On Sunny Lane: Elegant Is As Elegant

I got a new dress last month.

Actually, it wasn’t a new dress, but it was new to me. I got it at a yard sale for $2.00. Sweetheart and I were coming back from some event somewhere on a Saturday afternoon and came upon this yard sale. There is nothing I want, need or can use, but I like to stop at yard sales just for the fun of it. A person never knows what bargains might be lurking in a box, on a rack or lying on the ground.

Well, there was this beautiful, navy blue dress that looked like it would be just my size. I wanted to have it and Sweetheart wanted me to have it. The yard sale merchant said I would look elegant in it. I jokingly told her that, if I didn’t look elegant in it, I was coming and demanding my money back.

When I got home, I tried it on and Sweetheart and I agreed that I did look elegant in it. In fact, I wore it to the dance Monday night and our friends made the observation unanimous. The funny thing is that I felt elegant, too.

Somewhere, sometime I heard an old saying, “Clothes make the man.” They make the woman, too. I believe that what a person wears is a reflection of who they are, their personality, their mood and how they feel about themselves.

For instance, when I am working around the house, I wear sloppy clothes and go barefoot. Sweetheart is the only person who will see me and he is wearing sloppy clothes, too. It’s because we have work to do and no one to impress.

If we’re going to someone’s house for a cookout or to play cards, we wear comfortable clothes and feel laid back and casual. We get dressed up for church and the dance. I wear a dress or sporty pants and top. Sweetheart wears good pants and a dress shirt. We want to show our respect for the event, those around us and the occasion. We feel just a little more special when we do.

It’s funny how, even though we are the same people no matter what we wear, we look sloppy, casual, sporty, dignified or elegant just by making a change of clothing. And it changes the way we feel about ourselves.

I’m keeping that dress and, one of these days, I’m going to stop and show that woman from the yard sale how elegant I look in that dress. I just hope that, when she sees it, she doesn’t want it back.

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Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or send a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com