Welcome to Amanda’s Apparel 
These posts will concentrate on Amanda’s fashion choices. When I think of Amanda’s clothing, what stands out for me are her evening garments, and a certain hairstyle change (with accompanying unfortunate ear accessories) near the end of season two. So we’ll focus in the first post on Amanda’s formal outfits and move onto best (and unfortunate) moments in the next post.
The formal wear: it seems that Amanda only wore three colours when she was attending a party or dating a baddie in seasons one and two. Occasionally, she added a bit of silvery sparkle to line things up. I think some of her outfits are stunning, and others are desperately boring.
Black
Amanda’s first foray into formal wear was to a party
hosted by Princess Penny and husband in Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth.
She looks lovely especially with her hair up. I wouldn’t normally go the rose hair decoration, but it looks great here.
It’s hard to see if this is the same dress in Service 
Above and Beyond.It’s either the same, or Amanda’s added a few sequins to the bodice to “rejuvenate” it. (It’s tough being divorced housewife with a mortgage and two kids, and only a few designer evening gowns in your wardrobe 
)
A bit of a departure here for Amanda
with this fringed black bag, compounded by a black Amanda band (Dead Ringer).
When your figure is this good, don’t cover it in a bag. (On the left is Amanda in her bag, on the right is Michael Weston from Burn Notice in his bag; she chose to wear it; he didn’t)
And another recycled outfit (The Mole and The Affair 
at Bromfield Hall). Much better. 
Even with the (IMO) overdetailed sparkly bits in silver. Love the updo.
And in the running as the worst formal outfit of the
entire series: I present: this black dress covered by a fish-scale inspired jacket (Life of the Party). Plus there is the hair don’t. And ear-buttons which set off the scale jacket. Even more frightening is the fact that KJ wore this to the Golden Globe Awards in 1985 (See Iswod’s research at Neds)
The only consolation is that this is toned down in comparison to the Charlies Angels scale look.
White
With a couple of exceptions, I’m not wild about Amanda in white – formal or otherwise. This first example is just hideously fussy 
(Service Above and Beyond). 
With her fine features, Amanda should never be wearing this, no matter what the computer says Jim Delano would like Victoria Greenwich to be wearing. Even her hair is OTT (literally!) here.
And the next jacket is a little bit dull. 
Amanda, in her early 30s at this point, is not yet at the black trousers, white vest and sparkly overtop stage (The Artful Dodger and Weekend).
I don’t even think I, who am, sadly, well beyond my early 30s, would go to the Cumberland in that outfit.
And two more granny white outfits 
– Waiting for Godorsky (even her drink matches her outfit – very wholesome)
and another one in the casino (To Catch a Mongoose) 
Next is my favourite formal outfit of the entire series and the major exception to the “white is boring” rule: the one I’d love to own; the one I wish I’d look like Amanda (The Three Faces of Emily). The fit, Lee, the beading, Lee, the asymmetrical feather, Lee…Is there anyone out there who doesn’t want to be Amanda in this scene?
Next up: Ship of Spies – we have the dress for hanging from the lifeboat outfit – 
which, as Iwsod points out, is basically the white version of the black dress in Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth. Yawn, it looks better in black.
But Amanda’s scapular stabilisers look like they’re in good nick .
And who could forget possibly the most famous “formal” outfit – the San Angelo cover wedding dress. Amanda chose a fairly typical design for the mid-eighties. In fact she got the idea from my Barbie doll, Isabel’s wedding dress from 1983. Unfortunately, my kids cut if up (!!) last year so I can’t show you a picture of it.
The final white outfit is from the dream sequence, modelled on Casablanca, from DOA. 
Although Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) wore a few suits in Casablanca, I think this outfit’s sparklies are more ‘80s than ‘40s.
Blue
Lee the chauffeur may have thought she looked fabulous in this outfit (SAAB) but for me – it’s another bag. With a set of furs that give me the creeps.
