The week before last, the warehouse for our regional chain of Goodwills had a sale, so naturally Mum and I went. (It was a Saturday afternoon! I'd just had the worst week ever! WAREHOUSE SAAALE! We really love Goodwill, okay?) They didn't have nearly as much selection as we'd hoped -- they didn't actually open up the warehouse, just carted out stuff on racks -- but everything was ridiculously cheap, even for Goodwill, so I snatched up several gems (including a vintage silver-plate sugarbowl and creamer set, huzzah!). It was sort of fun trawling through racks (and long lines of furniture) outside, though, and there was a beautiful moment when a velvety great black and blue butterfly landed, quivering, on an old television set right beside me, close enough that I could see the orange glints on its wings before it flew away again. Another magnificent large butterfly went winging through the clutter when I was rummaging through the book boxes hopefully. Anyway, finds: this dress was one of them, fulfilling a dress dream I've harboured since early childhood, when I would pour over the American Girl catalogues and wish Samantha's Victorian era clothes could be mine. I hadn't worn it except to try it on, though, because the fabric's a bit heavy, and it's been so humid these last weeks that one could probably knit things out of the air. Fortunately we've had some nice thunderstorms bring us cooler weather, and I ended up wearing it out to another Goodwill trip. (My town is so dull and I have so few opportunities for any sort of event that I do sometimes overdress a bit so I actually have a chance to wear things.)
If I'd doubted the allure of this dress before, I recieved ample confirmation today: one middle-aged lady was in raptures over me (and told me I looked like Xena? what? which one of us is confused? is there a weird Xena episode in an alternate 1910s universe? or is she confusing names? I DON'T KNOW), and, much more heartwarmingly, a seven-year-old girl caught sight of me and whispered, awe-struck, to her mother, "That lady is so beautiful!" (My favourite, though, was when I wore a long tulle skirt to the mall and a small girl of similar age asked her mother in a whisper if I was a princess.)
I really do dress for my inner seven-year-old quite a lot of the time.
dress // Goodwill, $2
lace slip // Mongomery Ward, thrifted
boots // from Kyra
beret // Rue 21 clearance rack
bow // Claire's clearance rack
cameo bow necklace // birthday gift from Kyra
skeleton key necklace // the key is actually a re-appropriated Walmart keychain, with a long chain borrowed from another necklace
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