Many may think the most significant part of Cinderella’s story is the glass slipper. After all, it is the key to her happily ever after.
I have always felt nothing was more important than Cinderella’s beautiful ball gown. In different versions of the tale, her dress may be golden brocade or silver thread. The most recognizable is Disney’s sea of sparkling blue tulle. Cinderella glides down a staircase in an entrance that can only be achieved with the perfect dress. Women today deserve just as breathtaking an entrance. While most women do not have access to talented mice, fairy godmothers, or magical wands, it is not impossible to find a dress that suits them — or so I thought before the start of this week.
In a timely fashion, I began shopping on Monday for a dress for a gala on Saturday. As I strolled through department stores, my eyes were assaulted by dresses that were unsuitable. Without any class or even formality, the dresses I saw were the female answer to the polyester, flared suit from the seventies that my father devoutly refuses to retire.
Tirelessly, I searched in three of the local malls, and it felt completely hopeless. Instead of the types of classic dresses that I envisioned, I found that the gowns were a messy combination of trends. I could not find a dress that was not some strange shade of loud blue or banana yellow. While I am a fan of unique garments, I could not help but question the purpose of a slit that reached the top of my thigh, covered scantily by a sheer piece of fabric.
The search for the right dress is never easy. At this time of the year, formal wear is defined as prom wear. Instead of classic silhouettes and colors, the prom dress section of department stores features nauseating rainbow of sparkling creations. At one point I was sure I saw my comforter from the seventh grade in the form of a sparkling pink and white dress.
Even worse, the dresses are pouffy with false rhinestones and strange slits decorating them. I remember being drawn to such dresses when I was in high school, seeing them as the possibility to be a princess, even for the slightest moment. While these confections satisfy the desire to look trendy and youthful, they are hardly appropriate for young women above the age of 17. With the bright colors and ruffles, one hardly can remember the woman wearing them, only the monstrosity that woman is wrapped in.
The best dresses are those that we can look at after a few years and not think, “What was I wearing?”, but how beautiful we looked in that dress. Coco Chanel once said, “Look for the woman in the dress. If there is no woman, there is no dress.”
I do not think I can see myself in a satin and lime green dress that is three sizes too small without laughing.
