Have you ever felt the need to look wonderful even if you didn’t feel it? My friend Basilia gave some friends this opportunity last weekend and a little magic was shared.
I haven’t been feeling the happiest lately, and have started a dozen blog posts and posted none, lacking the courage to be sad openly and honestly when there are so many good things in my life. Perhaps I might just click “publish” and share one of these posts soon. Perhaps not. Probably not. It’s so much easier to just smile, even if it’s hard to smile. If you are new to my blog then a little background here is one post a long time ago with a little insight to my boy, who is often, unfortunately, the reason I want to cry.
The Travelling Red Dress is Magical you see, and you could be the next to feel it’s special effects. Yes “you”. Yes “really”.
A short while ago I read a blog post by Jenny about The Travelling Red Dress and loved the thought behind it. I have followed Jenny since I first read about KKMF and I have admired her use of language. She is bold and honest, and fearlessly writes her way into your heart. God I wish I had her guts! She has had her share of downs and is hilariously funny. Anyway, she posted about revisiting the Red Dress, I read it, and thought along with a million other people that it was a nice thing to do. Then it promptly left my mind. My friend Basilia brought it up a few days later, I recalled the post and how wonderful it was, but Bas was bent on the idea that she would DO IT! She wanted to buy a dress, have some fun in it and then send it on its way to brighten lives, give smiles and maybe make someone feel good for a while. What heart she has!
From Jenny (aka The Bloggess)
“I want, just once, to wear a bright red, strapless ball gown with no apologies. I want to be shocking, and vivid and wear a dress as intensely amazing as the person I so want to be. And the more I thought about it the more I realized how often we deny ourselves that red dress and all the other capricious, ridiculous, overindulgent and silly things that we desperately want but never let ourselves have because they are simply “not sensible”. Things like flying lessons, and ballet shoes, and breaking into spontaneous song, and building a train set, and crawling onto the roof just to see the stars better. Things like cartwheels and learning how to box and painting encouraging words on your body to remind yourself that you’re worth it.
And I am worth it.”
” But here’s the thing…you are worth it too. Which is why this week the red dress will begin a journey, traveling from city to city so that other people can wear it and love it and feel as special and vivid and dynamic as they already are. Because sometimes we all need a little red dress to remind us of that. ”
The Traveling Red Dress and The Traveling Red Dress Revisted. Go see her amazing photos and read her words. I love her.
Pay a visit to her Pinterest Board also and see the amazing red dresses. Sigh
Jenny sent it on to Leanne in Canada – she rocked that dress in snow boots as she embraced Winter. See her here The Travelling Red Dress in Canada - and here is her post when the magical red dress began it’s journey to her.
This dress is being shared in Australia, starting here in Geraldton and hopefully it will go on and on until the dress is threadbare and completely worn out. Please join the facebook page to see where our dress will go, who it might reach and every once in a while the lives it might touch. Lets scatter this magic as far as we can.
If you would like to wear this dress for whatever reason, please let us know here, it might just make its way to you.
You don’t have to share your experience, you don’t have to share your photographs, the only real responsibility you would have is to send it on to the next person with instructions to keep it going.
It fits a variety of sizes, as you will see in the amazing photos as it has a corsetted back, with an extra piece that fits in to make it suit larger sizes too.
On our girlie weekend away, all 5 of us slipped into the dress, and shone for a short while, while our friends photographed us. I must admit it was a little daunting, especially as I was mostly concerned about my weight, my skin, my hair and how it would come up in photographs. Ugh. I am plain, I am heavy. I don’t like to spend money at the hairdressers, and years of oily skin has ruined my pores. I don’t like looking at myself, I don’t really care that much, and I don’t even own a full-length mirror. I am not usually worried about how I look. But I loved that dress! I would never ever have a dress like that. Oh how I desperately wanted to look beautiful and I thought that dress would do it. I was disappointed when I saw the photographs, the fat spilling over the edges in some, the silly smile I plaster on because my relaxed face looks like I am angry, or sad, or something. Then I took a better look when I got home and I showed my kids. ” Oh Mum, you are so beautiful”. They looked past the fat, the plain hair, the open pores. They even looked past the dress - and they think I am beautiful. They really do. Then I picked out the fat ones and edited others, oh how I love photoshop. 
And God I love that dress!
Thank you Basilia for the opportunity to look beautiful, to run about outside the police station in a fabulous red dress. Thank you Nat for all the beautiful photographs, you have such an artistic eye and so patient to get the right shot. Thank you to my lovely friends for such a great weekend – golly it WAS FUN~! (see their photographs here – please click “like” and show your support) and thank you Jenny! You inspired so many people. The world is a better place because people like you are in it~
Want to wear this dress? Click here and you just might be able to!
YOU ARE WORTH IT!
Fun! And they all got it done on time, cutting, inking, mounting, string, and all! They are such legends in our kids class.
