A whole LOT of nothing.

When I was a not-so-bright young thing in the ‘70s I didn’t understand all the fuss over Halston designs. His dresses, tunics, pants, whatever, were so plain that they looked like a whole lot of nothing to me. I was much more interested in Yves St. Laurent’s luxe Bohemian styles, with their flounces and trim. Of course, at that time I couldn’t afford to wear either designers’ clothing but I sewed and wore tiered peasant skirts in combinations of fuchsia and orange to get a bit of that Parisian peasant thing going.

Maturity, not to mention some embarrassment, has brought me an appreciation of minimalism, classicism, whatever you want to call it, in clothing in general and of Halston in particular. Many St. Laurent designs from that era look like costumes, and while I happen to love fancy dress, it just won’t work for me on a daily basis. But look at this Halston ultrasuede dress, on sale at The Tangerine Boutique. It was chic in 1972, it’s chic now. I can imagine wearing it with a small scarf and luggage brown boots at the office, or with gold jewelry and high-heeled round-toed platform pumps at a cocktail party, or heck, adding a dash of boho with beads and bangles and jeweled wedges for whatever. Gorgeous.

For the moment I’m going to resist the temptation to buy this dress (my size, DAMMIT!) but I’m going to scour the internet for vintage Halston patterns. When I find the pattern that trips my trigger I’ll make it in ultrasuede, but not in orange or fuschia.