Recreating the Dresses of My Youth

From Laura Ashley to Julia Roberts.

Edward: Wake up! Time to shop!"

- Pretty Woman, (1990)

Remember Laura Ashley dresses? Like most trendy things I wanted in my youth, I was only allowed one of them, which my mother purchased on final sale. And deeply discounted for a reason. What I wanted was one of these floral numbers, perfect for sipping tea by an English cottage while reading poetry…

image via

… instead what I got was this. A candy striper who could definitely be mistaken for a hospital patient, if it were not for the belt (my addition).

At my piano recital in 1994. I remember I couldn’t figure out how to keep those sleeves rolled up! (Now I know — double sided tape or a microstitch quilting gun)

When I bought the LifeStraw water filter pitcher (it’s still slow but it doesn’t bother me anymore) I saw a striped shirt dress that looked very similar to the one above. So of course I added that to cart, plus, a few other clothing items that caught my eye. All for the blog, of course.

Watch the try-on below!

I have some notes/updates since I recorded the video. I actually did wind up keeping the striped dress after all, since I had a pool party to attend and nothing to wear.

With Abercrombie Shorts + an unintentionally matching membership bag from my local bookstore, Chevalier’s This was a fun look!

The denim corset top/bustier is still such a winner. I’ve been looking for an item like this for a while and still can’t believe it’s only $20. I wore my white overalls over it for another party and felt sexy but casual.