Not sure what that hair accessory is (a bow? a clip?) but I love this dress from Dead Ringer 
. The daring back is fun and I like the colour.
Not like the usual royal blue – more a French navy.
This is the only time when Amanda takes a leaf out of Francine’s book and get her inspiration from an animal – this case, the Dalmatian (The Affair of Bromfield Hall). Hang on a second – didn’t Francine lend her this outfit?
Vote now for your favourite!!
So what’s your favourite Amanda look? Would you wear any of these outfits yourself? Which do you think Lee likes the most??? I’d love to hear from you all!
And up next – in Amanda’s Apparel Part 2 – the informal collection: the good, the bad and the professional!
"Just walk with me.." 
Hiya Learjet! I’ve been looking forward to these posts since they were posted!
I do love her black dress. She has the perfect shoulders and arms for it. It would look dreadful on me.
Oh my – I’d forgotten about that metallic monstrosity from TLOTP…I cannot believe KJ actually wore that in RL and to an awards show nonetheless!
OMG – those Charlie’s Angels outfits are so awful!!! They totally emphasize their bellies! All I think when I look at these three is that they all look pregnant! They’ve got nice, big, shiny bellies! Maybe they’re meant for baking aliens?
Yes, that ruffley, white thing is awful! It looks like a grandma outfit. I guess that is the stuff ridiculously wealthy people wear? I actually do like her jacket in TW. Not sure why though. I’m not a sparkly kind or girl. Maybe it’s the boxy cut and the fact that she gets to wear pants. Soo much more comfortable than a dress. I don’t get that Mongoose dress either. It looks like she’s wearing it backwards.
I must disagree on that white feathery thing. Sorry! Not a fan of ruffles, bows, or feathering. I do love the white version of the black dress from SOS. Actually, what I probably like, or am just very jealous of, are her lovely shoulders and arms. I wish I had gotten genes like that.
I’m not crazy about her wedding dress, but I don’t think I’d care what I had to wear if I got to marry Lee Stetson 😀
Oh, I love that blue dress, especially the back, in DR too! But I’ll admit, I couldn’t wear it. There’s no way to wear any, erm, undergarments! But KJ seems to go braless a lot, so she obviously doesn’t mind it.
I think Lee probably likes the sexier looking ones – given where we are in their relationship for most of these. And I think I prefer Amanda’s hair down and without any accessories.
What a fun post! Looking forward to #2!
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Baking aliens… ROFL
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Stainless steel even – very nice appliances.
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You’re so right about their bellies. Imagine how the rest of us (of normal weights and proportions) would look in those outfits!!!
They look like they’re covered in pot scourers. My cat would love to give those outfits a good scratch….
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ROFL!!! Scratch away kitty! I just cannot imagine a normal proportioned woman would look in that outfit. And I can’t imagine that any designer who made a super thin woman look fat or pregnant would be able to keep their job very long?
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Now that I think of it, if that black dress and the white one are basically made on the same pattern with a couple of variations, it might be because Amanda made them both. I reuse sewing patterns all the time, sometimes changing things like sleeve length.
Your daughters’ creative tailoring of the Barbie dress sounds intriguing. 😉
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Fiiiinally I get back here to respond to this post!
This post is even better on my computer.. it was a bit hard to see the images when reading on my mobile on the bus! 🙂
Somewhere we’ve discussed this first black dress before – It might have been in ship of spies.. or over at Neds on the KJ fashions thread.. but I remember doing a search for this first black dress – and trying to figure out whether it was the same dress as the white (hanging from a life boat) one.. I came to the conclusion that I thought it was the same dress. though someone (sorry who?!) pointed out that the dresses are different lengths so they are different versions of the same dress in different colours. That image you captured of the back of it really clearly shows it’s got the same back.. it’s even got the tassle thingies..
uh oh… if I keep going like this – my reply could be longer than your post learjet..oops.. focus iwsod!
