I’m not very girly. I barely wear any makeup. I only own a
smattering of jewelry. I don’t drool
over purses or shoes. I hardly ever manage to do more with my hair than letting
it air-dry. But, I love wearing pretty dresses.
I love the light, feminine feel of a dress. I adore how
wearing something nice can make ordinary days feel like some sort of occasion.
In tropical heat, a dress is an elegant, airy solution to temperature control
(read: sweat prevention). Pants are stifling; shorts are uncomfortable and not
very attractive; skirts I wear to school five days a week. I, quite simply,
would be happy only wearing dresses.
Since coming to Southeast Asia, my dress wardrobe has
expanded over and over again. Patterns, colors, and cut vary, but not my clothing
choices. It’s all dresses for me. I can admit when I have a problem. And I do
not, thanks to the baht and Thai cost of living. A dress here, reasonable and
purchased at a street market or from a small local shop, runs me the equivalent
of six to ten US dollars. Spending Thai baht makes an otherwise dangerously
expensive shopping habit into something relatively manageable.
However, I recently spent an obscene amount on a dress. This
dress, beckoning to me from its mannequin, had caught my attention every time
we drove past a certain store front. It was like nothing I have seen in
Thailand, in terms of both cut and material. Made from imported blue and pale
silver-purple Nepalese silk, the two-sided wraparound dress can be worn six
ways. I was in love. At 950 baht (just under thirty dollars), the price was
five times higher than my normal dress purchases. But how often do you fall in
love? So, I bought it, regret-free.
Lucky for me, that expense was a rarity in this country. I just have to stick to my regular 200 baht dresses for a bit to stay within a reasonable dress budget. That is, until next month when I will most likely go buy a vibrant yellow-orange dress from the same store. I just can’t help myself.