When did the "imprudent vain purchases" trope stop being so prevalent in stories intended for girls? I seem to recall quite a lot of it in Alcott (Eight Cousins, Little Women) but I don't think I've seen it in modern YA books. Is it the credit culture? Too many vampires? People having actual sex? Or have I only been reading apocalyptic–YA? Not too many descriptions like this in those books:
Now Grandmama is a very prim old lady, sweet and neat, and dainty as can be, but still rather precise and severely plain in everything; and this frivolous, fussy little costume, with its low-cut neck, trimmed with many rows of dainty lace, and little more than a few flounces of lace to serve as sleeves — no, nothing about the little dress seemed at all like the Grandmama we know.
Anyway, this image comes from a story called "The Pink Gown" in an issue of St. Nicholas.
, but — hey, fully-lined silk taffeta (in sizes 4-18!) for $113.99? That's hard to beat. With the unusual square neck and cap sleeves, it's not another super-bare LBD, that's for sure — but still nicely festive. And think how smug you'll feel next Thanksgiving knowing you have a lovely holiday dress already in your closet?
A Dress A Day 