I think the style was well loved by KJ in general.. I found this: http://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/actress-kate-jackson-and-actor-andrew-stevens-attend-the-news-photo/139637106
Where she’s wearing a red version sort of.. (before smk)..
I love the flower in her hair too.. though.. Uh oh 🙂 I’m going to diverge from what seems to be a common preference – I’m not a huge fan of the up do.. it’s too much on top for me.. but she still looks gorgeous.. in the first image? it’s too high on her head lol.. but the rose is gorgeous..
Rose.. Hmm.. gee.. hope Lee didn’t get a whiff of it.. that could explain why he just leaves her without saying goodbye in that scene 🙂 lol!
He was rushing to throw up somewhere and deal with dorothy flashbacks!
Black Fringed Bag? Rofl!!! I love it!!! whooo me loves Michael Weston (the least they could have done is wash it!) your MW reference had me cracking up Learjet!! I’d love to walk through BN one day..
Black evening dress with silvery detail – very 80’s.. I figure I was so relieved to not see her in black pants and white top I couldn’t gripe about this dress.. though I don’t love it!
Shiny jacket- Yep! she actually wore this jacket in RL twice, and on live television.. scary.. the KJ clothes thread on Neds has images and the events she went to..
Charlies Angels image? Hideous!!!! as I said on Neds- My.. eyes… hurt!
Hey! even when she was playing Victoria Greenwich she wore a white top and black skirt.. hmmm.. maybe the whole black and white thing was very trendy back then?
That flowing shiny singlet over pants look was a bit ‘in’ back then.. this is a variation on her pink pj’s look in Mr Brand.. and the white PJ’s that she wears in the dream sequence of DOA – but which we can’t see the bottom half of- but I found KJ wearing that jacket and top in RL with pants – posted it on neds in the clothes thread..
Anyway I comfort myself that Amanda was in fashion back then.. at least.. a little.
I didn’t think the Catch a mongoose dress was so bad. It suits her figure.. I don’t really want to get into a critique of KJ’s body – but I’ll just say it highlights her positives and downplays her negatives- as a good outfit should.. so while I don’t love it, I don’t hate it..
I might set the cat among the pigeons here.. I don’t like the 3 FOE dress! Yes they look gorgeous together as they walk in.. and it was better than seeing her in pants and white top (hooray!), but the hemline on it bugs the daylights out of me.. I’ve never been a fan of this hemline.. asymmetrical? Not a fan of.. grrr.. it screams Stevie Nicks or something.. anyway..
I try to overlook my intense dislike of this hemline and go with it.. but.. because of this I wouldn’t vote it my fave…
I love the Ship of Spies outfit – very Grecian, elegant and not many women could pull it off – but KJ being very slim can.. shows off her great figure.. again without critiquing her I’ll just say her positives are being shown off and her not so positives don’t exist 🙂 I love it when dresses are magical like that 😉 plus, it’s very convenient and roomy for hanging off the side of a cruise ship.. and it could double as wedding dress at short notice.. yeah.. this is a great even dress for the (female) spy! Smile Just don’t try and team it with sneakers 😉 tee hee..
Your daughters cut up Barbie? very interesting! Freud would have fun with that! 🙂
Ahh yep there’s the dream sequence.. heres’ the link to her wearing it in RL.. if you’re interested.. http://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/john-james-and-kate-jackson-news-photo/85553684
I haven’t got time to find a colour image but it’s white.. (Aren’t you all lucky! 🙂 ) but I think there’s one at Neds..
You know – the Victoria Greenwich blue outfit is a gorgeous colour.. so gorgeous I don’t mind it’s basically a sack.. and it did go lovely with KJ’s cast on her foot! 🙂
Love love love this blue dress we merely caught a glimpse of at the end of Dead Ringer – oh why did we not see this outfit again??!!!! I’d put up with that hideous bow/hairclip growing out the side of Amanda’s head to get this outfit again.. snazzy stuff!!!
