Shady Lane

Shady Lane evokes a vague sense memory for me. Every time I wear it, I flash back to a mystery time when I was riding in the back of a pickup truck, feeling the sun on my face and arms. 

Kind of like this, but in a pickup truck. And more sun.

Where was I going to? Who was I with? Did you know that not ending sentences with prepositions is a totally made-up and dumb rule? I have no way of knowing the answers to any of these questions.

Also, you should probably know that Shady Lane gave me a million-dollar idea back in 2004. The print was so unusual

that I dreamed of a way to search the Internet for something similar. "Wouldn't it be cool," I said, "if you could put images into Google?"

And that is why I am a millionaire!

Just kidding. Those bastards gave me no credit. Or Google stock. By the way, this is what comes up when you Google Image Search Shady Lane's print. Not really what I had in mind.

But when a software developer creates the iPhone app that will give you a totally accurate calorie count of the food on your plate (by, I don't know, shooting lasers at it or something), you will have heard it here first: THAT IS MY NEW(ISH) MILLION-DOLLAR IDEA. Maybe even billion-dollar? All of my blog email subscribers will receive 1% of my riches from the calorie-counting iPhone app, after you testify that I have been talking about this for years.

That's the way it works, right?

Anyway, back to Shady Lane. When I first bought it, waaay back when (2001?), it was a lot longer, but I had it shortened. The wide skirt creates a bit of embarrassing static cling as it is; that's an even worse look on a maxi-dress.

Writing about each dress in turn, certain patterns in my wardrobe are beginning to become apparent to me.

I love a high neckline, and even more than that, I love a gathered neckline! Something about it seems so fancy. I also love green, but I already knew that. (Spotted this summer: lots and lots of solid emerald green summer dresses on women who are rocking them. I salute you!)

I have a bit of an hourglass figure, but Shady Lane's cut looks more like one of those hourglasses that Windows slaps up when the computer is thinking. I'm not sure how well it came out in these photos, but the bodice ends in a little point.

Once you add in the broadness of Shady Lane's shoulders and the cut of the skirt, you should probably just restart your computer already.

I'll say one more thing about Shady Lane: everybody wants one.

One more thing: everybody needs one.






All photos by Claire Loeb!