MAXI MADNESS

Maxi Dresses - Maxed Out  

Dear Readers:  If you are one of the millions of women in Atlanta parading around town in a maxi dress, please don't be offended by this post.  I'm come not to criticize, only to gain knowledge that may lead to acceptance and peace of mind.  

Who am I?  I wrote about fashion for 20 years, and have a vast knowledge base. I'm a woman who loves clothes more than life itself. I'm also old enough to remember this maxi-dress thing the first time around in the 1970s, which has nothing to do with my opinion.

I don't know the genesis of the current trend, but the maxi dresses has transcended trend-status into fanaticism, if not a Reign of Terror. Women - all sizes, ages, political affiliation and sexual orientation are roaming Atlanta in shroud-like garments, in 100-plus temperatures. These frocks are often festooned with floral prints, suggesting Mou Mous, Pentecostal church ladies, or 1970s wallpaper.  

Long dresses are appropriate for:  Formal occasions. Nightgowns. The beach, possibly. The only women who can pull off this look are very tall and very thin, which leaves out the majority, including yours truly.

Marie Antoinette: contributor

Why, in 100-plus temperatures is this happening?

   My theories are as follows

* Mass hallucination

* Marsh Gas

* US magazine

*  Reality T.V.

* Stores no longer offer shorts, tank tops and swingy little short dresses as alternatives

* Protection from planet Melancholia, if the world does end.  

Please help me, readers. Do you own, wear or plan to buy a maxi 

dress? If so, please explain your motivation.

The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the blogger  

    

If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention

Greetings from the ATL

Welcome to everything that is outrageous, obnoxious, stroke-inducing and highly annoying about this sprawling pit bull of a city.
As a huddled native Atlantan - born and raised well before the population reached 1 million, I've become a stranger in my own hometown. I am shocked, nay, appalled by what I see daily.
This is not a nostalgic elegy of the "good old days," but a litany of outrage, and my suggestions for what can be done before the decline of this Rapidly declining Romanesque Empire.  
I'll start with everybody's favorite Atlanta nightmare: TRAFFIC


My solution: STAGGER WORK HOURS, AND GIVE PEOPLE THE RIGHT TO SET THEIR OWN SCHEDULES. The old paradigm of 9-5 office hours is archaic. That extends beyond Atlanta to the American workforce.

•  Most people would jump at the chance to work 7-3, or night owls like me, would gladly take a 10-7 shift, etc., thus eliminating the soul-crushing rush hours 
• Friday afternoon. Am I the only person in the city who works until 5:30 around here? The mid-afternoon traffic on Friday is astonishing
• Work from home - One day, or afternoon, would help traffic, improve morale, and would help move companies from hourly time-card approach to one where productivity matters, whatever time the individual chooses.

"The current system is so 18th century. Let's fix it - YES WE CAN!"

I welcome your thoughts....................................Francois Voltaire, contributor