One Sick LBD

I still have to blog about the train trip I just took with my parents as well as finish recounting the adventure I had with my Belgian visitors before Christmas. But today, what say we take a fashion break because I need to vent about a 5-figure dress that I tried on at the store. Did I just get your attention?! I’ll get to that in a bit.

Today was a beautiful, balmy 65-degrees day in LA so I took the afternoon off to check out the second round of markdowns at the stores after receiving a text from my SA about CHANEL going to 60% off at her store. I didn’t have high hopes about there being anything left in my size, so I actually loitered in the shoe department instead. Found these gorgeous Louboutin boots that I’d love to call my own (they match my purse!)–if only I could walk in them…they came home with me for my girlfriend who actually knows how to maneuver these skyscrapers.

There were still lots of CHANEL boots and shoes on sale, but none in my size. So I tried on a bunch of Spring/Cruise shoes instead. There’s a pair of YSL platform slingbacks with my name all over them. Well, there were lots of shoes with my name all over them, but I have resolved to look through my closet and make a short list of shoes that I absolutely need and not just want. Then only with this list will I do my spring buys in March. At least that’s what I’m telling myself this first week of the new year anyway.

By the time I made it upstairs to RTW, there were less than 20 pieces hanging on the sales rack in CHANEL…as expected. The items left were either hideous or just hideously expensive, and either way, they will probably stay on the rack for a while. The SA threw a jacket over me, showing me how easily alterations could be done to fit me perfectly. I was not feeling the tweed so much so I escaped unscathed.

From there I ventured to the CHANEL boutique. Their sale was still only 40% off and yet, there were very few items left, especially in my size. Don’t tell anyone at CHANEL that there’s still a recession going on because their business is not feeling it. The one jacket that made number 1 on my Winter buy list from the runway photos was still available in my size; however, it was in my third favorite color out of the 3 colors it came in…

It was also a bit (OK, a lot) big on me and would require expensive alterations, so I will wait and see if it makes it to the next markdown…ahem, along with one or three other pieces that I asked my SA to keep an eye on for me. So once again, I left empty-handed.

Then I drove over to the Allsaints Spitalfields store, where a winter sale was raging. I picked up the embroidered leather military tailcoat for another girlfriend. It was probably 4am where she lives when I got to the store so I had to make an executive decision and bought the dark gray version instead of the light taupe one that I tried on here:

This friend was the one who told me about this label, and I have to say, as soon as I saw their jackets in person, I was sold. Their leather jackets are incredible. I felt ten degrees cooler just stepping inside the store. Loved the rocker chic vibe. Loved, loved, loved their aesthetics, and all at very reasonable price points. I’m going to see if I can find this style in grey before I go back for the black one as a last resort.

Happily, Allsaints was just a few doors down from the other CHANEL boutique. You’d just have to walk quickly past the Ivy in case some paparazzi jump out of the bushes to snap photos of some celebrity exiting the restaurant, and then the boutique is right there.

I fell in love with a couple of bags as soon as I entered their breezy foyer (hello matte patent dark fuchsia 2.55 flap!) but the SA led me upstairs to check out the sales. And that was where I saw the $10,000 dress–one sick LBD.

It had a very simple neckline and cap sleeves, all hand-sewn in a crisp silk, with a row of sueded roses just above the hip.

There was only one and it was in my size. It begged to be tried on–and let me just say that I felt like a Degas ballerina in it.

So you can do the math, even at 40% off, it is one expensive dress. Even at 60% off it is still one crazy price tag. And as yours truly did not win that $280M lotto this week, I had to leave the dress behind. BTW, I got locked inside the dressing room and the SA had to get the manager to come rescue me with the master key. For a second I did take that as a sign that I was meant to stay at CHANEL in that LBD :D.

No dress, dear readers, but I did not leave empty-handed this time. One hint: it’s black. Another hint: just a little something-something. Will photograph it in the morning as it’s already so dark here right now.

January 6, 2011