random thoughts – Day 1,896 – (Monday) – fancy side quest

The three-day weekend is in my top five favorite things related to work. Number one is obviously the paycheck. Then there is full week off, four-day weekend, three-day weekend, and finally, free coffee. For most of the stages in my so-called career, the top five favorites have been wrapped inside a corporate box of glass walls, glass ceilings, dead-ended career paths, and not a mentor in sight. But I digress.

This three-day weekend was top tier. There was dance practice on Saturday and Sunday. There was a cook-out/eat-in gathering on Sunday. Then, there was a day of R&R and sorting things and decluttering.

The day’s R&R started with sleeping late, followed by coffee drinking. There was a long and luxurious hot shower and word games and Duolingo lessons. The planned exploration of the never-made-it-to-being-a-guest-room involved some delightful side quests. 

One side quest involved a box from Mom labeled “Dresses.” I knew in a vague way it included gowns from the 1970s and early 1980s. Some of the dresses I remember from when life was more glamorous and Mom and Dad went to the Policeman’s Ball and other formal events I couldn't wait to be old enough to attend. I wanted to refold and pack the contents of the box with the other vintage clothing.

The box held a green velvet gown with a high neck with gold brocade trim and full sleeves gathered into gold brocade trimmed cuffs. I could imagine Mom wearing this, but don’t have an actual memory of her in it. Another green dress featured a white empire waist bodice with green trim and solid green skirt that I don't remember seeing before and fell in love with today.

Of the dresses I remember Mom wearing, there was a white sleeveless empire waist gown with a pleat and a bow in the back and silver and gray beading at the neckline and arm openings. A pink cap sleeve empire waist gown has velvet ribbon with satin ribbon roses at the waist and sleeve hems. There were two polyester knit dresses made by Mom – a solid black halter top gown with simple, clean lines and a dark blue halter top gown with large white collar, which I can tell was from the same pattern.  

Ready to wear, if only...

The box included a slate blue gown bought for the senior prom at my high school that I ended up not attending, but I got to wear it at another school’s prom. The cream satin sleeveless jumpsuit I wore to the Thanksgiving semi-formal dance my senior year was in the box. A white Gunne Sax style dress with small flowers and lace trim that I recall my sister wearing to a prom was also in the box.

The one dress I can’t recall any of us wearing was a green polyester knit sleeveless gown that ties at the shoulders and has a knife-pleated trim at the bodice and back. Very cool, but I can’t peg it to an event or wearer.

The washable dresses were laundered and hung to dry. Luckily, most of a makeup stain came off the white collar on the blue gown. A stain on the front of my sister’s dress that might have been tomato or chocolate lightened in the wash, but didn’t completely come out. 

The gowns requiring dry cleaning will be in limbo for a while as I contemplate whether to invest in professional cleaning, but the washable gowns are fresh and ready to wear, if only there were opportunities to do so. Sigh. 

Feeling "right" on the M/S Noordam.

For most of my life I've felt like I was born in the wrong decade and/or era, and seeing all the gowns today reinforced that. A week-long Holland America cruise with formal nights, a few years of formal New Year's Eve parties, and some themed events have been the times that felt closest to "right" in my dream wardrobe/lifestyle department. 

Now I really want to put on one of those gowns and strut myself into an event. I’ll be downtown for an in-office day on Wednesday, so maybe then. It might be fine to shake things up and glide down Merrimack Street in a gown at 8:15 in the morning, passing everyone else in their jeans and athleisure wear.