Tuck or Not Tuck

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

I'm wearing a flamenco skirt! Or at least it looks like it!

 

skirt -- Briggs New York (thifted)

shirt -- trnka

tights -- xHilaration (Target)

shoes -- Steve Madden (DSW) 

I have always associated flamenco dancing with Latin America, Spain, and Argentina. But when I started poking around for background on this post, I found out that the dance can be attributed to the cultures of four different ethnic groups who lived together, in peaceful coexistence, in the Andalusian region of Spain --

• the gypsies, who are believed to be the "untouchables" in India. They migrated from the northwestern part of India (the Punjabi region) into the southern part of Spain between the 9th and 14th centuries. 
• the Moors (Arabs) who occupied this part of Spain; 
• the Jews; and
• the indigenous people of the Andalusia region.

 

In 1492, not only did Columbus sail the oceans blue, but the Muslims and Jews also were expelled from Spain. Prior to the conquest of Granada, the groups coexisted peacefully throughout the Andalusia region and created a unique culture. With the fall of Granada, the groups were persecuted by the Christian conquerors, and flamenco music and dance was born as a form of cultural and emotional expression by these social outcasts.

The flamenco dress also has a story behind it, and was designed to enhance a woman's figure -- cinched at the waist and flares out below the hips. The heavy ruffles and frills emphasize the sway of a woman's hips as she walks. The low-cut or scoop neck creates the look of a long, thin neck, and this is emphasized when the hair is pulled back in a bun. Another tidbit -- the classic flamenco dress shape is actually guitar shaped (now that I've read that, I can see the guitar shape in the dresses).

Obviously, my skirt was not even close to being a flamenco skirt. For starters, it probably needed to be longer and  have more ruffles: 

But that's okay! I just loved the way this skirt  flowed and moved. In fact, when I was walking in to work, the wind caught my skirt and blew it up. And honestly? I kind of felt like Marilyn Monroe in her famous picture.

You can tell by looking at my pictures that my smile was from the inside out -- it wasn't forced. I was having a blast!

 

I didn't realize until I was looking at the pictures that my skirt was lopsided. Oh well ...

Here's a funny picture. A few years ago, I tended to tuck all my shirts into my pants or skirts. I would even pull them out a little bit after I tucked them in so they would be a little puffy around my waist. 

So when I was getting dressed, I played around with tucking my shirt in. I was undecided about whether to tuck or untuck. And yes, I did this in front of a mirror. Thank heavens, I went with untucked, because words cannot express the tucked-in version. hahahahahaha ... I'm so happy that my photographer does not mind me playing around with different permutations of my outfit. I don't think that I would've realized how the tucked-in version looked without seeing it up close and personal (let me say again -- hahahahahaha). Oh my, sometimes I really am clueless!

 

My tights were this gray-and-black stripey print ... pattern? Whatever you call it, I thought they were kind of cool. And I tell you, I am having a love affair with Target's tights. I have never worn tights that were so comfortable, and that did not get a hole or a run in them after wearing them once! These tights -- wow! I can snag them on my fingernails when I'm putting them on, and they still don't fall apart (and no, Target is not paying me to say that!). I'm not sure if the print went with this skirt, but I didn't really care a whole lot.

I wish I could say the same thing about my shoes! They are really, really cute, but boy are they miserable to wear! Uncomfortable!

 

This outfit got a thumbs up from me!