To be fair, the dress itsef is aces.
Category: Favourite things
Office Landscape
categories: Favourite things, style
Hey, look: it’s that painted dress again! I mentioned in my last post that I was excited to remix it, and here’s the proof. Of course, the first choice was my (current) favourite blazer. If I seem to be wearing it a lot, that’s because I am. I love it so much, I even went hunting for another colorway on eBay. No luck on that end, yet, but I did manage to find the *identical* blazer in a local thrift store — so I bought it as a back-up!
I don’t typically advocate buying doubles of things (undergarments excepted) because I find it difficult to predict what items will become true staples. For example, you might consider that a black pair of pumps would be a staple, but it’s not always immediately apparent if a particular pair will have true longevity; over time, you might come to realize that it’s not as comfortable as you originally thought, or as durable, or even as versatile (due to heel height, toe shape, etc.). Or you might realize that you don’t wear the item as often as you thought you did, making a back-up unnecessary. The only times I’ve purposefully bought back-ups, I did so long after the original purchase (after properly “test driving” the item in question). Generally, this approach means that acquiring a back-up is close to impossible, since retail cycles move incredibly fast these days; eBay is usually the only solution in such cases. Or, as here, thrifting.
Office Treat (or Trick?)
It all started when I was reading an article about “Halloween costumes you can find in your closet”. I had just received this dress in the mail (more on that in a minute), and I experienced a moment of inspiration — pun intended. I was going to be … a Work Of Art. Well, perhaps something more like “Aunt Jane’s amateur watercolour”, but you get the picture. [Ba-dum-tish! Don’t forget to tip your server.] I already had the frame at home, so all I had to do was spend $7 at Michaels to complete my costume. And it was office-appropriate to boot!
Speaking of which, I totally cardigan-ed it up, like so:
So, back to the dress. I’ve been stalking it on eBay for over a year, patiently waiting for it to pop up in my size and within my budget. The brand is Odille, and this is old skool Anthropologie stuff; it’s a bit of a rare sight on eBay, and typically priced rather high. I finally got lucky, and nabbed a BIN for US$30 with low shipping costs. I have a feeling the seller was a thrifter reselling his or her finds, and if that is the case then I appreciate their reasonable pricing approach. The dress came fast and I was a happy camper, and not just because I got an awesome Halloween costume out of it. I can’t wait to remix it, and get a little more creative with it!
Just a quick note: if you’re interested in hunting down the dress, note that it runs a bit small, especially in the hips and bust (although it’s oddly a bit loose in the waist).
