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Yesterday afternoon, my daughter and I headed to NW Portland to go dress shopping. I'd googled some dress shops and one in particular caught my eye. I phoned them to make sure they were open. We set off eager to enjoy the nice weather and see if we could finally find "the dress."
NW 23rd is a great street with lots of shops, boutiques and restaurants. It reminds me of when I lived in San Francisco.
The shop I wanted to visit was Lena Medoyeff. Check out the website if you have a minute. It's a gorgeous boutique full of beautiful dresses made out of stunning fabrics.
When I walked into the store, I was asked what I needed the dress for. I explained about the RITA® Awards Ceremony in NY. The designer got up, headed to a rack and picked out this gorgeous black lace dress. She said the dress would be perfect.
As I looked around, another woman who works at the shop picked out a few more dresses for me to try on. I liked them all, but narrowed it down to three, two black and one green & gold. But when I tried on the black lace dress again I knew it was perfect. And I hadn't even wanted a black dress. But it's an amazing dress. It's cut on the bias so flattering for all figure types. The neckline and sleeves are elegant and can be tied up to give the dress different looks. You can also wear a black or colored sash with it to change the look. The lace is from France and simply divine. Best yet, it's comfortable to wear.
I sent hubby a pic, who was on his way home from a swim meet in Pasco, WA. He thought the dress was very nice. His problem was the price. A bit over the budget. I understand his point. We really are trying to take the Dave Ramsey method of budgeting to heart. Cash only. No credit cards, only debit. He did ask when my royalties would arrive (very soon!) so I was hopeful I could splurge and get the dress. It's the kind of style that I could wear for a very long time! So dollar cost averaging per wear made it more reasonably priced.
I was so excited I asked a friend in SF, who's really into fashion, what kind of accessories to buy. She sent me a list this morning: black stockings with seam up the back and strappy black heels.
And then this afternoon a little after one o'clock, I got an email from Harlequin, my publisher. Their big party, something Harlequin authors look forward to at conference, is black and white dress.
An elegant dress code for sure. Except I already had a dress to wear to it. A pretty purple dress that my friend Kelly was loaning me. Sigh...
The last thing I need is two fancy black dresses hanging in my closest, especially when the one really would be a total splurge. I couldn't even justify it to myself for thirty seconds given I'm so not a dressy, formal type person and only wear nice clothes at conferences or a rare writing event. There is the lovely green and gold dress at the boutique I could get, but I'm not in love with it as much as the black lace one.
But the idea of now going back out to look for dresses, black ones or otherwise, just slays me. The shopping gene just isn't part of my DNA.
Wish me luck! I have a feeling I'm going to need it.
