The Dress.

So if you have been following along in our story, you will know that our little Spangles recently ventured off to the western coast to explore the City by the Bay. During this time she walked down a little street you may have heard of- Haight Street, of Haight-Ashbury fame. On said street there are many second-hand/thrift/vintage shops that are brimming with fun finds, if only one will take the time to peruse the racks. And time is one thing that little Spangling has in abundance. So she peeked into a store and looked at the jeans and dresses. Two smart choices, because she first found an excellent pair of skinny jeans (and ladies, we all know how stressful jeans-shopping can be. Can I get an AMEN?!), and then found this little black dress. Now, our protagonist is not a particularly trendy or fashionable girl, given that she spent 18 years of her life in a place where the main stores in which to shop were Gap and American Eagle and no one was particularly concerned about fashion. Which is fine, and often much less complicated, so the writer does not want any comments or eye rollings about Snobby Spangles. But then she moved to New York. And just by nature of sitting on the subway 90 minutes a day and working on Fifth Avenue with an abundance of trend all about her, as well as having friends like Emily Vogelzang she osmosed that shizzle up like a sponge. Because when she saw this dress, THE DRESS, she thought to herself, "Daaaaang this is a nice dress." No tag, just the word "SAMPLE" written in the back, another clue to the degree of niceness. In her size. And a mere $18. Oh heck yea.

Not knowing quite enough to be able to figure out whether The Dress was from a famous designer or just a particularly nice dress, she set off into the world to consult her friends who are in-the-know about these sorts of matters. But the funny thing was, NO ONE KNEW. They all saw The Dress and Ooohed and Aaahhhed, but no one could quite place a particular designer. But Spangles was just happy to have found such a find. Because, as informed by one of her friends in clothing design, the fabric and "excellent stitching" alone would regularly make it an expensive dress, regardless of the brand. And ladies, it just feels good to wear a nice dress, can I get another Amen?!

Back in New York our protagonist has an opportunity to wear The Dress for a coworker's birthday outing. And because her coworkers all ascribe to the Go Big or Go Home mentality with Saturday night outings in New York, she knew her new dress would be appropriate. But what she did not know nor expect was how many other people would agree. Again, remember, our Spangling is not one of those girls who people often stop to ask/comment about a wardrobe choice. She holds her own, but nothing all that noteworthy. But this night was not like other nights, because she was wearing The Dress. And no short of a half dozen strangers throughout the night stopped her in bars or on the street to inquire about her dress saying things like "Is that Versace?" Readers, this was all somewhat shocking for Spangles, but ladies, you know you feel like a million bucks when your boyfriend compliments your outfit, let alone a stranger. All the more shocking to these strangers as she explained she had no idea who designed the dress, but she got it for $18 and asked each stranger if they had any idea who designed The Dress. No one knew. And the mystery heightened with each new inquiry. Now, kind readers, our writer shares this story not to gloat but to put it out to the world- does anyone know who designed this dress? Maybe it's better that it remain a mystery and let The Legend of The Dress remain intact. But quite frankly, our protagonist would like to send a letter to the designer thanking him or her for designing such wonderful clothing that makes even the most podunk of girls feel like a superstar in a city overflowing with superstars, even for a night. And with that, I leave you with a few pictures.

Scheny and Spangling

Birthday girl in the middle, the EA ladies celebrate one last night all together.