My First Red Dress
By my senior year of high school I finally had a date to the winter formal. For some reason that dance was the only one with an unwritten rule of being for couples only, so I had never attended until my final year. I went shopping with my mom one weekend to find the perfect dress and had narrowed it down to two opposite looks. One was a form fitting red dress that reminded me of Nicole Kidman’s outfit from the poster of Moulin Rouge. The other was a blue dress with diamond snowflakes on the straps and draping detail in the back. I modeled both of them for my mom and the sales clerk, and after seeing the blue dress on me they decided the red dress looked awful because it washed me out. I ended up buying the blue dress even though the red one was my favorite by just a little bit more.
Ever since that day I never thought I could wear a red dress. I kept seeing what my mom and the store employee said they saw: a washed out girl in red. My entire closet is made up of cool colors and the few warm tones I have are cherished pieces that I found by happy accident. I never purposefully searched for reds, oranges, and yellows because I was afraid of being disappointed. It wasn’t until shopping for an airy summer outfit that I dared to dream of owning a red dress again.
I was at T.J. Maxx pulling anything in my size that looked nice. Despite walking into the dressing room with an armful of dresses, I was only hopeful about one. It was a light material, perfect for summer. It was one of those chic but loose styles that I’m starting to love. To make things even better, it was red.
It fit me like a glove. From the neckline to the hemline, everything was perfect. Even the color was the right shade of red, that almost impossible color that was still red without washing me out. I didn’t believe it until trying it on twice, but it really did look great on me. Finally, I red dress to hang among my purples, blues, and greens.
Written By: Nikki M.
Photo Sources:
http://img2.timeinc.net/instyle/images/2011/wrn/011111-red-dress-623.jpg
http://edanafashion.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/nicolekidmanmoulinrouge.jpg?w=300
