There is such a thing as ‘love at first sight’ when it comes to clothing! And yes, of course it’s rare.
‘Cos usually a shopping trip involves picking out things that we think may look good on us or selecting items we know by experience work for our body types. Then comes the long time spent in the trial room, scrutinizing the outfit from every angle in that three-way mirror. And finally, we buy the best of the best from what we’ve hoarded. So really, there’s barely an opportunity for those love at first sight moments!
But put aside this methodical, structured way of shopping for a bit, and you’ll find that every now and then you come face to face with an outfit that makes you go ‘I LOVE THIS! I WANT IT!’.
This cherry red dress was one of my love at first sights’.
I’ll tell you our story:
There it hung, in the centre of the store, shining gloriously under the spotlight, being eyed by two others. I had to push my way through the crowd, claw it out of the clutches of an evil lady or two, sprint to the billing counter, paying no heed to anyone or anything in my path… and I won!
Okay, obviously that’s not what happened.. here’s the real story (promise, Jk, okok I promise :p)
I saw it hanging in a beachside shack in Bali, when I was there on vacation in 2013. It had a halter neck (notice past tense), looked like it would be a bit long on me and had a very ordinary black and red colour combo with what looked to be a zebra print. Nothing spectacular, but I just knew I had to have it! And so I bought it for 5 US dollars, at a beach shack in Bali (yeah I know).
In the first week of my possession - I shortened the hemline and made a scarf with the extra cloth. A few months later, I re-stiched the straps to make it a spaghetti dress. And just a few days ago, I noticed that the zebra print was actually a pattern of abstract rose flowers spread all over the dress!
What a GEM! Guess I subconsciously knew it was special when I first saw it, just didn’t realise in what way at the time!
SHOP LIKE I DO:
Dress – Street Shopping, Bali
Sandals – Street Style Store