Sartorial splendors of summer.

So today I am wearing a green dress I got from J Peterman. (Have I mentioned J Peterman? How I love J Peterman?) Anyhow, the dress is a classic full skirted shirt dress, like Mrs Cleaver would wear, and it’s very, brightly, stunningly green. That grass green people wear on St Patty’s day. I’m wearing it with gold shoes, belt and my fab gold bag. (If things went well, there should be a picture of it below. At least, if the Gods of the Cell Phone Picture Text are paying attention, there’s a picture.)

And people will NOT STOP commenting on it. Everyone in the office has stopped me about my dress. Is the green TOO green? I kind of don’t know. Everyone tells me how ‘Springy’ I look. Here in Norway, we are still so used to the cold, people have a hard time giving up the boots tights and coats, so when someone ‘comes out of the winter closet’, as it were, and becomes an early adopter of spring clothes, there’s always a bit of a flutter. The first sighting of skin is quite shocking to many, especially the old ladies. Any skin, no matter where. It’s like a boob fell out, the way people stared at my ankles earlier this week. Disapprovingly. Like “God, did you see that WHORE showing her ANKLES without any SOCKS? Who does she think she is, acting all warm and sockless? Warmy McWarmerson? Does she think her ankles are ALL THAT?”

What I love, is, once the winterness wears off a bit and people DO start wearing spring/summer clothes, all bets are off. People INDULGE in the luxury of summer clothes. The most beautiful, fanciful linens, dresses, sheers, floaty things…they wear them all. It’s like fantasy dress up for some fanciful play about Sumer. Visions of loveliness floating about in pale colors and effortless sunny softness. We don’t really do that so much in Texas, because it’s warm all the time and we don‘t feel the need to celebrate summer in our clothes, but here, it’s a true, full on celebration of the summer and the lightness and warmth that lasts for such a short time. I love looking at the clothes that are out now. So much FUN! Such a sense of lightness and freedom. (The old ladies in their bras will be out in full force this weekend, the forecast is for warm and sun. They’ve obviously abjured the floaty linens for the basics of a bra and the garden.)

And now that it is almost May, I can officially, once again, begin my Annual Summer Dress A Day program. Cuz, you know, my obsession with the dress has caused me to amass a rather wide selection of them, and so I need to get crackin’ wearing them all so that I can work through them before the weather changes on August 24^th. (Yes, my scientific research has discovered that summer lasts until August 24^th here in Norway. It hits that date and boom, it’s chilly. Three years running now, it’s been the case.)

I can’t wait until people see the bright red dress I got from J Peterman. And then there’s the taxi cab yellow one I have from Noa Noa and the bright purple wrap dress I got at the Gap a few years ago and the lime green that I’ve had for 10 years now…weeee! Dresses! (And, don’t forget, SANDALS!)