Monday, in which WMM buys a dress from Sylvia and Ralph and shoes from Tory

Oh, the joys of a budget and a spring list....

Thanks to the above, and the gentle reminders by you all, I was on the straight and narrow vis-a-vis shopping during my trip to New York City.

It was hard!!!!  For some reason I forgot that NYC is the shopping capital of the world (or at least my world!)

I did not exceed my budget and I got the dress and shoes that I wanted for spring.

I also got a scarf and bracelet from J Crew that I will show you tomorrow, both of which I snagged on the secret sale.

What I have discovered: when you are on a budget and sticking to a list, you are VERY picky.  "Is THIS what I want to spend my money on?" you ask yourself, time and again.  In the old days, I would have quoted my friend Admiral Farragut and cried "Damn the Torpedoes!" and bought whatever I wanted.  But no, that is not how you build a thoughtful, affordable wardrobe, is it? Especially if you are thinking of making a major life transition in the coming months...

Given my price point for a dress, I decided that the best place for me to go (since I was familiar with the brands down there) was Macys.  Oh yes, and I had a Macys coupon too.

After wandering around, husband in tow, I settled on the Ralph Lauren section, since Ralph and I have historically done all right in Spring and Summer together.  And that is where Wendy met Sylvia.

How to describe Sylvia?  She was a tall, good-looking southern woman of an unknown age who looked like Gayle King to me, only Gayle King when she is wearing her glasses.  Sylvie spotted Barry and I browsing in the racks and was like a heat-seeking missle.  "Barry!" she cried "You go sit on that leather chair!"  He did as he was told!

"Wendy - size!"  It wasn't a question, but a command, though her voice dripped honey.  I gave her the size and she was off.  And the onslaught began.

I think I tried on 40 dresses.  Oh that is an exaggeration, but only a slight one.  They just kept coming.  Who knew Ralph was so frickin' prolific? And they were accompanied by skirts and jackets and blouses.  At one point, Sylvia brought me a slinky tshirt and said (and I am not lying "it's time to bring sexy back!"



He is smiling because Sylvia is working for him and he knows she will make the sale..

 Some of the dresses never left the dressing room, which we will not discuss because really, do you want to hear a grown-ass woman cry?  No?  Some left the dressing room.  "Barry!" Sylvia would say "Do you like Wendy in this dress?  Doesn't she look beautiful?"  And he would say "yes!", because, well, he isn't stupid after all.  And then on our way back to the dressing room, Sylvia would say, conspiratorially: "I think he would like you to buy two dresses..."  As if!!!!!

Finally, we settled on a dress that I would never have picked out without Sylvia, a cherry red shift, which I think I would have avoided because of the red hair.  "Wendy!" Sylvie said "Did you not see Jessica Chastain in red?  If she can wear it, so can you!".  Well, Sylvia was right.  We won't discuss the jacket she also talked me into which I returned the next day, since it was not on the list and I didn't love it but that is a whole other story for another day, about how we get sucked into buying things in our lives that we don't mean to!

On the website:

here

And on me:

Holding Spring Purse and wearng new shoes, see below!

I did not own a red dress, as I think I thought I couldn't wear red well because of my ruddy complexion, but even this picture does not do the dress justice.  It makes me look healthy.  It is a cotton shift, very comfortable.  Simple and elegant.  Dressed down with a jean jacket (shout out to the sisters!), dressed up with a blazer or nice cardigan!  I would not have thought of it as a neutral, but in fact when I got home and started looking at what I already had in my closet, without even looking at my spring and summer items, I see there are lots of possibilities and it is a nice piece to own. It is nice as well as I associate red dresses with the promotion/education of women around heart and strokes. It was even on sale as I had a coupon, so I picked it up for $100!  I am contemplating having the sides taken in a bit below the waist and would love your thoughts on that.

So even though Sylvia scared me, she did really well!

And then I visited Tory Burch.  This was a completely different shopping experience.  You enter through the orange laquer doors and you are transported into an elegant pied-a-terre, decorated by someone with very distinct and beautiful taste, with lots of laquer, green velvet walls, chinoiserie, brass tables, etc.

Yes, those are marble logs, and yes, I did touch them, because well, when was I going to see marble logs again?

And the staff speak to you in hushed tones.  Would you like a water?  A cappucino?  What are you looking for?  I did notice that on the floors, none of the racks carry  sizes larger than medium.  Oh you can get larger, but they must "bring it up".  I tried on at least 6 pairs of shoes and then hit the pair - Sally wedges:

And in real-life:

 I liked that the logo was not gold.  These were also wider in the front and narrow at the heel, so they fit me like a glove.

Yes, those are my pasty white legs.  Soon time to dig out the self tanner.  I was wearing tights when I bought them and they still fit perfectly.

I did try on a couple of dresses, just to see, but I found none were flattering on me.  That was good luck, considering the price and the one long sleeve silk jersey did not feel nice to touch so I did not even try it on.

Of course, I thought I should show a couple of outfits, a la Dani or Ema, just to show that I can do it!

This is a lighter palate with the heather flax cardigan, some lovely summer beads I own and maybe the little flower pin...

And with my little faux leather blazer, which is the same colour as the shoes:

These are more early Spring looks - I will play around with other lighter cardigans and jackets and belts when things warm up.

So here is the finale of the spring budget (keeping it real!)

Purse: $160
Dress: $100
Shoes: $280
J Crew Purchases: $70
Tiffanys: $125 (not on list.  oh well - a girl has to live)

Total: $735
- consignment/paypal income: $200
Grand Net Total: $535

And now there will be no more purchases until late April/May.  Which gives me a LOT of time to think of what I need for summer!

So what do you think?  I am very pleased with my spring wardrobe purchases.  They feel special because they are limited and the shoes in particular are a dream to wear.  I think this whole "buy thoughtfully and buy less" thing is making me very happy because it is making me think very hard....

Have a Happy Monday and stay safe out there!

UPDATE!  Dani's guest blog over at Brora is up today!  Go take a look here - it is wonderful!