Becoming... Baby from Dirty Dancing [redux -- MR on holidays]

I feel like I haven't done a "Becoming" post in ages... and I kinda miss it. To be honest, I am not even entirely sure why I have been neglecting this particular feature as it is possibly the one I enjoy doing most. It is not that I haven't been watching movies and TV shows, because I have some for breakfast, lunch, dinner and sometimes a sneaky afternoon snack.

I have also been meaning to do a post about the style in Dirty Dancing for absolute ages because it is the perfect example of 80's doing 50's (think chiffon full skirts with giant plastic fluoro earrings). I suppose I should hate it as a lover of all things 50's, but I actually quite like the way the 80's reinterpreted that era. I am not going to discuss it too much, as I will try an write a whole post about this very soon.

I love Dirty Dancing and have seen it many, many times, think of me what you like, I don't care.

Now that this is out of the way, back to Baby's style. I have never really paid much attention to it for some strange reason but when I watched DD again recently, I started taking mental notes about her outfits, to use them as summer wardrobe inspiration. There is nothing massively noteworthy about them, yet they are all totally perfect, from the high-waisted denim cut offs to the knotted checked shirts & striped tees. Even the length of her trousers is good (after writing this, I feel like I should apologise profusely to all my university professors who took upon themselves to teach me important things about art, philosophy and history for many years. Yes, all that to write nonsense about the length of a character's trousers in a romcom from the 80's starring Patrick Swayze, what have I done with my life, I used to be clever, believe it or not).

Her outfits are all pretty basic: a top and a bottom, no crazy layering, no crazy accessorising. Everything is in the way she wears them. Her wardrobe is very realistic as it would easily fit in a suitcase if you were going on holidays. It pretty much consists of: 3 vests, 2 tees, 2 pairs of shorts, 3 shirts, 1 dress, 1 skirt, 1 cardigan, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 bikini & a rain jacket. Really you won't ever need much more than this in the summer months, which makes it the perfect inspiration for a capsule wardrobe. More and more I tend to think that any given season's wardrobe should fit in a suitcase. Anything extra can be ditched. I am in the process of trying to apply this to my own clothes (hence the boutique).

When you are done sniggering at the thought of modelling any part of your life around Dirty Dancing, have a good look at the photos below, and pay some respect. Nobody leaves Baby in a corner.

Most of these items can be found really easily on the high street or in vintage/charity shops, so getting Baby's look for the Summer will definitely not set you back too badly.