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This dress is facinating because, like all dresses from the earlier part of the 20th century, it has no zipper.  However, unlike the other dresses I have seen from the 30’s and 40’s, this dress closes with beautiful sturdy brass hooks rather than buttons or snaps.  Sturdy breass hooks paired with intricate brown lace make this dress seem very much like a work of art.  

As a rule, I try to get rid of clothes that don’t get worn.  It’s such a burden owning things you don’t use or need.  My friend Big Mike (Grove) and I wrote a song about that very thing and titled it “Just a Few Good Things”.  

In this sweater, I had one of the most enchanting evenings on Sunday night at, you guessed it, The 5 Spot.  There was a benefit show for an East Nashville resident fondly referred to as Cowboy Keith.  He was hit by a vehicle while riding his scooter around the neighborhood and his musician friends put on a big benefit to help him get through the months when he wont be able t work.  The community of musicians in Nashville is truly a wonderful and remarkable thing.

There were many different bands and acts playing at the benefit, but I came only in time to catch BR549 and Chris Scruggs and WOW-E-ZOW what performances!  Chris Scruggs is one of the most talented musician entertainers I’ve ever seen and BR549 performs classic country the way your souls wants it to be performed.  It was enough to help a gal remember how much she loves to dance.

Thanks for reading friends.

Fondly,

Nora Jane

Emily Miller and Jesse Milnes were our gracious hosts.  

This past summer I picked up this lovely little powder-blue linen number on my travels between fiddler’s conventions.   I wore it once, paired with a not so delicate suede brown belt and my brown moccasins and then hung it guiltily in my closet.  

Last night I resurrected this smart looking 1940’s gem and wore it much more successfully than the first time by pairing it with my favorite heals (farylrobin) and a bronze cloth belt that was gifted to me by my grandmother, Evelyn Struthers.  I actually borrowed the belt from a matching dress that my grandmother wore when she was pregnant with my father!  That is one reason old clothes are so wonderful– they have a history all their own.  When picking out a new dress to add to my wardrobe, I often ponder over its previous owner and what she might have been doing while wearing that dress; it’s a wonderful exercise in creative thinking and historical imagining.  

The details of this dress are just darling: the bow tie at the top, the large mother-of-pearl buttons, and the way the back of the skirt is a touch longer than the front.  The 40’s are alright in my book.

Although the sweet bird-patterned heals were much better suited to the delicate fabric and trim cut of the frock, I must admit that they did not make it with me into the music party I attended.  I switched to my new “frost” colored moccasins (the ones with the beaded eagle on top) before I even got into my minivan.  Function over fashion ladies…almost always!

Thanks for reading friends.

Fondly,

Nora Jane

This is what my closet looks like right…now.  No…now.  Well, this is what my closet looked like on March 23, 2009.  It may never be the same again.

I like colors.

I like dresses.

I like cotton and linen.

I like dresses that reach my knees.

(I like vintage undergarments.  Shhh.)

I like the styles of the 1930’s– hard to find.

I like the styles of the 1940’s–less hard to find.

I like the styles of the 1950’s–easy to find and oh boy have I found some gems!

I wear dresses almost everyday from March to November.  This past year I developed a two-dress-a-day habit.  I have a lovely, and ever expanding collection of day dresses and night time dresses.  

I wonder what I’ll wear tomorrow?

Thanks for reading friends,

Nora Jane