I haven't been in the blog-o-sphere very much this week, so I didn't realize that this week's challenge was to show a picture of feminine pants. So, I haven't taken a picture to illustrate this.

At any rate, I was the little girl who always wanted to be in a dress, even when I was climbing trees. Would you believe that I had a dream about a dress when I was about six or seven? I described what it looked like to my mother, and she made it for me.

We had to wear skirts and dresses when I was in the early years of high school, which suited me fine. Then, the dress code changed, and it was amazing how quickly pants became more common than dresses. Despite that, many girls wore dresses to class at least once or twice a week.

Of course, being a child of my era, I loved a good pair of jeans. Still, in college, I kept trying to dress up from time to time, and people would ask me, "Who died?" That was their joking way of saying that I was too dressed up -- as if I were going to a funeral -- instead of to class. To this day, I maintain that the right dress is never out of place.

Today, I still love wearing skirts and dresses. However, for some reason, I end up wearing pants more often than I'd really like to. I'm not sure why I often reach for pants, as I have many skirts that are suitable for every day wear. Sometimes, I will wear pants early in the day, when I'm doing heavier work or exercising. Then, I will shower and change into a dress. For all but the hardest or sportiest tasks, I actually find a casual skirt and blouse to be very comfortable.

I do think you can wear pants in a feminine way. I think it has a lot to do with how they're cut, what top you wear, what shoes you wear, and how you present yourself all around. I don't know that I have any one particular pair of pants, though, that exemplifies this more than any other. I suppose I feel most feminine in capris, though I don't have a logical reason for that. Maybe, they represent light-hearted summer with fun sandals and pretty toenail polish.

Some of the others participating in the challenge have posted lovely examples of pants. I especially like Georgia's jeans with the floral insert. They remind me of the jeans we used to wear when I was much younger.

As far as sleeping pants go, DH presented me with a pajama gram for Valentine's Day, and I love the silky and feminine PJ's. I do have some long things I wear in extremely cold weather or when I am ill. They're cute and soft, but not exactly the most glamorous attire a wife could slip into. I make sure to also have and wear more alluring things for the nighttime.

I also have some exercise pants that should never, ever, ever leave the house and probably shouldn't even be worn in the presence of patient DH. After all, I'm not too keen on him lounging in some of his Saturday work clothes. But, we give each other some grace on that point.

I think many other cultures have created some lovely feminine pants. I especially like flowing pants underneath a tunic, and it seems that women from many countries have some variation of that look as part of their attire.

I know many very feminine women who wear pants most of the time. I have a good friend who dons slacks for almost every occasion, including some dressy events. She takes excellent care of her appearance, and she has a great sense of what colors and styles work for her. She also has a loving and gentle spirit, which gives her a feminine quality. Her tops and pants are modestly cut, yet they are also always very stylish. There are times when I throw on a skirt and dress and dash out the door, yet she never appears looking less than her best. I don't mean to say that she spends an inordinate amount of time on her looks, but she has worked out her beauty routine and coordinated closet so that she can present a feminine, well-groomed appearance in a hurry. Again, a lot of feminine loveliness goes back to the care you take with your overall presentation, so she is a great example to me of femininity no matter what she is wearing.

Having said that, I'm very happy to see so many younger women wearing more skirts and dresses now. I think the stores are offering some very cute options in dresses these days. Some are not as modest as I'd like to see, but they can usually be made modest with the help of a little creativity.

Happy Feminine Friday!
Elizabeth