I’m going to take this opportunity to say what I've been keeping suppressed deep inside. The muumuu is completely underrated.

That felt great to finally get out and you know what? I really don't even care that basically, the majority of the world thinks that the muumuu is something only acceptable for elderly, house-bound ladies or that they cast judgemental daggers when they spot someone wearing one in public. We've silently been told that no woman who has so much as an ounce of self-respect should ever be seen in a muumuu and definitely not if she's got a body full of lumps and bumps.

Pish posh.

I’m going to keep wearing my muumuu and proudly. As a matter of fact, I've already informed my co-workers that I'll be celebrating the first official day of summer muumuu style. They're all thrilled. Actually, one of my co-workers thought today was the day I would be wearing my muumuu and he stopped by the studio to check it out and was actually disappointed when he realized I wasn't wearing it.

Muumuu Dress
McKeown/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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I guess I need to backtrack and explain a few things. My new found muumuu obsession began when I picked up the over-sized, shapeless frock (in quite the bright, loud pattern) at a local thrift store thinking that it would be perfect to wear at our cabin in Canada. Our place is tucked away in the woods, backs up to a mountain, and the only way to get to it is by boat. Oh, and we don’t have electricity or running water. I mean, I can't imagine why we never have any visitors, can you? Since we're literally in our own secluded world at the cabin, appearance is last on the list of priorities and comfort is at the top.

My little family went to our cabin for Father's Day weekend and it was so hot that weekend, even in our wooded area. I just knew. It was muumuu time. As I pulled the muumuu out of my suitcase and slipped it over my head, I felt a tinge of apprehension. I’m still in my 30’s. Was I really going to take the plunge into the muumuu world? I mean, I’ve heard it said that once you put on a muumuu, there’s no turning back. Well, I was about to find out whether or not there was truth to that statement.

Traci Taylor
Traci Taylor
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Any apprehension I had about wearing a muumuu instantly faded away when I stepped out of the bedroom and my three-year-old’s eyes got super big. Not scary big eyes, but excited big eyes. John clapped his hands together and exclaimed, “Oh, mama! You a beautiful princess!” And just that I suddenly didn’t care what anybody else thought about me wearing a muumuu. My baby boy (who until that point hadn’t ever seen his mama in a skirt or a dress) thought that I looked like a beautiful princess and I was flooded with all sorts of feelings. I felt so good because, in the eyes of someone else, I was beautiful. It doesn’t matter that someone else is a three-year-old or that much like his mama, he doesn’t have any fashion sense (yet). It didn't matter that my muumuu is so big that I could easily fit three of me in it. My boy thought I looked pretty and my heart was melted.

While I’d originally planned to only wear my muumuu in the privacy of our little cabin, I decided to practice a bit of bravery and wore it during a trip into town. To the hardware store. The woman at the register said to me, “Wow, I really like your dress, it’s beautiful.” I politely thanked her but when we got back into the car I told my husband, “Either she’s never seen a 30-something woman wearing a loud patterned muumuu and didn’t know what else to say, or she genuinely liked it. What do you think?” Jay just threw his head back and laughed.

Jacqueline Bisset
Harry Benson/Getty Images
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I can't help but feel like the 1960’s are knocking on the door of 2018 and inviting us to embrace the muumuu, the dress made popular by designers such as Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent and by celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Bisset (that's her in the photo above). If the muumuu was good enough for Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Bisset, it's certainly good enough for this mama!

I've decided that maybe I should head some of the advice my (also fashion challenged) mother has been doling out my whole life: "Be happy, be yourself, dress in clothes that make YOU comfortable, stop worrying what other people think, and square your shoulders." I say that together, you and I throw fashion caution to the wind and revive the muumuu. I mean, if the head-scratching invisible jeans can be a thing, I don't see why the muumuu can't.

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