I've written about this before, but I have a thing for red dresses. White dresses for that matter too. I seem to amass an army of white dresses every summer. Red dresses are likewise nearly irresistible to me, even when they are painfully similar to other red dresses in my closet. Case in point: this isn't my only red shirtdress. I feel like the other real different between this dress and another I own is the material. In all other significant ways they are identical. I know this, I knew this and yet I still acquired this dress (several months ago) because I couldn't resist. I'm like a red dress version of Jerry Fletcher; red dresses are my veritable Catcher in the Rye. I think it goes back to my love of classic movies and those early influences on my style. Red is always powerful on screen and is used in important scenes to make a statement. It's what Eva Green wears in Casino Royale while revealing her duplicity in Venice. It's the color of the magic slippers that lead to triumph and tragedy in the classic ballet The Red Shoes. It's Red Riding Hood's cape as she wanders through the woods to Grandmother's house. It's the color of Bette Davis when she shocks society in Jezebel. Red is always powerful, even when rendered in a simple wrap or shirtdress. It can look deceptively everyday, but it still packs that punch. I like to draw strength from my clothes; to arm myself in bits of cloth that make me feel more capable, more assured than I feel on my own. Perhaps that's why I find red dresses so irresistible. They seem stronger and bigger than me. Capable of doing the talking so I can sit back in silence. Maybe that's a lot of meaning to put on a simple dress, but then I am a fashion blogger and clothes do have meaning for me. There has to be some reason I can't resist a red dress, no?
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