What I Wore: Family Gathering
OK, I didn’t actually steal this dress. I just … stole the idea of this dress. From Adrien, because she has the best dresses, ever. I waited for what seemed like an eternity for this one to pop up on eBay so I could make it my own, and when it finally did, I did. And, clearly, I have no shame because I’m splashing my bad deeds all over this here blog. Awesome dress is awesome. Happy dress-thief dance.
There is a lesson to be learned from this immoral anecdote, I’m sure, and it’s not that style thievery pays. (Although, listen: it totally does. In compliments and undeserved style cred. I would know.) No, I think it’s something about patience, or perhaps about being really good at eBay. Wait, maybe it’s about the importance of finding amazing style inspiration. Yes, I think that might be it. And, hey, if you’re in the market for some of that, you can always check out some of the truly stylish ladies who inspire me (linkies in my blogroll).
Oooh it’s so pretty! How do you find exactly what you want on ebay? I wish I could do it, but I would just type “brand name purple dress” and be lost in a sea of crazy results.
Sometimes it helps if you have the original brand description for the item, but not always – especially for older items, people are less likely to remember it and put it in the listing. I just try various descriptive terms and see what seems to work. In this case, for example, I tried “BCBG geometric (print) dress”, “BCBG faux wrap dress” and stuff like that. I still got a ton of results to wade through, but it helped. I don’t usually bother with the eBay tools because not every seller has checked off those boxes (e.g. sleeveless, long-sleeved, etc.) so it’s kind of useless. Honestly, it can seem like looking for a needle in a haystack at times … Persistence pays off 😉
I forgot to add … Google images can be helpful if you want to track down the original (retail) listing for an item (which can then give you the original brand description). I think this dress was called something like “pebble print” blah blah blah. I tried using that term in eBay, but it didn’t help – ultimately, the listing I found didn’t use that description (it was a really generic listing, like, “BCBG dress” – thanks eBay seller!).
So cute so cute! I fully encourage style thievery, especially when eBay prowess is involved.
Yay! I’m glad you don’t mind!
that dress looks AMAZING on you! look at that tiny waist! therefore, I now hate you.
Thank you! But I don’t have a tiny waist, it’s a magical dress, that’s all. Don’t hate meeeeee!
Damn it, now *I* want that dress. Passing on the thievery via the internet.
I’m killer at eBay stalking too. I used to run a business on there and obviously spent all my profits shopping for stuff.
Haha! I guess I’ll take the credit … for inspiring more style thievery 😉
Please answer Rachel’s question. 🙂
I would ask some of my own, but I’m lost in the sea of “hows” every time you score a find like that.
By the way the pictures don’t do justice to that dress or how glam you looked that day.
Thank you! But I happen to know that you, missy, are also perfectly capable of scoring some a-mah-zing eBay deals of your own. Maybe you should be teaching me 😉
Sometimes the dress will still be out there if you do a Google search, which helps with eBay searching. For instance: http://www.bluefly.com/BCBGMAXAZRIA-purple-jersey-pebble-print-v-neck-dress/cat20102/309486001/detail.fly?cm_mmc=CJ-_-1909792-_-2178999-_-BCBGMAXAZRIA+purple+jersey+pebble+print+v-neck+dress&referer=cjunction_2178999_10436858_230041443