Long Live Prairie Dresses
On your new fav newsletter for book recs, Laura Ingalls-core, and tomorrow's closet sale.
It’s great to have a uniform. I love seeing closets hung in all their monochrome glory without even the slightest variance of shade. In some senses, I think of the way I dress as a kind of uniform, but maybe with less parameters. For jeans, it’s vintage Wranglers or Levis. Sweaters? Usually cashmere, always a little oversized, and generally black or navy. But there’s one category where all bets are off. That is, the prairie dress.
While cottage-core and the veritable scene out of Little House on The Prairie that was summer 2019 have come and gone, there’s something about the style that’s cemented itself as a staple of mine. As a kid, I sewed a dress from a pattern to play Mary and Laura with my cousin. Our family took one of those old-timey portraits on vacation, and it killed me to return the frilly dress I wore for the sepia photoshoot. At a summer camp at the college my parents attended, I “studied” time travel as my concentration. That meant learning how to churn butter and spending hours in the costume room of the theater department leafing through old dresses.
Cut to present day, and I love to wear a prairie dress almost anywhere. Batsheva makes some of my favorites, plus the tried and true, Dôen. They’re always on my “look for list” when it comes to thrifting or vintage shopping. As a rule, I think it’s nice to have one exaggerated element. For example, this dress has a high neck and ruffled sleeves, but doesn’t go all the way to my ankles. A silk dress I have from Dôen maintains a simple crew neck with a floor length silhouette. Whatever your personal prairie dress is, it’s delightful to stray from the same black turtleneck and light wash denim every once in a while.
Archived Outfit
Here we have Elle Fanning beautifully executing a prairie dress look. Her first step in the right direction was anchoring the look with what seem to be Doc Marten-ish brogues, but are more likely Miu Miu. The all-white look is bold, but in other pictures it looks more like a baby blue. Either way, easy hair and a simple bag keep the look from feeling too farm fresh.
This feels fun with tall boots or tights!
This is certainly advanced, but I would wear the shit out of it with black loafers and a long black coat.
A little something for the minimalists looking to get in on the fun for less than $60.
Honorable Mentions
The closet sale is tomorrow! DM me on Instagram, or respond to this email to be added.
Very Cold People—Reading Sarah Manguso’s work has meant a lot to me over the years. I loved her first novel, which is chilling in the sort of “first book of autumn” sense.
What We Do In The Dark—My friend, Ariél, writes this fab newsletter with book recs. Go subscribe! I loved this short novel about a lesbian affair between a student and her much older professor.
Somebody’s Daughter—I was warned this book would wreck me emotionally. Did that stop me from reading it on a flight where I very much cried in public? I love Ashley Ford’s ep on this podcast.
Thank you so much for reading. See you next, next Thursday! x
That Batsheva dress is SO perfect