We all know some variant of the classic fairy tale (originally written by the Brothers Grimm, who sure know how to write dark when you get down to it). I certainly remember it from when I was a kid: A princess who comes upon an enchanted frog. Through an array of twists and turns and some rather slick talking by the frog I would bet, she is convinced to kiss said amphibian. This smooch turns the cursed frog into a handsome prince and all live happily ever after. I suppose the moral of the story is that love can come in many shapes and sizes.
As I got older, always wondered if the moral of the story should actually be: you’ll know it’s the relationship for you when you’re not waiting for something to change. I was having a recent conversation with a good friend about exes. When I mentally dig through the rubble of boyfriends past, the up front frogliness in each of my ex-boyfriends was pretty apparent. Be it geographical location, emotional availability, a personality that didn’t quite match mine. But, you can often enter a relationship so enamored with other things. So convinced that if they just changed that one thing, they would be the princely yin to your yang. And you find yourself uttering the inevitable phrase all of us princesses say to ourselves at one time or another: “It’ll all be perfect when….” When we’re in the same zip code. When he opens up. When he commits. When he changes X or becomes Y. So he can be the version of perfection I have in my head. Well, we all know what Einstein said about the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Experience has definitely taught me that true love has nothing to do with perfection personified in princely form. It’s the one you simply love, warts and all.
During this conversation with my friend, she asked me how I knew Mr. Dressed was the one for me. And it’s hard to wrap it up succinctly, because it was never about perfection. Trust me when I say that neither one of us is perfect (seriously. he squeezes the toothpaste tube from the completely wrong place). But the truth was, I knew it was right because I wasn’t waiting for anything to change. I wasn’t waiting for him to be perfect and fit inside of the Prince Charming mold. I saw him for all of his frog qualities, and he saw me for mine. And it was the first relationship I had where I didn’t spend every day wondering when he would turn into something else. Instead, from Day 1, we could be perfectly imperfect together.
For me, vintage sort of has that imperfectly perfect quality. Usually with a few battle scars (which frankly, make her interesting) and always with originality. I came across this amazing tiered 1950’s floral dress fit for a fairy tale on one of the many vintage-appreciation Facebook groups I voyeuristically peruse on the regular. As fate would have it, I also just happened to be scrolling through IG one day and nearly fainted when I saw this whimsical vintage novelty wicker frog purse. And I just knew they were the perfect pairing. No changes required.
Cause let’s face it ladies – you’re also perfect just the way you are. We are our own fairy tale.
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Dress: Vintage Florals FB Group (similar modern and vintage here, here, & here)
Lace cardigan: Gift (similar here & here)
Belt: gift, Alannah Hill (similar)
Handbag: Bouffant Bungalow Vintage (near identical)
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell
Lip Color: Retrofuturist
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