the pretty year

I still remember that dress. It was a peach drop waist jersey with some sparkly writing (a brand name?) We found it on the clearance rack at Hecht’s or Woodie’s or one of those other now-defunct department stores that’s been swallowed up by Macy’s. I want to say it was $11.75 or $14.95 or some similar number– I’m almost certain it was less than $20. I couldn’t tell you what it looked like on me, but I remember it fitting like a dream– not exactly an easy feat for any garment on my prematurely-pubescent 11-year-old body. I can’t find a photo of anything quite like it, but this gives you the gist:

In fairness, it was 1989.

My mom agreed the dress was cute, and the price, though not a true bargain for the time (nor for our budget) was at least manageable. She suggested we put it back on the rack and think about it. If I really, really wanted it, we could come back the next day.

You can guess what happened next.

I didn’t cry and scream or rend my garments, but let’s put it this way– it’s been 20 years, and I still remember that dress.  It’s reached near-mythic status in my mind, mainly, I’m sure, because it got away.  I mean, if I think about it, I was already curvy at 11, so the drop waist was not my best look, and peach was never really my color.  But like anything you can’t have, over time that dress has taken on the soft glow of a vaseline-covered lens.

(Let me lie on the couch a minute– maybe this is why I’ve become the queen of returns.  I figure I can always return something, but it may not be there the next day.  Hmmm…)

There have been others since the Peach Dress…  Most recently, there was that red Les Copains skirt at Filene’s, marked down to $40 or so from several hundred.  I still keep an eye out for it when I visit that location, though it’s been at least a year since I saw it there.  What am I hoping for?  It’s completely illogical– and it would be too big now, anyway.  I have another red skirt now that’s quite similar.  But is there anything more attractive than something you can’t have?  I’m like a child whose old, useless toy was handed down to her little sister.  Or maybe like a Michelle who never should have given away ALL her old Barbies to her cousin Crystal, especially the Cowboy Barbie with the eyes that blinked when you pressed a button on her back, and where is that Barbie now?  Probably in some cold, cold landfill in Southern Pennsylvania, long separated from her blue and white hat and her Silkene negligee.  But I digress.

How about you?  Any regrets you’ve left hanging on a rack somewhere?  I can’t be the only one with shallow stories of unrequited love.  Belly up to the bar and let’s drown our sorrows together.

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3. Pretty Savvy Friday: The Best Deal Ever
4. Pretty Savvy Friday: What's Your Gordon Gartrell?
5. Pretty Savvy Friday: Hey, Big Spender!