painted

Photos by Julien

H&M dress [similar option] | Baublebar necklace | Ivanka Trump heels | GiGiNY clutch c/o [love this one for nearly 2K in my dreams] | Sole Society ring c/o | She’s Unique rings | Tulle jacket not pictured

After seeing this skirt on Cathy weeks ago, I knew I had to own the very same one. Whether or not it’s a Tibi knock off is beside the point. It’s amazing & I immediately feel in love. Naturally, I scoured every H&M within a reasonable radius, ahem 20 miles, with no luck. Every time I walked into a store to describe the print & shape of the skirt to a sales person the ‘I have no effing clue to what you are referring’ face broke me heart a little more. I had high hopes that I’d wear this skirt to a friend’s wedding on April 5, knew exactly which black scuba top from ASOS I’d buy to style it with, & what accessories I’d throw on but that dream was fading fast.

After a less than pleasant encounter one Saturday morning, I stopped by the Metro Center H&M to see if I could indulge in a quick fashion pick-me-up. I walked through the aisles of H&M goodness, running my hand over the hangers as I passed, thinking of how the security guards & staff must be judging me as it was 10:01 & I was the only customer in the store. I wondered if I could, somehow, squeeze my 5’8″ you know what into Cathy’s petite skirt. It wasn’t going to happen. & there was no skirt to be found that morning. At 10:08 I was prepared to leave, unsatisfied. I gave a smile to the sales man who clearly knew I’d had my heart set on something I couldn’t find. I stopped to look at a huge gold necklace that was one of those absolutely necessary $14 purchases. I probably need this. I’d wear it all the time. I have 6 others like it but I really do love gold. It would go with everything & it’s just so inexp-

THE PRINT. I SAW THE PRINT. Is that a mirage? Am I dreaming? Am I drunk? This is why I should carry my glasses with me. Is that a skirt? It looks like too much fabric to be the skirt. Is that a… IS THAT A DRESS?

It was peaking out behind a black sequin shift dress on one of those racks that houses rejects & sale items. I literally dropped the necklace & ran to the dress, afraid that one of the other 3 people in the store would see it & get to it before I could. I knocked over a stack of jeans & a manequinn or two in the process but I was more than happy to clean up my mess after that dress was in my hot little hands. I had already made a deal with myself that if I found the skirt, I’d buy it no matter the price. So when I found the same print IN A DRESS I quickly made the same deal. Instead of seeing a price I simply saw my size. For those of you that frequent H&M, you know this is a miracle made possibly only by the gods of fashion & fate. I’m never just my regular size at H&M. Sometimes I’m a 4, sometimes I’m a 10. & on this day, this dress was my size. I tried it on anyways, just to make sure it fit. It did. That’s also the moment I discovered it had pockets. I all but started weeping. At this point, I blacked out a little but I’m almost positive I sent a SnapChat to all of my contacts & a text including 18 or so friends – males included – at 10am on a Saturday morning about how I’d found this dress. 4 immediately texted back with responses that were out of sheer joy. Ah, friendship.

I made my way to the counter & chatted with the sales man I had previously sad-smiled at about my  journey to this dress. At some point I remembering asking him if the skirt version was available at that location. He laughed at me & said that me finding that print in any shape was a miracle. Touche, sir. It surely was.

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