Dressing My Best: Skin

Necklace: vintage family heirloom
Dress: Downeast Outfitters (here), free with store credit
Flower pin: handmade by my mom
Heels: secondhand American Eagle brand, $8 from thrift store

This new dress of mine is quite the number. It fits the bill for that infamous "Little Black Dress" every woman's supposed to have in her closet, but the lacey print makes it both quirky and extra-classic somehow. The cut is really flattering, the fabric is tough to wrinkle, and it has pockets. Pockets, I say! The only downside is that it features straps to be tied in the back. I get the appeal of this addition, since it can make any dress fit a little neater without requiring a tailor or sewing machine, but I tire quickly of feeling that little knot in the middle of my back. I resolved the problem in this case by wrapping and overlapping the straps behind me, then bringing them to meet on the side and securing with a flower pin that matched the creme print on the dress. Not the perfect solution, but it worked for today.

The academichic ladies put out the call for style bloggers to "dress their best" -- dedicate some outfits to body parts or attributes that we deem our best. Today, I'm celebrating my skin. I went for a dark color (courtesy of my beloved new dress!) to demonstrate the unabashed, undisguised lightness of my skin. Some call it "porcelain," some call it "fair" or "pasty," but I'm good with calling it pale. I'm pale, y'all. There are no tan lines to be had. You will get no apologies from me on the subject of super-white legs.

My dad and brothers have that olivey skintone that tans so well in summertime, while my mom and I are on the "burn-or-be-white" end of the spectrum. While I sometimes wish for skin that will look great when decked out in oranges, yellows, and earthtones, this is the skin I have. Purples and blues are the colors for me. Over time, having gravitated away from my friends' middle/high school fixation on beautifully bronzed skin, I've come to really appreciate the pale.

I'll also give a little shout-out to my complexion, which has improved mightily since this time last year. Those folks on the Proactiv commercials may be cheesy, but they also speak the truth when they say that having "bad skin" -- acne-prone, scarred, whatever -- can really take a toll on your confidence level. I've tried to up my skin care consistency in this past year, and while I'm still never without a pimple or two, the change is noticeable and much appreciated. Rather than uttering that common lament -- "I have such bad skin!" -- I'm giving my skin a little love today. Thanks, Skin, for keeping my insides on my inside and looking so good in turquoise and plum.

Let's pass the microphone along: How do you feel about your skin?