past perfect
I first fell hard for this Vanessa Bruno dress when it was on La Garconne last year, but it was US$500 or so and too expensive to even seriously contemplate buying it. I love the way it's simple but complicated at the same time. It has the breezy feel of a T-shirt, but the fabric and layers add some texture.
(It's no longer on the La Garconne website, but this is their picture I saved, it shows the dress texture better.)
A few months back, it turned up on the Outnet, significantly discounted. I was excited, but still, I hesitated. I have a poor track record for wearing dresses for some reason, so I try to keep the number of my dresses low because otherwise there's a lot languishing in my closet. Plus, it was still relatively expensive by my standards.
Then last week, I got a mailer from the Outnet about their Friends and Family sale. Since I was bored at work when the early-bird sale for account holders popped up, I had a look.
And there was the dress. For GBP66. In my size.
(It's no longer on the La Garconne website, but this is their picture I saved, it shows the dress texture better.)
A few months back, it turned up on the Outnet, significantly discounted. I was excited, but still, I hesitated. I have a poor track record for wearing dresses for some reason, so I try to keep the number of my dresses low because otherwise there's a lot languishing in my closet. Plus, it was still relatively expensive by my standards.
Then last week, I got a mailer from the Outnet about their Friends and Family sale. Since I was bored at work when the early-bird sale for account holders popped up, I had a look.
And there was the dress. For GBP66. In my size.
There was a bit of a struggle getting it to checkout - I guess the site was seeing a lot of traffic at the time. I left the page to load while I ploughed through some work.
It did, I paid, and got my confirmation email. I was pretty excited.
So, here it is. I got it yesterday evening, but it's too rumpled to show, so here is the Outnet picture.
In the past year or so, I've always felt some guilt whenever I buy clothes. Part of me thinks it's silly - I don't impulse buy, I spend within my means and my budget - but part of me knows I don't need anymore stuff.
I've learnt to say "no" a lot more, but it feels like I've plateau-ed and cutting down further is ever so far away - just like my attempts to improve my running pace. Sigh.
But back to this dress - the design blows me away. It's something special and yet unobstrusive, very much in the spirit of Vanessa Bruno's philosophy of "easy clothes for difficult people". I think whatever my consumption goals, there are times when you find a special item with a one-off bit of shopping good luck, and resistance would only be foolish.Happy weekend!
Pictures from la garconne, the outnet
Comments
I've cut back my shopping a lot lately and with the end of the year holidays coming, I'll be avoiding stores like the plague. That being said, I love clothes, it's my weakness and pleasure in life... And I learned to give into it with moderation.
But I used to have massive waves of guilt which ended in shameful trips back to the stores to return the crap I bought!
pret a porter p: i hate the idea to returning something too, which is why i only buy tops and dresses, as it's easier to estimate the fit of those. especially if they are loose, boxy things.
aissa: im glad im not alone!
kate: thanks, i'd like to think so too :)
I haven't bought clothes for a couple of months - and now that all my stuff has arrived from London, I don't think I need to buy any more stuff. After living with so little for four months, it's like an onslaught of stuff!