Why Don't We Dress Up Anymore?
The Daily Cycle
I am tired. It's been a lot. The day has been full. The evening is scripted – dinner, kids' activities, homework, feed the animals, try to connect with the people in your home. Then come the amplifiers: work late, sick child, sick you, stressed partner, tension, looming issues you stuff aside for tomorrow's list. Try to sleep, but sleep is hard.
Wake up. Do it again.
Somewhere in there is the joy and beauty of having the things we always thought we should have – loving the life we've built, snuggles from our babies, watching them become young adults, the love of our pets by our sides as we struggle to keep our eyes open.
It is there. But that powerful thing called shame loves to join the scene when we are tired, when it feels like despite all our efforts, we are still here, still trying to "overcome" the hurdle of the day.
This is a pretty common snapshot of a day in the life of someone just getting through their waking hours.
Finding Me Again
In 2025, I decided to start a small business – maybe not the most brilliant timing, but also maybe it was. It was a time of desperate need to find myself again when it felt like the lights had been snuffed out.
I knew wholeheartedly that this business would focus on providing restorative work for women. What I didn't know was that the offering would encompass a much broader spectrum than I could have imagined. It started as bespoke meditations, moved into workshops, healing-focused retreats, a purging of my soul into artwork and writing, creating, designing, a boutique. A yellow brick road paved with hope yet with forests of uncertainty around most corners. A lot of self-talks: "Do Not Be Afraid." "You Can Do This." "You Know How – Now Just Breathe."
And yet... the cycles feed themselves.
The 2026 Rebrand: Forcing Light Into the Scenery
When I started my design and boutique work in 2025, it reflected what my world looked like – an ever-present air of darkness with empowerment. Grief with survival. Tragic with romance. I wanted to show my heart and let other women know their hearts weren't journeying through hard times alone.
Then 2026 arrived. While the darkness around us persisted, I wanted to force light into the scenery – not to ignore the hard, but to let that inner power shine so bright through it that we could maybe, just maybe, overpower it.
I dove headfirst into a complete rebrand while still honoring the original vibe. Website color revamp, a gentler aesthetic, a spring retail line of Bridgerton-inspired color palettes – a brighter, gentler romance.
Shades of Rosé
Last night I held a pop-up shop at a Girls' Night Out event. I set the scene with a Shades of Rosé shop – pinks, reds, champagne colors, romantic, bubbly, fun. A rack of casual clothing, a rack of beautiful dresses for Valentine's Day, mannequins proudly displaying these beautiful wares.
As I waited for the first women to arrive, I looked at what I had created. I was proud, I was happy, I was really tired from the prep – but this was good. This was the 2026 empowerment I wanted to offer: You are beautiful. You can and should wear what makes you feel beautiful. You deserve afternoons or evenings out. You deserve joy. Shine brightly.
What I Witnessed
As the evening progressed, women flowed through. With each group, I heard their commentary before they saw me. As they came up the stairs and saw the rack of dresses and the mannequin in the velvet floral corset top and floor-length pink ballerina skirt (very Sarah Jessica Parker in her heyday), I heard them repeatedly say how beautiful each piece was.
Many stopped to talk about the dresses. Some sat and pondered them. And with each visit, they said:
"I love this, I want this... I could never get into that... Where would I ever wear that? Maybe I should make up a reason to wear it out... I don't go anywhere anymore... It's so pretty but not at my age... It's almost Valentine's Day and I haven't made plans..."
They would look on a few more times and then walk away, thanking me, most looking back at the dress they had a few moments to dream with.
These weren't regal gowns – I had a cocktail dress, a pink and red maxi dress with a satin bodice and light lace, a red satin dress with natural draping, and one very quirky artist-designed A-line dress made from yoga pants fabric.
The Exception
I did sell one of the dressy outfits – to a young woman who turned 21 that night, with purple highlights in her hair. She bought the velvet corset and ballerina skirt. She KNEW this was her style. She said she would wear it around the house if she had to. She didn't have an ounce of "life won't allow for that" in her bones. She was wearing her spirit on the outside. Life hadn't taken that from her yet.
But there was another piece to her purchase. She was with her mom and a best friend. Both were celebrating her style – they were her cheerleaders. She knew it was okay and good to express herself.
The Village
In contrast, I saw two different kinds of tribes.
One woman came back several times, chiding her friends to come up with an outing so they could get the dresses and go have some fun. In her third and final plea, she tried to convince her friend to go for the most casual skirt so they could make this happen. Her friend told her they didn't need that. Looking defeated, she made her final exit.
In the second case, I saw friends who looked to be perhaps in their 60s, with one vibrantly exclaiming how she wanted to grab one of the dresses and have a fabulous night out. She then stated she didn't think her body would allow it. I told her she was beautiful and could wear whatever she wanted. Her friend laughed and told her, "No, not at her age."
The Questions That Won't Leave Me
When I came home, I had a thought that stayed with me through the night and when I woke:
Why don't we dress up anymore?
When did we decide our time has passed to wear the dress?
When did we decide there simply isn't opportunity to be that version of ourselves we sit and fantasize about for a moment?
When did we cut that part of us out of our lives?
Did we stop imagining beautiful date nights out with our partner? Did we stop constructing afternoon lunches or tea with friends where we felt beautiful and connected and we laughed so hard we were scheduling the next meet-up before this one was even over?
When did we take away permission to put the dress on and live? When did we resort to being viewers at a wake – onlookers at a funeral of dress displays, remembering "when and if" and convincing ourselves that the "when and if" is only for other people? When did we make ourselves relics or Cinderellas locked away with no chance of becoming the woman in the gown?
When did we stop lifting our village up? When did the messaging of society burrow in so deeply – the one that tells us the beautiful dress is not for women in our life stage – that it recruited our sisterhood to further its message?
The Truth
You do not need to be of a certain age or station or size or look to put on the dress if the dress is something you wish for. You do not need to only dream of an afternoon or evening out for the chance to wear something that makes you feel beautiful. Joy and self-love aren't something reserved for others.
And for goodness' sake, if your sisterhood is showing an ounce of shine, please be the match that helps light her fire. Do not be the one to snuff out that moment for her. Help her glow, help her bloom, help her shine. She will give it back tenfold. One woman's light and joy have the ability to light the fires of an endless number of women around her, and the domino effect becomes limitless. The light can become so powerful that the darkness gets replaced with vibrancy, with laughter, the isolation gets replaced with connection, the empty gets filled with purpose.
Wear the Dress
The dress is symbology. But what a powerful symbol it is. Last night, I watched it be kindling for smiles and dreams, and I watched whatever looming weight existed come in and take the hand of the dreamer and guide her away from a moment where she thought she could be that joyful, bright, lighthearted woman in the dress.
Do not wait on your village to tell you it's okay to shine. Hopefully they will, but in the meantime, be your own impetus for change. Be your own match.
Wear the dress, even if you have to sit in your house with a cup of tea and smile alone at first – be your own reason. Eventually your newfound light will shine bright enough to start to light the fire of other women.
