United Bates of America {merged}

[Markie]

I see the matching prairie dresses are back.

I think I read on the Bates Blog that Michaela only likes making dresses for the little girls. Once they start developing they can lose the matchy-matching look. They do appear to enjoy wearing co-ordinating colours, but that may be a TLC thing.

[bananacat]

I see the matching prairie dresses are back.

That's a very polite way to put it. They look like clown costumes to me and I can't imagine any frontier women wearing neon and orange and green.

[Deleted07]

I think the dresses are actually really nice, well made and actually quite pretty colours too!

Obviously in saying that, matchy/matchy makes me pukey pukey!!!

But I really think Michaela has a real talent for sewing and colour co-ordination! Pity she couldn't break free and do something in fashion design!

[Deleted07]

ETA; I think Michaela Bates would get along really well with those Seven Farmgirl Sisters! :-)

[pomology]

My cynical take on the half-matching is that it follows the typical fundie line of "always be a attractive example on the surface so people will want to convert to get what you have". The early Duggar all-matching thing wouldn't work as most people would be creeped out to see all the females (from adult mother to adult daughters to teen and preteen daughters to toddler and infant daughters) wearing the exact same thing (not to mention that the ones most likely to be attracted to this lifestyle -women- rarely want to wear the same prairie dress frumper as their infants) However, by getting just the littlest girls to match, it'll make gullible people go "Aw, how adorable. My kids wouldn't dress alike like that. I wish I had what they have". These are the same people who fall for the "they're so well behaved!" line without realizing fundies accomplish it by abusing their children.

I suppose. But the half matching is so unattractive and weird that I don't see how it could be appealing to anyone. But then again I'm not sure anything could make fundiedom attractive for me, so I doubt I'm their target audience.

[bananacat]

I guess everyone has different tastes but I think all the color combinations are hideous. I always figured they pick the most obnoxious neon colors because that's the fabric that ends up in the clearance bin. Does anyone actually like neon orange, green, or blue? And it's never just one neon color, but two. Hasn't Michaela ever heard of a neutral? If she really must go with the neon green, why not use white or black as an accent instead of bright blue? The brown and light orange dresses aren't as eye-searing, but still, I've never been a big fan of mixing two tiny prints. Why not just a solid color?

[moreorlessnu]

Agreed, Bananacat. I assumed Michaela was simply being creative with fabric remnants she found on sale.

For the (much) younger girls, the patchwork of bright colors is whimsical. For the rest....Oh.

[FloraDoraDolly]

I guess everyone has different tastes but I think all the color combinations are hideous. I always figured they pick the most obnoxious neon colors because that's the fabric that ends up in the clearance bin. Does anyone actually like neon orange, green, or blue? And it's never just one neon color, but two. Hasn't Michaela ever heard of a neutral? If she really must go with the neon green, why not use white or black as an accent instead of bright blue? The brown and light orange dresses aren't as eye-searing, but still, I've never been a big fan of mixing two tiny prints. Why not just a solid color?

A lot of kids these days are wearing bright and neon colors. If you have a tween in your family who shops at Justice, you know what I mean. You see leggings, jeggings, tops, hoodies, etc. with peace signs, hearts, daisies, and smileys in all those groovy colors. But those same colors don't work so well on a ditsy flower printed prairie dress.

[emmiedahl]

A lot of kids these days are wearing bright and neon colors. If you have a tween in your family who shops at Justice, you know what I mean. You see leggings, jeggings, tops, hoodies, etc. with peace signs, hearts, daisies, and smileys in all those groovy colors. But those same colors don't work so well on a ditsy flower printed prairie dress.

Unfortunately, I know exactly what you are talking about.

[Chavymishmacoy]

Gosh my eleven year old would love to dress like that. Especially the ruffled seven sisters, I am not even kidding.