I voted for this dress 🙂
And all you ladies discussing wearing a wedding dress to a date with Lee? – I say definitely wear a wedding dress.. because if the moment strikes, you really want to be prepared..
– this is a reason to love the white SOS dress – at short noticed it’s a wedding dress 🙂
Thanks so much Learjet and sorry I’ve been so absent. I’ll do my best to get back here and check out your next post as soon as I can– can’t wait!!!
Byeee!
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A quick stop in to say hi and apologies for the massive comment.. I wrote it over two or three breaks, copied and pasted it and then it’s not till now I’ve realised how flippin long it really is!! eek!!!
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Apology? Why, Iwsod? I think you have padded out my (rather sparse) prose with your eagle eye and some excellent research 😀 . Your research on KJs RL clothing choices as posted as Neds was very helpful inspiration for this post 🙂
Here’s an idea for a first date with Lee: Las Vegas and the wedding dress. Then ply him with a few adult drinks and nudge him towards a chapel….
I also like the blue of Victoria Greenwich’s dress (mainly because it’s not white though 🙂 ) but I prefer the Dead Ringer shade of blue. And VC’s white hanging ‘bunny ears’ (AKA her furs) give me the creeps
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Thanks Learjet
lol.. Viva Las Vegas!
I’d only want Lee if he wanted me sober 😉 otherwise he can go jump! tee hee..
[plus he ain’t ereal. lol!!]
hanging bunny ears? rofl!! true.. they are rather errr fluffy!
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Hahaha… Love the thought of plying Lee with drinks and nudging him toward the chapel. I’d consider the date success if I got a ride in his corvette and a good night smooch. 😉
Next, the bunny ears comment made me laugh. It’s true though. If she’s got to hold them in place as she walks, it’s all wrong.
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I’m with LearJet here… No need to apologize for a well-thought out response. To top it off, there’s also your clever and witty remarks which make us smile. 🙂
I like what you said about the SOS dress doubling as a wedding gown, ‘short notice.’ That’s one way to do it. 😉 I would have preferred to see her in something like that or the “Always Look A Gift Horse…” dress in white for the SOS ‘wedding’ with a lighter veil. That actual veil was too much. Although jumping out of the car in SOS probably wouldn’t have worked in some dresses.
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I think we may have similar taste in clothing – or at least Amanda’s dresses. I do not like the white feathery dress either and I also voted for that blue dress! And I don’t like the updos as much either – but I diverge on that rose in her hair. Not bad!
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About the Artful Dodger (glitter top and black pants) and even a couple of those other white “granny” tops… Learjet, you mentioned that in her (Amanda’s) early 30s, it seemed like an older style for her. Well, in the late 1980s to early 1990s, I was in the high school to college age bracket, working summers in downtown DC as an intern, and I remember my mom buying me outfits like those. She swore up and down it was what the young 20s crowd was wearing. The business casual look back then, I suppose. I still thought they were too old for me. I looked young for my age (still do). To me, it was more her (my mom’s) style. But at the time, there were people in there 30s-40s who wore that.
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Those button earrings were big back then. My mom wouldn’t let me get my ears pierced. I did so after I turned 18, but I wore the button clip-ons for a while. That’s what these remind me of.
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Have you destroyed the photos of your ear buttons, Sara 😀 ?
I had some bright red plastic hanging ear-rings (in the style of Madonna) – fortunately, no photographic evidence exists anymore. More on the ear-buttons in the next post.
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Haha! Fortunately, I had long hair at the time which is pretty close to Amanda’s in thickness and shade. My earrings weren’t always visible in the pictures. No idea what happened to those earrings, by the way… 😀
Admittedly, I kind of wanted the earrings like Madonna wore. Looking forward to part II! 🙂
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I think that Amanda looks best in simple fitted clothes. ShIe looks swamped in loose or fussy outfits. In fact the contrast between her looking beautiful and looking frumpy depending on outfits in a timely example in dressing for body types.
IMO she looks great in most of the evening wear but my favourite is the black dress from Gift House and Service Above and Beyond. It is also the one I would most likely wear (even though I don’t usually wear black). I also like the back details of the SOS dress and the Navy blue one. Amanda seems to love wearing white and I think that it does suit her a lot (especially when there are not yards of material folded and pleated everwhere). Really agree with you, Learjet, about the outfit from Dodger and Weekend. It is nice but something more suitable for a much, much older lady, maybe it was more edgy back in the 80’s. Don’t even feel old enough for it yet myself!
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I agree with you about Amanda and the fitted clothes, Michele. “Power” shoulder pads don’t work when you’ve got such a slight figure!
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The white dress from Three Faces of Emily. Definitely. Amanda looks absolutely stunning in it!
The “Dalmatian” outfit she borrowed from Francine isn’t actually Dalmatian, though. Everyone from Germany will know it’s actually a Milka cow outfit … 😉 (At least that’s what it always makes me think of – and THAT always makes me crave chocolate …)
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And now, thanks to Khell, I now think of it as the Milka Cow outfit, too! 😀
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I also love the Milka cow idea too but I thought about the Dalmatian image a while back (when I was thinking of Francine’s animal outfits ) and I didn’t want to ‘steal’ Khell’s great idea now 🙂 . I like the link between Francine, Milka chocolate, cows and outfits 😉
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Since we are not technically going through an episode on our walk, I am going to bend the rules (shhhhh! don’t narc me out!) and say everyone should check out Khell’s story on FanFiction titled “The Absolutely Amazing Milka Gown”
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Thanks, Cindy! 😀 I think it’s not too much of a bend of the rules since the story’s set during “The Times They Are a Changin'”, which we already walked through. It just always kinda bothered me how that evening gown Francine was supposed to lend Amanda turned into a Milka-coloured set of jacket, top and pants … Maybe I’m wrong there, but for me, “gown” means “dress” … 😉 (Something like the white one Amanda’s wearing in Three Faces of Emily, for example.)
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sorry I’m rushing here.. but no worries.. share the link! Just also remind others there’s a place to discuss Knell’s story over at Neds to your heart’s content 🙂 JWWM isn’t the place to discuss fan fic.
I’ll look forward to reading this story once the walk is over Knell!
Why do I feel like I’ve heard the milka cow thing before? have you said that before Knell?
Okay gotta run.. will try and get back here in next couple of days properly! Hope you are all well! byeee
[btw for some bizarre reason my images hosted on photobucket are not working.. the site has totally kicked me out! Sooo if you see any images not working it’s my photobucket account.. and.. I don’t have time to try and fix it right now. Maybe if I leave it a day it will fix itself 🙂 ) Byee!
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Yup, I might have mentioned me associating that outfit with the Milka cow over at Ned’s in some thread or other. Maybe in the chocolate thread? Don’t remember but I definitely did post that cow pic before. 🙂
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Oh cool I’m not going crazy! lol.. love this idea Knell 🙂
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I think that when Lee and Amanda are trying to escape after being tied up, Amanda mutters something just after they tip the chairs over about being glad she picked the pants instead of the gown. I think they were trying to imply that Francine brought more than one fancy outfit with her, and Amanda got to choose which one she wanted, which was good, because the gown might not have fit well and pants are much better for action scenes. 😉
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Great point!!! 🙂
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I love the white dress from The Three Faces of Emily, so I chose that one, but yeah… Cindy has a good point. If it’s supposed to be what I’d wear for a date with Lee, then… none of them would fit me. 😦 But I do like the beading on the bodice of the black dress (the silver sparkles — from Bromfield Hall) and it might be more roomy.
Meh. I’m just not as slender or attractive as KJ — but not many are, so I’m probably in great company.
