My Mom has told me many things over the years, and one of the best pieces of advice she ever gave me was, "If you can afford it, buy it!" Now, Mom was never sloppy with her money, but she certainly believed in value for value's sake... and she had a keen eye for knowing what a real value was, and what was just cheap. So it was with her and designer dresses.
That innate sense of knowing what was really worth her hard-earned money meant that a visit into her immense walk-in closet was a trip into decades worth of fashion, through a parade of designer dresses that were uniquely hers and yet paid stylish homage to eras past. Never one for trends, Mom had a look that was classic and timeless-and her fashion choices meant that a designer dress that she bought decades ago seemed vaguely akin to the photos of this season's runways. So much for fashion being fickle and ever-changing-my mother taught me that at its core, fashion is always about a woman looking great and feeling fantastic in a designer dress that never loses its own charm.
Another reason that Mom's closet was so timeless was that the pieces she bought were made to last. Sure, she could've often bought a cheaper version of a dress to wear, but then I wouldn't have been wearing some of her vintage designer dresses thirty years after she had bought them (and looking smashing, I might add). Value is about quality as much as price, and the construction of a fine garment is nothing to sneeze at-loving your clothing means wanting it to last. And last it will, if it's made correctly.
So value is a two-fold thing: firstly, a great designer with a knack not just for trends, but for finding the core beauty of fashion, and expressing that intangible aesthetic through their clothing. Secondly, it's about how your designer dress is made-the pride taken in the materials, the dyes, and the ornamentation. It knows that you're not just buying a throwaway piece of clothing, but building a wardrobe. Try building a closet full of beautiful things that your daughter, and maybe even your granddaughter, will someday marvel at and possibly wear.
In the end, a good designer dress isn't just about clothing your body. It's about paying tribute to your most beautiful self, and enjoying the fruits of a designer's artistic endeavors. It's about filling your life with lovely things, and being able to share those things with the people you care about most. Mom taught me that one, too.
That innate sense of knowing what was really worth her hard-earned money meant that a visit into her immense walk-in closet was a trip into decades worth of fashion, through a parade of designer dresses that were uniquely hers and yet paid stylish homage to eras past. Never one for trends, Mom had a look that was classic and timeless-and her fashion choices meant that a designer dress that she bought decades ago seemed vaguely akin to the photos of this season's runways. So much for fashion being fickle and ever-changing-my mother taught me that at its core, fashion is always about a woman looking great and feeling fantastic in a designer dress that never loses its own charm.
Another reason that Mom's closet was so timeless was that the pieces she bought were made to last. Sure, she could've often bought a cheaper version of a dress to wear, but then I wouldn't have been wearing some of her vintage designer dresses thirty years after she had bought them (and looking smashing, I might add). Value is about quality as much as price, and the construction of a fine garment is nothing to sneeze at-loving your clothing means wanting it to last. And last it will, if it's made correctly.
So value is a two-fold thing: firstly, a great designer with a knack not just for trends, but for finding the core beauty of fashion, and expressing that intangible aesthetic through their clothing. Secondly, it's about how your designer dress is made-the pride taken in the materials, the dyes, and the ornamentation. It knows that you're not just buying a throwaway piece of clothing, but building a wardrobe. Try building a closet full of beautiful things that your daughter, and maybe even your granddaughter, will someday marvel at and possibly wear.
In the end, a good designer dress isn't just about clothing your body. It's about paying tribute to your most beautiful self, and enjoying the fruits of a designer's artistic endeavors. It's about filling your life with lovely things, and being able to share those things with the people you care about most. Mom taught me that one, too.
