Fancy dress

This morning Jemma wanted to wear a "fancy" dress to the Valentine's Day celebration at her school. We looked through a lot of her dresses, and it turned out they weren't fancy. (I'm not sure exactly what it is that makes a dress fancy, but Jemma seemed to have some pretty definite ideas about it...) Finally we found one that was. It was pink, with flowers on it, and a 'poofy' skirt. But it was spring dress - certainly not anything you'd want to wear out on a cold day like today. Except that she did... So we found a pink shirt and some stretchy pants to wear under it, along with some warm pink boots, and she was all set. Then we went to find something for me to wear...

She suggested that I wear a dress as well, but I told her I thought I should wear red, and that I didn't have any red dresses. As I opened the closet door and reached for a vibrant cashmere sweater that I was sure she'd approve of, she practically shouted - "Mommy, you do have a red dress!!"

She was clutching the skirt of a crimson dress like a victory prize. She was right. It was red - but it wasn't really mine. Not technically. It was a dress that used to be my Mother's when she was about half my age. Now, I love this dress - that's why I keep it in my closet. I love the sheen of the fabric, the hand-done black piping around the neckline and sleeves - I even love the pointy 50s boobs... But it's not exactly current fashion - so wearing it out in public isn't something I generally consider. But, what the heck - it's Valentine's Day (or, as my daughter points out - it's not actually Valentine's day, it's just the day we're celebrating Valentine's day.)

So off we went - Jemma in her valentine dress, and I in mine. Scott wore a suit with a red tie, which we all agreed was perfect.

But when we got to the school I didn't want to take off my coat... Everyone else was in jeans or "smart casual" attire... But the feeling only lasted a moment. As a general rule, you really can't bother too much about what the other moms think... and after all, it's Valentine's Day, and sometimes you've just got to be - well, fancy.