mum, she was wearing a dress! A dress! A dress! Wearing a dress!”

And that right there tells you all you need to know about my town, and how rare it is to see someone in a dress: or, in this case, a skirt, because this is, in fact, that trusty old H&M skirt which has become the unofficial uniform of my summer this year.

Today I’m wearing it with a petticoat underneath to give it a little more shape. It’s the kind of skirt you just can’t help but twirl in…

Happy Ruby Shoesday, everyone!

24 Comments

  • I get the exact opposite reaction. I’m wearing 3.5″ teal, studded peep-toes @ work today (Boston, MA – I put a photo of them on my blog), and no-one has even blinked.

    • I would blink if I lived near you! Lots of times when we’re out somewhere, a women will walk by, and Terry will wait for two seconds and then say, “You were looking at her shoes, weren’t you?” And he’s almost always right, too πŸ™‚

      • Aw, thanks. I love checking out other women’s pretty shoes too. I think you’ve got a beautiful collection, and I absolutely LOVE the shelving solution to display them. I want a wall like that!

  • i know exactly what you mean. as soon as i step out i get these stares, and after a few minutes i realize everyone else is wearing grey; black, brown and jeans, and i’m walking around in a bright red dress.

  • You know I totally understand you… oh my God, they had to say “she’s wearing a dress, a dress, and she’s the total image of happiness”, as your pictures show! Beautiful choice as usual, lovely skirt (oh, sorry, A DRESS! A DRESS! – really sorry, I had to laugh a bit thinking of the amazed children!) Aaaand… a request: when can we see you wearing those lovely red shoes exactly under the Cherry Lady Dragon? Simply fantastic! Next Ruby Shoesday? No pressure at all, but they are gorgeous!

  • I bought my first pair of red shoes today! I didn’t even think about it being a ruby shoesday, and therefore oh-so-appropriate, until I got home and read this. They’re a deep red peep-toe with a sling back and very low wedges. And I love them!

  • Today I was wearing a pair of red flats around the house, since I wasn’t going anywhere in special I took off the shoes and I’m currently wearing striped socks. You look absolutely lovely πŸ™‚

  • I love how the groovy out-fit is totally high-lighted by the gorgeous red shoes. They can just change a total outfit, can’t they? I have a red shoe ‘thing’ and guest-blogged about it at Caveat Calcei unveiling for one and all my superficial love of crismson footwear. In fact, pretty footwear fullstop.Your site is lovely. πŸ™‚

  • All I can say is, “Oh my gosh!” You are beautiful, the petticoat idea is amazing, and the total look is like “wow!”

    I also love the reaction of the little girls seeing you in a dress. Little girls are wonderful. My “little girl” is 26 now and I just had to show her this post.

    BTW, I came over here by way of Megan at lawandshoes.

  • That’s a cute story! Poor little girls, never getting to see ladies wearing dresses anymore. I have good dress-related memories from my childhood, of playing dress-up with my sister in my aunts’ & grandmother’s dresses, and of my Mum buying a beautiful green dress to wear to a party once, and of my babysitter’s sparkly prom dress. I’ve noticed girls wearing dresses more often here over the past couple of years, to work, out a night, and even casually. So I hope they’re coming back into fashion.

    • I actually just made that very observation to Terry – I remember when I was a kid, most women I knew wore skirts: my mum, my friends’ mums, etc. They weren’t “dressed” up any more than I was yesterday, they were just… wearing skirts, and after that little encounter I realised that those little girls probably hardly ever see people dressed like that these days, so it would actually have been something worth commenting on to them, even although it’s just a cheap cotton skirt and sweater. Jeans (and now leggings) are that much of a uniform around here that even outfits that would be boring anywhere else attract comments and stares…

  • that is so cute that the kids were so in awe of your dress…i regularly wear skirts and dresses in the summer but pretty much live in jeans in winter and i work with teens who have had similar reactions if i have only gotten to know them in the cold weather when i break out my skirts lol

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *