Rockin’ Out in a Red Dress Debbie Harry-Style

When my friend Kelli was a little girl in the 1960s she told her mother she wanted to be a musician. Her mother pointed to the television set and asked, “Do you see any women in the orchestra? No? Women aren’t musicians. Women are secretaries.”

About a decade later, Debbie Harry hit the music scene. She fronted the band Blondie and proved that women can be any kind of musician they want to be. They can even be the lead singer in their own band.

Of course, there were other women doing the same thing at the time. One of the neat things I learned while researching this piece was how Ms. Harry celebrated all women musicians. In a time when the media insisted there could only be just one woman, one Queen of Rock, Debbie invited a group of rockstar women like Chrissi Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux, and Poly Styrene to tea to create a sense of camaraderie and support.

Rock It. Celebrate It.

March 8th was International Women’s Day. I celebrated it listening to old Blondie tunes, rocking out in a red dress.

In full disclosure, I was never a huge fan of Blondie’s music. It’s not to say I didn’t like it. I just didn’t like it enough to buy any of it. But it was so popular, both on radio and MTV, that even now I can sing along with their greatest hits.

One day, when I can’t remember anything else, the lyrics to Rapture will roll off my tongue as if I wrote them myself.

Debbie Harry’s music is part of the soundtrack of my youth. She represents so much more than just one thing. Not only is she truly talented, she made her success seem effortless–as if women had been fronting bands for decades. That’s a powerful thing for a young girl (and their mothers) to see.

I may not win a prize for biggest fan of Blondie, but I will always cheer on women and girls the way Ms. Harry does–never bad-mouthing others and their efforts to find their way.

The Coolness Factor

Part of what makes Ms. Harry so cool is her success against the odds and her support of others. But her style has a lot to say about her coolness factor as well. It is all her own.

In the photo below–the one that inspired my outfit–her look is simple but oh-so-sexy.

Circa 1978 in New York City. (Photo by A.T./IMAGES/Getty Images)

This outfit is a pretty good representation of her style overall. She has never worn a lot of patterns. She doesn’t accessorize much. But there is always something that takes her outfit to the next level of cool, like those knee-high stiletto boots she wears in the photo.

My Attempt at Blondie-Style Cool

At 72 years old, Debbie Harry has more sizzle than I ever will and I’m okay with that.

Here she is in 2017 sizzling up the stage.

My attempt at recreating her look is more about honoring what she represents to me–and, as always, having a little fun while doing it.

In the photo below, I kept things simple, just like she did in that photo from 1978. My red dress is a thrifted designer piece. I paired it with black tights and booties and a smattering of jewelry. I can’t pull off the dark eye makeup Ms. Harry is known for, so I kept that simple as well.

In Ms. Harry’s photo, she is surrounded by the tools of her musical trade. Being a fashion blogger, I chose to surround myself with two of the tools of my trade–a laptop and my smartphone.

Here’s a more complete version of this photo. It includes some of the other things a fashion blogger needs: books and magazines about fashion, photos of inspiring others, lighting equipment, shoes, and of course, clothes. (That coat is a favorite from Suzanne Carillo’s Etsy shop. It was featured last year in another post about adventures in fashion.)

The Outfit

If you follow my blog, you may recall seeing this dress last fall when I wrote about Sell Your Sole Consignment here in Seattle. It’s a stretchy red Yigal Azrouël dress with leather trim on the shoulders and a light, lacy pattern throughout.

I say it stretches, but when I tried to kick-it old school while rocking out, I didn’t get very far.

Even so, the dress stretches around my meager curves and makes me feel pretty darn good.

Here’s a back view:

My black shoes and tights are old, old, old. It’s a wonder the tights have stayed with me so long. The shoes are originally from the Sundance Catalog.

Links to Similar Items:

Yigal Azrouël Dress
The RealReal has several similar dresses by this designer.

Black tights
Love my HUE tights. Opaque black is always available here.

Black Booties
Similar style at Nordstrom.

Necklace
Gift from my sister. Similar here.

FitBit Watch
FitBit Charge II with Silver Band.

Keep On Rockin’

The moral of my story can be summed up this way: No matter what anyone else says about my gender, I gotta keep on rockin’.

Debbie Harry’s success reminds me to chase after my greatest curiosities and define success in ways that speak to my core. It takes courage to do this, but the path has already been paved, so I have it just a little easier than my predecessors. All I have to do is stay on that path and rock out Sherry-style. And if I can support others along the way, that makes the journey even richer.

With that, I will leave you with the wise words of Bill & Ted, another 80s icon:

Be excellent to each other. And party on, dudes!
~ Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Photoshoot Playlist

I listened to Blondie’s greatest hits while taking the photos for this post. Here’s the playlist, in case you’d like to relive some old memories.

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Linking up with the lovely Patti over at Visible Monday.

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