One Step closer to "Y'all"

Recently I've developed an obsession with sundresses. It is stinking hot and dresses are an easy way to look put together and remain a bit cooler than you might in a multi-piece outfit. I was mentioning this turn my wardrobe has taken to a co-worker and she replied, "You're becoming a Southern girl. They always wear sundresses..." I stared at her dumbfounded. Surely she was wrong.

Sundresses aren't particularly "Southern," are they?

I mean, maybe they are. It got me thinking about a conversation that I had about a year ago with another friend. She was mentioning a difference between Midwestern women and Southern women. Actually what she said was, "People at the party will be as casual as you." This wouldn't have distressed me did I not feel like I wasn't dressed casually. I had really put thought into my outfit that day. In fact, I had even brushed my hair, ironed my pants and put on makeup. When I asked, "What do you mean by casual?" It got us started down the path of differentiating between what a Midwestern woman might consider presentable to be worn in public and what grits (girls raised in the South) might consider presentable. What we realized is that grits tend to take it up a notch. Even their "casual" wear is a step beyond. They tend to be perfectly accessorized and would never leave the house without their hair done or face on. Generally speaking, Midwestern women are less "done up".

Could my latest obsession with sundresses just be a result of indoctrination? I do wear more makeup since moving down here. I have a strange desire to wear my hair in several different styles. And my jewelry collection has nearly doubled in the three years we've been here. Perhaps there is something in the water supply that makes women want to pick out the perfect bangle and matching bag.

Is my desire to dress up merely one step closer to me using the word "y'all"?