I remember when I first saw a woman on the Red Line in DC wearing this dress. It was one of those moments where I couldn't just admire her outfit from afar. I had to tell her that she looked fantastic no matter how aloof a response I risked provoking. She was extremely petite and wore with it simple ballet flats (that looked like Repettos) and a Longchamp Pliage tote in a neutral color.
Although I am not so petite (I guess I am slightly shorter than average) I wanted to find this dress desperately. And after I moved to Georgetown I found the dress at Barneys Coop. On sale. It was by Rag and Bone which is a line that doesn't usually work for me because it is for the longer and leaner. Even this dress is something that clearly doesn't flatter a figure not shaped like a column to mimic the vertical lines.
It was summer 2008 and I was in the process of buying a home with my partner. I really shouldn't have bought much of anything that summer, even on sale. But the incredible shopping in DC (Friendship Heights, Pentagon City, and shops in Georgetown were accessible easily via public transit for a car-less person like me) was hard to resist. I picked up a small number of pieces and this dress was one of them. I even wore it on Closing Day when we went to sign the final paperwork that made us property owners in Pittsburgh. I've worn it a bunch since, but I can't think of it as anything other than the closing dress. Or maybe the DC Metro dress.
Do you have dresses you wear and rewear but will forever remember contextually or as part of a specific event?
7 comments:
Ah, this dress is amazing! And you look great in it, no wonder you couldn't resist. I am always drawn to these sleek, vertical line dresses even though I am also not built like a column. You look like a cool, retro flight attendant in the best way possible.
I don't really have too many clothes like this, with strong associations, except my reception dress, which I have been afraid to wear since. But I bought it so I could wear it again.
i have a theory for bloomingdale's dress that i wore for my college graduation that i always remember as my graduation dress. even when i wear it around my family, that's what they remember about it!
This dress is just fantastic on you! I can't blame you for getting it, even during a time period when you were trying to save your pennies!!
*gasp* Love this dress on you!! The stripes are nicely done, kinda makes me think of racing stripes. I have certain dresses that I can associate with specific dates I went on, and I have one shirt that is the concert top for obvious reasons.
I love this dress! I wish I had the courage to approach women wearing pieces I covet to ask them the brand. I am obsessed with a royal blue and cream print mini dress I saw someone wearing a few weeks ago. I have checked all over the internet and cannot find it - it's probably some really obscure label I will never come across accidentally.
I've worn the hell out of my Black Halo Jackie O, but it will always be synonymous with my 10 year HS reunion (the first time I wore it). It was the perfect dress, and I felt like a million bucks that night.
Rad, Thank you! I thought the woman I saw looked like a flight attendant superhero! It was part of the allure. I hope you find a way to wear your reception dress again but I know it can be hard to find the right occasion for a dress with such special memories attached.
Lindsay, That's so funny that your family has the same strong memory of the dress!
Goldenmeans thank you!
Roxy, You are too kind!
Kate, thanks so much. I couldn't ask her where she got it because that seemed too invasive but I did manage to randomly find it. I hope you find yours! That Jackie O was stunning on you. I am sure you aren't the only person who remembers it from your reunion.
I love those experiences- when you love something so much you have to approach a complete stranger about it. And now this well-dressed stranger is part of your lovely dress memory!
I don't have your amazing aforementioned rain-man ability to recall occasions and dresses, but I do remember a looooong time ago, on my first trip to NY, when my fearless mom chased after a stranger with an H&M bag for us, since we couldn't find the store!
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