Thursday, April 15, 2010

funeral fashions

Yeah, I said it. Death is the one thing in life that is actually guaranteed and yet it always hits us like a racist joke said aloud at a non-profit meeting.
We can pray, hug, and look to our community for answers and for support.
But let’s face it - that leaves plenty behind to manage. Popping an Atavan 20 minutes before the rosary will leave you placidly bewildered but it’s gonna wear off before the memorial service. A Ketel on the rocks will make a nice toast and hell, it's kosher to slam ‘em back before noon. BUT, as the Pixies said, "where is my mind?” And for me, it’s on what I’m wearing.

For a funeral, I say wear black. This is not New England. I’m not Catholic or Episcopalian. I mean, I pray to the ocean. Or the moon. Or hummingbirds. But when it comes to funerals go for tradition. Its shows respect and when you’ve dressed like you thought about it, cared about it, it gives you a fraction more leeway to say little and drink more.
Ladies: This is when it’s ideal to wear, borrow or buy and vintage dress. Hardly anything you find from the 50’s & 60’s is going to be inappropriate for a memorial so it’s an easy way to shop. Below is a Jonathan Logan dress borrowed from my bestie.

If there’s lace, it’s a peep, not a show.

The length of the dress is going to be at or below the knee, leaving you obligated to wear any kind of super high heel you own. I liked pairing my funeral frock with a potentially hideous but current fashion world darling: the gray suede shootie. This one is by Sam Edelman. A nice heel keeps your very needed serotonin up throughout the event too because, well, they look pretty. Aesthetics win again.

Hate vintage? Well, that upsets me a little. Instead, try Calvin Klein – he did a sheath-y fitted, less-shouldery Victoria Beckam thing for like $150 and it was available at Macy’s.

One last thing, funerals are going to be a lot like the person's life they are celebrating. If your uncle loved Glen Beck, follow suit with your style. Now is not the time to let your lefty flag fly by wearing a hemp shorts jumpsuit or rainbow pantaloons. Show some respect.
For an open casket viewing, I wanted to be in something soft and warm - kind of like a big hug.

I chose this Jenni Kayne black cashmere dress, thrifted for an amazing $10 in Inglewood.

For a laid-back spiritual memorial held on a hot LA day, I chose something shorter and paired it with a nice flat.

black silk armani exchange dress, sale rack
white leather studded wrap bracelet, Burberry, from Nordstrom Rack
white leather flats, Sigerson Morrison, scored these at Loehmann's

1 comment:

  1. When deaths happen the last thing I wanna be worrying about is if I'm looking like I'm a back up singer in a Robert Palmer video or flashing my cans in a deep-V cut black dress I originally bought for Sinner S&M night at my fave club, inappro! Therefore I deem this a great blog because it basically solved all those questions one may have about appropriate funeral attire. Hummingbird/moon/ocean forbid that I have to attend a funeral any time soon, but at least I know where I can go to figure out what to wear now. Is that morbid?

    ReplyDelete