Shopping

I went dress shopping, or more accurately, I went on a scavanger hunt for the perfect dress on Saturday. It took me six hours, and I went to every single store in my area (including three Ann Taylors, two Ann Taylor Lofts), including the one mall I hate with a passion, and then at my wit's end, I went to a mall futher away before I found the perfect dress.

Here's what I was looking for in a dress (and keep in mind that a nice dress starts around $69 these days and I was looking for a nice dress):

• A lining was absolutely necessary
  
• A high neckline
  
• Skirt needed to at least come within an inch of the knees, if not longer
  
• The material couldn't look old or faded; an unbelievable number of dresses looked liked they'd already been through the washer/dryer 80 times before being put out for sale
  
• Should be appropriate for work, either alone or combined with a sweater or jacket
  
• Not terribly trendy; if I'm going to buy a dress that costs $69 or more, I'd want to wear it more than one season. I'm nutty that way.
  
• And note that even though I said a nice dress costs $69 or more, I didn't want to spend that much. I'm cheap that way.
  

I was indiscriminate about color, though I wasn't too keen on yellow, which seems to be the color of the season, or white, since I already have a white eyelet sundress for the season (I'm also not sure on wearing white to a wedding, which is why I wanted a new dress). I also wanted a dress that would just look nice and elegant and stylish in a classic way. I wanted nothing to do with the plunging V-necklines I saw a lot of or the slinky body-hugging LBDs that were curiously lacking in a lining.

Florida Girl said my expectations for a dress were too high and that sometimes you do have to suck it up and buy a $150 dress. But I stuck to my guns, and the end result was a dress that fit every one of my criteria. Needless to say, by the time I got home Saturday evening, I was dead tired, and I'll be happy to take a nice long break from the shopping malls, but I'm really happy with the dress and glad I did go through all of that because I have no buyer's remorse. All of this to say: define expectations and then hold out for what you want because it's well worth it if you don't have to settle.