When was YOUR last purple dress moment?

Hi there, it's me, SMJ, which means the title of this post won't make sense until near the end, if ever.  I DO have some things to say about purple dresses, however, as does literally everyone since the September issue of Vogue came out.  I just have to say it, please let me know if I am reiterating anything from like every other blog in the universe--- um, if you look at the cover from across the room, not even out of the corner of your eye, doesn't it look like, well, RuPaul?  And how about those creapy, vacuous eyes which seem to look at absolutely nothing as you move around the room?  But looking closer you see that it is our own tiny little Gaga, obviously on a ladder to don this attire (or dare I say, one of those cone-shaped stands they put trained seals on?).  All in all, the photo is the greatest tribute to the unattainability and real Life-lessness represented by practically every other Vogue cover since the dawn of time, and to that I say, Hurrah!  She's showing you the smoke and the mirrors, nothing about it  is real, we've snuck inside the magician's tent and peeked into the top hat to find this little wigged out bunny wrapped in a fancy fake silk scarf. But even though it isn't RuPaul it's still gorgeous as an image, though the movie Splash creeps into mind once in a while, and it's Gaga and we love her for it.


 

The sweet little memaid meets bride of Frankenstein

Ok, I have to admit it, I  really do love the image, and no one more than me loves to go out dripping in jewel tones with my hair looking like it was combed with a vaccuum cleaner.  I was just hoping for something more original, but then we're back to maybe it IS a salute to empty promises. That said I've even collected some of them over the years, both purple dresses and images of them.  Sadly, I only have the IMAGE of this next one, a doll created in homage to the beauty and grace of--wait for it--- Joan Crawford!  No, really, catch her in any movie before 1934 when they destroyed real acting for women in the movies (no, they didn't stop sex in the movies,  they just disallowed smart, tough, creative thinkers who happened to be female from having sex in movies, but that's another blog). 


Hmmm. why do I always pick the shots
 of little mermaid dresses no one could walk in?
  Is there a sub-text here?
 

This Tonner doll has always appealed to me because it's not the blonde bombshell in the Pepto Barbie pink of Marilyn Monroe or Madonna, it's the gutsy, intelligent brunette who truly danced like no one was watching in a purple of her own hue. So maybe that's it, that's the appeal, that all three heroines in this tale exude confidence in their taffetta of plum wine, that's what we all MUST admire and aspire to as women, to be confident in our bodies, and to the greatest extent we can, in how we take care of and present them.

Sadly, too many of us just can't seem to reach up to that wondrous brass ring, self-confidence, or more specifically self-dignity.  I work with fashion every single day, and I have to tell you, I still struggle.  Medications are always making changes in my body and I can't keep up, but today for a few minutes I'm happy to say I found my purple dress moment-- with a skirt I'll be selling soon and a top from the back of the closet, and once the best free photographer I know finishes moving this weekend I might even let  myself be photographed in it, you never know!  No, the outfit's not a fuschia fishtail, but it might as well be, because in it I have the freedom to feel dressed to the nines despite pasty white skin and weird hair. Sure, it's all surface, it's all smoke and mirrors, but it's also courage, creativity, personal dignity, self-expression, independence.  Wow, yeah, the big words,  And now there it is, the elephant in the room is--- we all deeply deserve and viscerally require purple dress moments in our lives, and it seems lately that roughly, oh, I might say about 99% of us are coming up short.  Nuf said for now.  Take care.  SMJ



 

No, this is not SMJ, it's RuPaul in 2007.  See what I mean?

 

                                                                                                                                                           Footnote: (scroll on by if sensitive) With all my big words tonight, I missed the most essential, one has to feel SAFETY before anything else can happen.  I guess there's reasons for things sometimes, even blogs-- if I wasn't up at 2:36 this morning writing I might not have heard the woman screaming for her life four or five doors down, and I'm the only one around here who ever calls the police.  I hope you'll say some prayers for her tonight.  Thanks for listening.  SMJ

 



Where the heck are my blogs going?

Hey there, it's me, SMJ Director of Voirrey Projects and Charities.  Now, where were to two blogs I wrote under this heading, and why is Blogger keeping bouncing me off, saying someone else is trying to use this thing too?  I know it's not V. herself, she's right here.  So, let's all have some fun with our stylish selves and maybe do some good here, ok?  I can't wait to show you what we've been up to this summer and where we're going from here. V. will write from time to time, and I'm about to introduce you to the rest of the crew, probably the hardest worker in fashion today, and the coolest, THE next thing in high fashion (move over white haired old dudes who can't even sew!), and the must-haves of the season for WAY less than you think with the proceeds going to those in need.  So, I ask, who ever might be tampering this blog which was created by myself and Voirrey SoVoirrey to bring you on the ride to extraordinary, please, set up your own blog, jump into your own stream of consciousness and play around a while, you never know, someone might just want to hear what you have to say, too.  Thanks.