Ah, trapeze dresses, how I love thee…
I’ve been regularly wearing this silhouette for the past decade. I distinctly remember picking up my first trapeze dress the summer before my senior year of high school: it was (is, actually, I still have it) blue with a dusty teal and grey pattern, and we found it while back-to-school shopping at Old Navy. My mom showed me how I could add a belt to highlight my figure. It had straps that were just thick enough to pass dress code, which was clearly mega scandalous (to me.)
The fact that I owned a trapeze dress made me feel very adult, as I’d read about the silhouette in Lucky Magazine which was the epitome of chic in my seventeen-year-old mind. I was very intentional in my use of the word ‘trapeze dress’ when talking about it because I thought it made me sound like I knew more about fashion. Also it had pockets, and I had just gotten a Blackberry and couldn’t be more than a foot away from that weird little round ball at any given time.
Since then, I’ve stocked up on trapeze dresses. I have ones I don’t belt for occasions I need to look cute but would also like to eat more than my fair share of cake. I have ones with deep necklines that are begging for layers. And I have this floral one that is perfect for spring and summer.
Currently wearing… Dress [SEEN HERE] | Lodi Wool Felt Rancher Hat c/o Brooklyn Hat Co. [HERE] | Earrings, Kendra Scott [SIMILAR on sale!] | Shoes c/o Here Today [SEEN HERE] | Emerald Duv ‘Joshua Tree’ Cage Bracelet from my FabFitFun box [Get $10 off your FabFitFun box here!] | Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick in ‘Redrum’ [HERE]
What’s funny is how much you wouldn’t want to wear this on a trapeze. I mean, I get the name of the dress comes from the flowing fabric and not the costume-like nature – OR SO I THINK, because frankly I’m no expert. But a skater dress looks like a skater costume so basic logic says this should be what a trapeze-r wears. A trapeze-r? A trapeze artist? A brave soul with mad rad upper body strength?
A few years back when I was a wee baby reporter I tried out a trapeze. There’s even a video of my attempt, and frankly for only getting two turns during a busy press visit I think I did (almost) fly through the air with the greatest of ease. It was so physically exhausting I actually woke up the next day thinking I was ill – turns out, I hadn’t ever engaged my abs that much, and I was still a little motion sick from the major flipping. It was hard enough to do while wearing leggings, let alone some flowing skirt. But whatever. No one said fashion was logical.
Oh, and here’s a perk: The only way this trapeze can hurt my stomach is if I overeat, and then I can just loosen the belt. Calling that a win.
