past perfect

bruno01

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.

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.

82514_fr_dl

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

Unknown said…
oh wow wow!!! nice
Aïssa said…
It's lovely! Checked VB's store yesterday and there was so many beautiful things as always...

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!
Kate said…
Ah, that's fashion fate! It's a really lovely dress; I think you earned it.
yanqin said…
if jane: thanks!

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 :)
Ammu said…
It's gorgeous - I love Vanessa Bruno and the quality of her clothing is superb. Plus, most of it can be washed, which makes me happy!
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!

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