One Is Silver, And The Other Gold.

voltee ♦ November 19, 2010 ♦ 4 Comments

Item: Dress Color/Fabric: Navy blue/silver, polyester Designer: Simply Vera By Vera Wang Where Purchased: Kohl’s Years Owned: 4
Tonight, a perplexing dilemma. How many luxurious navy blue, tea-length dresses can one girl possibly need? I have two. I have always wondered if these are too similar to own both. They are very different, to be sure, but still, very similar.
I can hear my mom’s voice, trumpeting in my head: “Don’t you already have a dress exactly like that? Do you need it?”
Do I need anything that I own? Probably not.
I’m sure that I could get by in the world with only, say, 85 pairs of shoes.
Somehow.
But, do I want to? Heavens, no. That is why I don’t allow you to vote on my shoes.
I digress. Here is the other dress:
Item: Dress Color/Fabric: Navy Blue/Gold, silk Designer: Laundry by Shelli Segal Where Purchased: Next Boutique Years Owned: 4
I can’t remember which one was purchased first. And I like them both for different reasons.
Dress Number One is a designer-style dress, cut and produced for the masses at department store prices. It is beautiful, no doubt. But when I am wearing it, I can tell the difference. It feels nice, it is definitely a quality polyester. But still, polyester. It does not drape quite so beautifully as it would if it had been silk. But it’s so adorable, and I love the flutter-sleeves, and the embellishment on the neckline. The belt-bow I took from another dress. I like its floppiness.
I wore this dress to see a play with Kevin and Michael. It was a bit of a roadtrip, but I forget exactly where we went. It was to see Kevin’s sweet friend Sandra perform. It was a great production, and we enjoyed the show. I don’t remember what it was called, either. But I remember that it was too cold for this dress, and I felt silly. Especially when we went to a bar afterwards, and I was entirely over-dressed! Sometimes I just don’t plan well. A lovely day, though, regardless!
Dress Number Two is a designer dress made for boutiques. It is silk, and it feels exquisite. This was a dress that we got for the Holidays at Next Boutique the second year I worked there. It was not something that I could afford, even with my discount. But one day, feeling bored, I decided to try it on. Big, big mistake. It felt little angel kisses on my skin. And it fit me better than anything else that had ever been on my body.
“Oh, Kerry,” said my friend Olana. “That dress was made for you. You look amazing!” I was head over heels in love with this dress. But I still could not commit to the price tag.
So I just stared at it, day after day, sighing deep in my breast, longing.
And one day, she was gone.
I couldn’t even bring myself to ask who brought her home. I couldn’t bear it. I tried to just wipe her out of my mind, as though we had never met.
Then, one sweet, sweet, day, there she was. Like she had never left! I won’t tell you all the details, but finally, the dress belonged to me. For a ridiculously low price-tag.
It was destiny.
I have worn this to two weddings. It’s a lovely wedding dress, because it’s very demure, but the way that it is cut makes it a tiny bit sexy. I love to dance in it, since it moves so beautifully. The blue wrap part of the dress also flutters a bit to show just a sliver of the gold underneath when I move.
The first wedding I wore this dress to was Phil and Katie’s, in Rhode Island. They had a traditional Chinese reception, and it was like no other wedding I’ve ever attended. It’s traditional, apparently, to serve about 14 courses of food. What a feast! And so many exotic dishes I had never tasted. Such as shark fin soup. And lobster. No, I had never tasted lobster before. And It was very tasty, but I just can’t eat meat that still looks like an animal. That’s just my thing.
I had a great time at that wedding, hanging out with all my favorite IBM buddies.
The other wedding I wore this to was my cousin Mindy’s. I’m still in disbelief that she’s actually married. I can still see her face and hear he voice, exactly as they were when she was a toddler! It is hard to be old. She was such a vision that day, though. Of course, I cried a ridiculous, ridiculous amount of tears. And I will always remember their cupcake tower, and how great it was to hang out with my family. That was a perfect wedding!
So, can I ethically keep both of these dresses? Are they too similar? Is it bad luck to wear the same dress to multiple weddings? Oh, I’m so very conflicted!

**Number One stays.  Number Two too!  What’s wrong with having two blue dresses.  I like them.