Nice post, Learjet — I’m looking forward to part 2. 🙂
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I also love the TTFOE dress but I fear that the Casablanca, chicken-salad sandwich white outfit would suit me better. I am not blessed with a creamy, blemish-free décolletage so maximal coverage would probably not frighten Lee off so quickly.
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I kind of like the white dresses that Amanda wears, chiefly because they’ve made me realize that any white dress could technically be a wedding dress. I mean, imagine a veil on her when she’s wearing the white dress in To Catch a Mongoose. It could be a somewhat plain, conservative wedding dress. The fabulous dress in Three Faces of Emily would make a great wedding dress, too, but not the kind you’d likely wear a veil with. I think the flower in her hair was a better choice.
Although, if you really want to get technical, wedding dresses don’t have to be white. I’m not sure I’d favor a black wedding dress, but more colors would open up other possibilities.
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I’m with Jules! Might as well make it count and go with the wedding dress. 😉
Initially when I looked at this, I was trying to decide which one I liked best ‘for Amanda.’ I picked the Three Faces of Emily gown. She’s got such gorgeous features, great hair (I love the up-dos). I like her in something like that TFoE gown or the first black dress. I know she can pull off a lot of great clothes, but she doesn’t need the glitter or fur, or granny fluff (?) or the flashy “reflective ensembles” as Cindy calls them. Her natural features are so pretty and elegant. Back in the 1980s, we had Dynasty, Knots Landing, etc., and all the formal gowns had that glitter, fur, flashy material, etc. Hard to escape it.
For me, I’d probably attempt the first black dress. Not going to think about shoes. If I did, he’d have to carry me (i.e., SAaB), because I’d probably break something trying to walk in 4-inch heels.
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I think you make a good point (which was made in a discussion at Neds about KJ’s clothing choices, I think by Iwsod) which is that Amanda’s formal outfits are very understated an refined compared to Alexis Carrington etc. Link to Neds thread on KJ’s clothes
Loving that black and white avatar, Sara!
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Thanks, Learjet1! I think I saw that post, but I got sidetracked by Francine’s wardrobe mishaps (why is that so easy to do?) and haven’t got back to it yet. I’ll definitely do that.
Love your avi too! One of my favorite moments of that episode! 🙂
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No ones picked the wedding dress for a night out with Lee?! ROFL Who says a wedding dress is inappropriate for a first date? Don’t worry about being presumptuous Cindy, go with it ;D I’d wear Michael Weston’s black bag if it meant a night on the town with Lee!
Great job Learjet! I love Amanda in the white number she wore with Emily, she just sparkles and radiates beauty in it! Shiny!
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I suspect if you wore the wedding dress on a date with S1 Lee, he’d leave before he said hello to you!
And maybe I’d look better wearing Michael Weston’s black bag than in the SOS wedding dress!!
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Hilarious!! People on the bus thought I was on something lol I’ll respond more and vote later- thanks for the laughs Learjet!! 🙂
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Haha! So true! I think my neighbors must think I’m nuts because I’m usually reading from my laptop near a window. I know I’m laughing pretty hard at some of these discussions, Walks and comments.
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Thank’s for this funny post learjet1! My Order: the semi-backless blue one with Lee by my side 🙂 😉
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Good colour choice, Claudia 🙂
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Fantastic! But there really should be an R (for reflective!) warning for this post. I was not prepared for the Angels’ mirror ensemble. Yikes! Way to make three thin women look like they’re sporting a beer gut.
It was hard to choose what I would wear for a night out on the town with our favourite spy. My figure is more curvy than KJs so a lot of the dresses wouldn’t suit my body type, but I think I would rock the wedding dress the best. Unfortunately, that might be a tad too presumptuous especially for a first date. 😉 My other choice would be for the black sparkly bodice number — I would have to go back and check the skirt and maybe modify it — One has to be able to tango in a dress like that.
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