Saying Yes To The ($2 Thrift-Store) Dress
How one perfect piece of clothing can change everything.
About a month ago, I was on my routine Saturday morning Goodwill run when I came upon a pink frilly dress in the kid’s section. Most thrift stores have children’s sections brimming with wonderful, barely worn things (rest-assured there’s plenty of spaghetti-stained things, too). And almost always there are at least three or four tiny costume gowns. I do not really go in for the princess stuff even though my daughter has a mild affection for Frozen 2 and Sleeping Beauty (the latter original from 1959 is about as adorable as Jaws).
But this dress seemed different. It had a Simone Rocha vibe…cascading ribs of pink ruched organza with an empire waist, and the upper portion was a soft daisy-trimmed cotton with lovely (fake) pearl buttons down the back.
It was $2, so I bought it.
The Dress in Maine last week. Worn with her hand-me-down Adidas Gazelle sneakers, tie-dye leggings, and my old straw hat I bought at Barneys about 15 years ago, which now belongs to her.
Navigating your child’s clothing and outfits, especially if you’re someone who loves to get dressed like I do, can be tricky. I try very hard not to pressure her to wear anything just because I like it…or, let’s face it, kind of want to wear it myself. She went through a period of never wanting to wear anything that was not purple, which made me cringe inside (a little outside, too), but whatever…YOLO. Especially when it comes to dresses or any sort of singular piece that just makes our hearts sing.
So, when I brought this dress home, washed and dried it, and watched with utter glee as she put it on, I was lucky to witness that tiny light flip on inside her. This humongous smile positively glowing from within, the way she looked lovingly at herself in the mirror, like “Hey Raf! Go get that playground today!” A sudden desire to go everywhere and do everything…In This Dress.
It’s such a familiar feeling…those rare occasions when we find something that is just SO us, like it knows us better than we do. And along with this one solitary item of clothing everything in our lives suddenly seems right with the world.
And yet, it’s funny how it never really hit me exactly like this before observing my own daughter living her greatest + best life in a $2 dress. Almost every morning she immediately bounded out of bed to either put it on herself or demand to know its whereabouts (Cursed! Again! By the Washing Machine!). If she has to wear something else, she does so begrudgingly. And a big part of her joy I’ve noticed is her confident pursuit of new and ever weirder ways to wear this now iconic confection—with socks and Adidas Sambas, second-hand crocs, tie-dye leggings, a hand-knit sweater, a floral T-shirt, yellow rain boots….
The sky really is the limit.
I started to think about what was in my own closet that made me feel the way she feels in this foofy number. The kind of thing we grab when we need a host of personal reassurances, few of them relating to fashion. Wearing it, we carry ourselves differently…taller, bolder, happier, freer. When I think about this kind of inner-awakening style-related stuff that I LIVE for, I always, always think about Parker Posey in Party Girl, someone who desperately wants her life to begin, and her clothes are always a few (hundred) steps ahead of her clearing the path…with a bejeweled machete.
As I was writing this I went down to my closet and pulled out the first thing I saw that never ceases to give me that tiny fireworks feeling in my belly or even goosebumps. That big giant YES when we see it, slip it on, and forget about all the things on our To Do list that have been spectacularly languishing.
First, it was a Prada coat I bought at the SoHo store from the spring/summer 2020 collection when Gigi Hadid wore it down the runway in Milan, and I shortly thereafter wrote in my journal, “This coat will be mine.” I rarely buy such lavish things new in a store, but I just kind of knew I would own and wear it forever, which is why I’m terrified to travel with it. Whenever I do wear it, people ask me where it’s from, what it’s made of, how long I’ve had it… I’ve worn it for a meeting with Anna Wintour, a few different photoshoots, the first mammogram I had after a lumpectomy. Every time it made me so proud and OKAY, and it fits me like it was made for me. (By the way, if you don’t already have a coat like this one, I highly urge you to find one that works for you, especially come fall. I love this one from Roucha and might even get it myself.) A piece like this just makes life so much easier/happier…in good times and in bad.
Gigi Hadid in Prada spring/summer 2020…the coat that made me commemorate it in my journal when it would hit stores.
The second thing I pulled out was a fall/winter 2019 dress by Marc Jacobs. A dress that I 100% did not have the $$ for, but I somehow managed to scrabble together a gift card and an early sale discount to finally acquire before it was completely sold out. Mind you, it is not a practical dress, but that is a part of its appeal. It merges Bury Me In It vibes, Golden Girls, and recreational grocery shopping, which is ME to a T. For the record, I wish more of my friends would borrow it since the print AND ruffles AND pleats/volume make it pleasingly forgiving.
Marc Jacobs Fall-Winter 2019. I started to write a caption about how much I love this dress but remembered Lionel Richie did it already. ⬇️ SOUND 🆙 😬
I tried on both of my favorite things with these vintage Maud Frizon rhinestone sandals. Knowing I will never again find these, let alone in my size, makes me love these beauties all the more. Aren’t they marvelous? (If you’re an 8.5, please grab these!!). And THESE with a black or navy sock would be so lovely…and comfortable!
Last week in Maine, my husband came home with Raffi from a morning roaming the rocky beach of Echo Lake and having a lunch at a diner counter. I noticed one of the ruffles from her favorite dress had gone rogue, floating below the seam and on the verge of making a run for it. I thought about sewing it or cutting it, but decided against it…letting this favorite dress run its course. When I said something to Kevin about it, he said, “It’s so crazy how every single person we pass when she’s wearing that dress either smiles or says something about how much they love it.”
I’ve noticed this, too. Couples, fabulous older folks, dads with their kids…as though this dress has the universal delight of a fresh can of Pringles. But I know the truth: What they’re noticing isn’t so much the dress or the shocking pinkness of it all, but my daughter IN the dress. Dancing, skipping, singing to herself, picking up dirty leaves on the sidewalk and tossing them into the air.
We should all feel so carefree 🐥.
And, God willing, if we pay attention and have the God-given patience to wait for the best right next thing…we can feel that way, too…xxCb
Don’t forget, we’ve got a glorious edit of cool clothes and other special things for your favorite space or skincare routine updated regularly in A Tiny Shop. PLUS: A super foofy mix of special statement dresses inspired by today’s A Tiny Apt. and perfect $2 princess 👑 dresses everywhere:). Come check it out, and remember, if you buy something, we might earn a tiny commission.😎
Yesss! Your daughter's dress is great and reminded me of my daughter's everything-pink phase and her all-dresses phase. She's 22 and just moved into an apartment down the hall from mine, and her current style is wholly her own, and really weird (in a good, Gen Z way), so I think we're both doing okay by our daughters.
This post also reminded me of being little, and desperately wanting a frilly/fancy dress. My mom did not like frills, did not like lace, did not like florals. It took a ton of begging, but I finally got exactly one (1) frilly dress as a kid -- pale yellow, mini-pleats, ruffles, full, flouncy sleeves -- and boy did it make me glow.
I love this SO MUCH. LOVE your perfect coat and dress. And I love Raffi's hat with her dress. As a child, I always wore my dad's hats; it was a vibe! It made me feel like a superhero! Now one of his old croc belts, a reddish brown one, worn in, gives me that superhero feeling. I recently found a Prada dress I had loved but not been able to rationalize (nylon, oversized, trimmed with lace) -- in a consignment store. When I want to double up on superhero-ness, I belt that with dad's belt. XOXO Thank you for this special treat.