White Mini Dress w/ Cut Out detail- Vintage 80s
Nude Peep-toe Booties- Steve Madden
Sunglasses- Ray-Ban
Is no white after labor day still considered a rule? It seems silly to set expiration dates on colors you can wear.
I absolutely love this dress. I can't believe it was made almost 30 years ago, it feels incredibly modern. The cut out shoulder detail is so fun!
On to a bigger issue, some of you have asked if I knew any vintage online stores. I have to come out and finally reveal myself: I'm stuck in the dark ages. I never buy clothes online and I've never used eBay. It's not that I'm totally old-fashioned, I actually find a lot of internet services wonderfully beneficial. I get my movies through Netflix, listen to my music off of Pandora and order food through Seamlessweb. However, I have this seemingly antiquated notion of how shopping should be done. But let me explain..
For one, sizing and proportion is so important. It's difficult to determine how something will fit without trying it on. Especially vintage clothes, which often have erratic sizing. If you have a small frame, you may assume you're a small but a small today and a small in the 1970s was totally different. Some websites provide measurements, which you could match up to your own, but what if the arm holes aren't quite right or the neckline falls awkwardly?
I also think the way a material feels is so crucial. Something can be described as a "leather", but what kind of leather is it? Is it a buttery soft leather or is it a distressed pebbled leather? A picture doesn't really do justice to the feel and weight of a fabric.
I don't understand how people buy a dress online without feeling and seeing how it drapes over the body. I suppose there is always the option to return a piece if things don't work out, but it seems like a lot of work.
I just think there is such a personal element to shopping. Going to a boutique and interacting with salespeople or friends is so much more fun than clicking "add to my cart". Especially when it comes to vintage or thrift shopping, the thrill of the hunt is half of the enjoyment! Sifting through racks of clothes to find gems is like a sport. It is possibly the strongest gene I've inherited from my Grandmother. Learning to be a good shopper is like a honed skill, and it's a skill you can't master until you've spent sometime on the battlegrounds.
Physically being in a store allows you to try on different sizes or colors of the same item. It also allows you to try new things. I've been in countless situations where I've tried something on, without the intention of buying and then I'm like wait a minute- this is kind of cool. I'm also like a tailor in dressing rooms. I cinch every dress with my hands( a makeshift belt) and flip up every skirt or dress hemline about 2 inches, a practice my mother can attest to. When trying on pants, I have to try sitting down to ensure the waist band doesn't go too low and reveal too much. When trying on shoes, a walk around the sales floor, carpeted and tiled is a necessity. When trying on cocktail dresses, I like to move around to see how the fabric falls.
I strongly believe that you have to feel your body in the clothes in order to make an educated purchase. And for all the reasons listed above, I do not shop online. I do a lot of looking but I never buy, I always have this insatiable urge to touch and feel.
I know there are great sales online and I'm probably missing out on some fabulous finds, but for some reason I can't seem to reconcile my modern self with the online shopping world.
In such a digital, technology oriented society, shopping in store is my one old fashioned practice. It's a practice, I hope to one day pass down to my daughter as it's been passed down to me.
