First off I will start with the fact that when I googled "Macy's orange dress," nothing of what I spotted back in the 80's comes up. Not even close. And there are often times I even wonder if I have any recall of what the dress looked like, because all I did was walk by it, and it was like 25 years ago. But it has remained in my head, taking up real estate all this time, and I believe it is time to exorcise it from my consciousness!
I was going to a Christmas party and I needed a fancy dress. It was my first grown-up office Christmas party, and I wanted something nice. A friend and I went into Jordan Marsh department store (which is now Macy's) and we entered a section of the store I'd never been in. The world of dresses! Wow, I was instantly overwhelmed, and a few glances at price tags convinced me I was also way out of my financial league. But as I was high tailing it out of that particular area, a mannequin wearing a smashing orange dress that was perched upon one of the dress racks caught my eye. She had her hand on her hip and she was standing (in her mannequinish way!) with that hip jutted out. In other words, a sexy pose. She had pouty lips and she was wearing this dress that made my heart go pitter patter. I stopped and gazed up at it. It was beaded and glittery and form fitting and 3/4 quarter length and low bodice and well ... the body I had at the time would have done it proud. Oh, and when I say orange, I misrepresent the color -- it was more of a cool orange sherbet color that looked a little darker in places where the beadwork was heavy. I looked around to see if I could find the dress on a rack so I could check out the price, but I couldn't find it. There was no salesperson around, even though I circled the mannequin in the dress several times. My friend finally convinced me that since it was nicer than some of the dresses I had been appalled at their price, obviously this one would be too much as well.
I didn't find anything else in any other department and I wanted to go by the dress another time. But we were parked on another end of the building, so it didn't happen. And as you can glean, the dress still haunts me to this day!
After I had exhausted countless stores, I decided that I would return to Jordan Marsh and try on the dress that had spoken to me (really quite loudly, but at that stage in my life, I didn't know how to listen!) I went straight to the dress department and scanned the mannequins. She was gone! My sexy, pouty, pretty mannequin was nowhere to be found. And neither was the dress! I found a saleswoman and tried to explain what I was looking for. I brought her to the rack where the mannequin had stood, but she couldn't remember. She kept pulling out other dresses and saying, "What about this one?" But none of them were THE dress. The dress was gone. Had it ever existed at all? Sometimes I wonder, I really do!
My mother was also on the job, and she had found this secondhand dress in an upscale secondhand store, that was full sequins -- and quite crazy. It wasn't form fitting, it sort of hung down straight, but once on, it was quite reminiscent of the flapper dresses, and this one had gone wild! It sparkled and glittered -- wearing that I was a walking disco ball! It was expensive, but she paid for half and I was all set. But ... I still missed that damn orange dress -- the dress that I had deemed to be THE PERFECT DRESS in my mind.
At the party I was constantly complimented on my dress (and as the night progressed it became a joke as to where I had been because everywhere I went I dropped sequins!) On several occasions I replied that this was a cool dress, but there had been this other dress ... eventually I stopped myself because really, I had no idea if the dress would have worked at all. Not a clue.
But here is the thing -- the orange dress had taught me an invaluable lesson that I have followed to this day. When I see something -- anything -- that represents the same idea as the orange dress, I buy it. I don't care what it is, if it catches my eye and somewhere deep inside feels that it is right, I don't look at the price tag, I just take it home with me. Now, that seems probably a little extreme, but it sure has made my shopping life easy! And because I have done this all these years, there is very little I actually do buy, because none of it is beyond my reach. Does that make sense?
For example, I have a $300 hat. No, that is not a typo. Some friends and I were at this obviously over-priced store, and this hat caught my eye ... it was on a mannequin's head and it was a very light pink and I reached for it and put it on. I am one of those people who hates hats -- can't stand them on me, can't stand how I look in one -- and yet, I live in a climate where the wearing of a hat on many days is more of a necessity than an option. One friend came around the corner and said "Oh, you look so good in that hat," (which was kind of how I was feeling looking at myself in the mirror.) I took off the hat, which wasn't super tight fitting so it didn't really ruin my hair, and happened to glance at the price tag. I gulped. Why would it cost so much? A salesperson saw me and explained that it was a died wool hat that was hand blah blah blah and that it took a long time to make and shape and that each hat was a work of art and was actually numbered and signed by the artist slash hat maker. Oh.
I put the hat back on the mannequin's head and moved on. I mean, it would be one thing if I absolutely loved and adored hats, right? But in truth, I hated hats. As I wandered around it occurred to me that this was the orange dress all over again. What would happen if this hat haunted me until the day I died? There were a few other hats there, but none the color I would have chosen. I picked up the hat and both friends gasped. "Are you really going to buy that hat?"
Again, the doubt began to creep in, and then I remembered that orange dress! I plunked the hat on my head and said with great determination that I was. And that I was going to promptly forget how much it cost!
Now, here is the thing. I love that hat. I love and ADORE that hat. It looks as perfect today as the day I bought it -- and it lives in a drawer with my scarves and mittens (there are no other hats in there, I am quite monogamous in my hat wearing ways!) And each and every time I put on my hat, I smile. And I always get comments about it, because it is quite different from your average hat! And I am not afraid to wear it at ski races or any outdoor activity, because, as I have explained, it is my only hat!
Who knows what my life would be like today if that orange dress hadn't taught me that price does not mean everything. How much better to cut costs in other areas for a short while in order to cover the cost of the dress (or whatever it is you fancy) than to pine after it for the rest of one's days!!!!!
Now how's that for a hat trick!
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