Triumph, Heartbreak, And Online Shopping.

voltee ♦ December 28, 2010 ♦ 1 Comment

Item: Tee-Dress Color/Fabric: Blue-grey, cotton Designer: Project E Where Purchased: Hautelook.com (another fun website. Go here) Years Owned: Almost one

I have a fondness in my heart for this little dress. This is something that I purchased at a Hautelook Blowout sale. I have yet to sing the praises of the Hautelook Blowout sale, mostly for one important reason: My heart was broken by one last year.
Many times, the Blowout sale will be a combination of designers. Sometimes, there are huge multitudes of items, and by the time you’re finished browsing, everything is already gone. Hautelook doesn’t offer a preview of the sale, like ideeli. So with Hautelook, you’re not able to strategize as well, and many times I just end up clicking wildly in a desperate attempt to end up with something. That’s how I sometimes end up with things that I don’t totally love.
The Blowout that broke my heart, though, was all Robert Rodriguez pieces. Once, we ended up with a shipment of Robert Rodriguez at Next Boutique, entirely by accident, but it got opened and we had to keep it.
There was a dress that was without a doubt my favorite piece, ever, at Next. It was pale pink silk, with gorgeous, delicate lace details, and a dropped waist. It was so soft and dainty, a perfect little flapper dress, and I was obsessed with it. Unfortunately, it was over $400, and not really an option for me at that time.
I never expected to see it again. And then, that fateful Saturday morning, there it was, on Hautelook, for $34. $34! And in someone else’s cart.
I sat in suspended animation for almost an hour, biting my nails, hitting “refresh” repeatedly, hoping against hope that someone would delete it from their cart.
In the meantime, I found an absolutely perfect black patent leather motorcycle jacket that made me sing a song with happiness. It had three quarter length sleeves, and plenty of hardware and shine. I was in love!
And then, in one of the most miraculous comebacks of all time, the dress was suddenly available, and I swooped in with lightning fast fingers and added it to my cart.
What a thrill! I squealed. I ran a victory lap around my house. I doused myself with champagne, and then held a press conference.
I was the champion of the world!
I remember going to the theater, for a performance of Cinderella, and telling everyone of my triumphs, before the adrenaline had even worn off. I daydreamed of wearing the dress for some sort of anniversary celebration. Perhaps even with the leather jacket over in a a delicious contrast of pretty and tough.
Days passed. Then weeks. No dress, or jacket. My anniversary came, and went.
I started checking the website every day for an update. One day, I got it.
It was almost a month after my miraculous purchasing. And they told me they had short-shipped the items (a fancy way of saying that they sold more than they actually had), and I was not to get either one.
I stared at the screen, frozen in horror. I read the message again, and a third time, and a tenth, twenty-fifth time.
Then I burst into tears.
Yes. I cried over clothing. Soul shattering sobs, too. And it wasn’t the first time. Or the last.
Hautelook did send me $40 of onsite credit to spend instead. But what is $40 to a broken heart? Nothing. Not even a bandaid.
Forlorn sigh.
What brought on this rant in the first place? Oh, yes. My tee dress.
I bought this before the Robert Rodriguez fiasco, a few weeks before my surgery. It was quite helpful after the surgery, and I wore it a lot during my recovery. It was comfy enough for laying in bed all day, but presentable enough for spontaneous company. And it ended up being what I wore the very first time I left the house on my own after the surgery.
It was a trip to the Post Office. To pick up packages of clothes that I ordered online in my convalescence…
I like the dress. It hasn’t yet made the transition to real world wear yet, but I think it should. I love the puffy sleeves and the fact that it has pockets. I can see it in the winter with a long sleeve tee under, and tights and boots. Fun! Yes?

**I find this strangely practical. It’s always good to have a casual dress. Keep!