Frock Star

#39

I got this dress at Boscov's Department Store in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where I grew up. It was a local chain, and we derided it, calling it "Boscobells" and "The SMall." Nevertheless...we went there for pretty much everything.

They had a good sale on summer dresses, and I got this one while shopping with my long-time friend Alex Newton. We'd grown up together, so I felt a little self-conscious buying this dress in his presence, especially one this slinky. But to my surprise, he said it was very pretty. This felt like Harry Potter complimenting Hermione - totally unexpected and sweet. So I think of Alex whenever I wear this.

#96

I got this at a thrift store; it's 100% polyester and the label says "CHELSEA NIGHTS" in scrawly Curlz MT font. But it looks very impressive, with the neckline gathering and elegant drape. I haven't worn it out yet, but I imagine I'd wear it to some black-tie Republican fundraiser. (Not that I'd ever be at a Republican fundraiser...but this is the kind of dress that says, "Oh MUFFY, I haven't seen you since UNIVERSITY.")

#30

This is a fetish dress. I can tell primarily because when I put it on, all of my internal organs squooze downwards and try to herniate out of my belly button.

Too bad, because it was marketed as a normal dress, in a chic boutique in Rome. I've worn it only once: to an outdoor festival on the UNC campus in the spring of 2007. I was going to see my friend Russell Johnson do a 15-minute stand-up act. I chose this dress specifically because I knew I wouldn't be there long, so I could go straight back home and disrobe, and no one would have to get out their smelling salts. As I was walking quickly home, I was really self-conscious - it's a beautiful dress, but the skirt really does arc in every direction, like a bell; like a grotesque costume. Some college students nearby laughed in my direction, and I thought, they must be laughing at me. Such is my memory of this dress.

 

#32

A couple things here bear explanation.

First, of course, the dress. I have a very happy memory of this dress, from just last month. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows had just been released. That Sunday, I cleared my schedule. I put on this dress (over some yoga pants, because it's so damn short - American Apparel again) and walked down the hill to Foster's, one of my very favorite deli-cum-coffee-shops, not least because of the giant plush canvas couch I colonize every time. I got an assemblage of my favorite foods, took off my flip-flops, and curled up to read...for four hours...in the sunlight. I was so wonderfully, hopelessly lost in that world that I began interchanging elements, terms, characters from that world into this world, and vice versa. I was blissfully happy.

Now, the eye patch. This past weekend I picked up a bottle of what I thought was saline solution, to store my contacts overnight. Turns out it was peroxide solution.  I.e., the stuff that keeps the Martian topsoil sterile. Because it breaks down organic carbon. LIKE THE CARBON IN MY EYEBALL. I got a nasty shock when I went to put my contacts in. After some screaming, thrashing and a good deal of involuntary crying, I finally went to the hospital. They said I'd be alright in a couple days, but to lay low until then...maybe wear an eye patch, even.

I'm glad to report I'm all better now! 

#90

I have a sweet first memory of this dress. It was the summer of 2004 and I had just started dating Shaun Geer, who is still one of my best friends, though we live on opposite coasts. He took me to a cook-out that his friend James was having in Somerville. It was an occasion for me to meet all of his friends, who were an awesome bunch of people - I felt like they all instantly became my friends, too. We ate burgers off of paper plates on a warm midsummer evening. It was one of the first times I really felt like I had a life in Boston, and wasn't merely there for academic servitude.

This picture was taken last night, at a birthday get-together of my friends Kristine and Laura. (That rascal in the back is Alice Turner, who likes to show off her foam sword.)

#88

Five years ago, I was home for the summer, and very low on money. I saw this dress in plebby Fashion Bug and developed an odd obsession with it. Maybe it was the tango-esque fringe? The neat silvery lattice? No...I think it's because I saw it on the sale rack, but it was not on sale yet, which offended my sense of fair advertising. I had something of an argument with the clerk, and walked out in a huff. (Not my proudest moment, I assure you.) I then proceeded to visit it three or four more times over the course of the summer, always watching out for that clerk with whom I'd quarreled, always watching for it to go on sale. Finally in August it came down to the mid-thirties! I triumphantly bought it...

...and haven't worn it since!

#28

I'm not sure where I got this, but it's definitely vintage. I can tell by the low-scoop back and the torpedo breast casing.

Last night I wore this to dinner at Fiesta Grill - a goodbye dinner for Austin Nava, a longtime friend I first got to know through improv. My first solid memory of Austin is from Tyler's Taproom, a dusky bar in Carrboro. He convinced me to play Fussball with him, and while we waited for the other "team" to get their drinks, we warmed up by kicking the ball back and forth. Once he was confident I'd gotten the hang of it, he spun his rollers randomly, cheerfully singing along to "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. I always think of him when I hear that song.

Two years later, he's been a wonderful friend, especially during a very hard period in my life. He was always ready with a hug and it made a world of difference. I'll never forget that. Now he's moving to Cleveland to be with his sweet girlfriend Casey...we'll miss him down here. 

#12

The chickens on my father's farm are very skittish. Nevertheless, I like to try and pet them. Here I am following them into a thicket.

This dress is also a recent acquisition - only a couple of months old, bought on sale at Target - but I bought it with Melleray in mind, as it is a farm-dress, a lemonade-on-the-porch dress - loose enough so that you can spot ticks easily.

#87

A picture snapped between mid-day shower and errands. This dress I ordered online just this past spring. I wore it last night to Open Eye Cafe, where I worked on a story about a woman who wins the lottery and sees all nine of her possible futures simultaneously. But I was constantly distracted by how short my dress was - I couldn't curl up in a ball on the couch like I like to. So when Rajeev arrived, I asked him if I could borrow the wine-red boxers I'd just bought him. Yes indeed - men's boxers were longer than this dress! But what else can you expect from American Apparel? Wink wink.

Dress nought

If you know me even a little bit, you probably know I have a thing for dresses. I really like them. I collect them, like Imelda collected shoes (except without the money or the monarchy). By now there's about 140 of them, and doubtless, more are coming. I had a friend in college, Amy Chang, who was the best dresser I ever knew; and she said she liked to make her body a work of art every day, like painting a canvas. I've always cherished that idea.

For awhile I've wanted to somehow catalogue them all. I finally decided to do it this way: one picture a day, or thereabout. They will be ALL my dresses, with or without makeup, with or without accessories, taken at home or out-and-about, posed artfully or caught red-eyed, by friends or by me, whether they still fit or not, flattering or not. I love all my dresses.

I also love that - much like John Cusack with his vinyls in High Fidelity - each dress represents a history, an event, a source, a mood. I like remembering where I was, who I was with, and what adventures I was having; and I'll record those too.

I'll be posting the first dress soon. Thank you for looking!