I find my birthday apparel decisions to be on theme with the idea of personal style. For the past several years I have made it a point to wear either a dress or a skirt on my celebratory day of birth.

My birthday usually marks the first day of summer. Which means it is ridiculously hot. This isn’t really the reason I choose flowing attire, but I will say it helps with the heat control.

No, I wear dresses and skirts because I like to look and feel fancy for my birthday. No shame in that. You only get to celebrate your entry into the world once a year, so why not look even more awesome while doing it?

I am not ashamed to admit that I have been thinking about what I would wear for this birthday for weeks now. Okay, maybe a little ashamed. But oh well, wearing pretty things makes me happy.

The only time I can recall not wearing a dress or skirt on my actual birthday was on a post college graduation road trip with my best friend. I was prepared with my packing, I brought both a dress AND a skirt option. No, it was the timeline of activities that threw off my tradition. Our plans had us hiking on the day of my birthday. Not only would wearing a dress not be the easiest to maneuver in while hiking, it would also not look awesome with tennis shoes. After much discussion, probably too much, i compromised with myself and wore my dress the day before my birthday. It worked out well. The day was spent touring San Francisco and feeling fabulous in my dress.

Side note, I think this where I lost one of my all time favorite cardigans. Seen here, sadly on the ground, where I think it was last in my possession.

So back to this year. My plans for the day were leisurely. Lunch with my wonderful boyfriend and dinner with my family. So pretty much the day was spent eating lots of yummy things with my favorite people. And of course looking fancy. I ended up wearing a vintage dress given to me by a friend. It is actually one of three dresses she gave to me. They were her mother’s dresses and she entrusted them to me to take care of and enjoy them.

I have worn the other two dresses, but the one I chose for my birthday this year was in need of the most alterations for me to able to wear it. Meaning it has been sitting in my closet for years now waiting for me to alter it. I don’t quite fit the barbie silhouette promoted in the 50’s, so I had to take in the bust a little, 5 inches or so… Which I finally did last week. On Friday, the day before my birthday, to be exact. No time like the last minute!

I decided I wanted to wear this particular one, because it is one of those special dresses. The fabric and construction of the dress are incredible. The design of the dress highlights the lace that is inlaid in the fabric. And to top it off, the dress was finished with rhinestone buttons! Yay for bling!

Does anybody else have style traditions they like to uphold?