It's Time to Bring Back the Hostess Dress
I want to be a lady of luxury.
The allure of getting dressed is part of the reason why I’m chronically overdressed. I feel most like myself when I have on an obscene amount of jewelry, one statement piece of clothing, and lots of color. When you combine all of those elements together, you typically get something that is pretty maximalist, and maximalism lends itself to being more on the dressy side.
This past week, a few of my friends suggested something that I’m considering: I should rest a little more. I wouldn’t say that I enjoy being overbooked; however, I’m always overextending myself because I hate saying no. Especially since I get pretty bad FOMO. Now that I am in my 30s (I turned 34 on April Fool’s Day), I take my advice much more seriously than I used to. After all, these people have known me for a long time, so maybe I should take what they have to say to heart. Even my doctor told me recently that it wouldn’t kill me to take a few rest days. Heard!
In pursuit of resting more and to make it a little more enticing, I’ve started doing a little digging as to what I actually want to lounge around my home in. I still want to have friends over, and it reminded me of a vintage look that answered my current loungewear problem. The hostess dress! A house dress has been a part of fashion for as long as we’ve been getting dressed. But it wasn’t until around the late 40s and 50s that fashion had real, viable, and pretty options for hostesses that women actually wanted to wear and buy. After all, a hostess dress should be two things. 1. comfortable, 2. something you would feel pretty in and not just function as regular clothing. I know leggings and sweaters are the usual answer for lounging at home, but it doesn’t work for me. I get a little blue sitting in sweats too often.
I just got a gorgeous gift from a new brand called the Luolou Project. A fancy take on loungewear, with roots tied to the African diaspora. I wore it around the house when a friend came to visit to try on some shopping finds, and then I wore it out to lunch, and it still felt right. It pooled around me on the couch while we gossiped, and had me feeling extremely glamorous. Dreamy!
Here are a few of my other favorite things right now that I would like to lounge in however I will not be abandoning my “ugly outfit” that I wear sparingly which consists of my husband‘s fleece sweatpants that I bought at a Lot Less, (a New York general dollar store that tends to carry a lot of fashion brands) and an old fleece sweater that we bought from the Zara in Paris on impulse….
When you think of a house dress, odds are you’re not thinking of a shirtdress. The hostess dress has gone through multiple variations over the last 50+ years. You can still find really pretty and comfy true vintage versions like this one! I love that this cotton version has a waist detailing to make you feel like you’re in a day dress.
If you want to look like a fancy, dressy version of yourself on your couch while you binge-watch Netflix, this is the dress for you. It’s super roomy, and you can definitely leave the house in it without feeling like your in your jammies.
The nap dress was the return of the house dress back during 2021. The latest iterations still feel cute enough to go to the grocery store, and they carry bridal. You know, for when you’re getting married and don’t want to leave the house. I personally don’t even mind how it looks a little wrinkled.
Hear me out, I know this is pjs. BUT, you can 100% make this work as an outfit. We’re wearing matching cotton two-piece sets everywhere these days. The difference is how you’re styling it. I bought a similar set at the flea market (fav vendor is Joe if you’re in NYC), and I added jewelry, socks, a patent Mary Jane, and a raffia bag. I would wear it with jewelry and a red lip if hosting at home to make it more of a look and less like pjs.
Few things are as effortless and gorgeous as a woman with virtually any shoe on and a caftan. What I love most about the caftan is that it’s built for comfort. I own at least 4 and plan on adding to my collection. It goes from day to night as more of a gown, it can be slept in, worn to the beach as a cover-up, and even to dinner. OH! And women for decades have worn some variation at home to lounge in.