15 October 2007

Now's the time to buy that LWD

Just after you've enjoyed that first full weekend of Fall we've all been waiting for since the tents at Bryant Park were broken down, I'm going to beg your pardon and ask you to think back to that five-year college reunion in June, that rooftop cocktail party in July or that friend's bridal shower in August -- in other words, backtrack to one of those occasions when the weather was warm, your skin was sunkissed and all you wanted to do was wear a pretty white dress.

Problem is, if you're like I was, you stood in front of your color-coordinated walk-in and realized that as brown bled into black grew into grey melded into metallics, other than the prized vintage mini (top half shown above right, bottom "half" here) which only comes out to play on the streets of Manhattan and maaaybe at a gay-heavy dinner party here in DC, there isn't a single stitch of semi-formal white in sight.

There are a number of legitimate reasons for this.

First, unlike the rest of the members of the neutral family, white is predominately a Spring/Summer only color and thus, not the most practical wardrobe investment. Second, for those of you who tend to have energetic hand gestures and (pointing at self) have a propensity to break into tipsy tap dancing after imbibing your third MiLi longneck, white isn't exactly the safest color to wear. And finally, unless you've earned a nice bit of Summer color or you've been blessed with a year-round olive complexion, white isn't always the most flattering option.

But just having the option is the point of this post.

I've taken the liberty of rounding up a selection of on-sale LWDs for your perusal and hopefully, purchase. You may not want nor feel it right to rock one of these darling dresses very often, but for those rare two or three occasions during the year when you are leaning white, here is a less expensive way to indulge.

Enjoy.

Bianca satin dress by Abaete ($179.99 at bluefly.com)*
Billie eyelet dress by Lilly Pulitzer ($99.99 at bloomingdales.com)
Georgina silk shirtdress ($99.99 at jcrew.com)
Bustier dress by Mara Hoffman ($149.50 at urbanchiconline.com)
Swiss-dot dress by Calvin Klein ($81.90 at nordstrom.com)
Puff-sleeve dress by Catherine Malandrino ($204 at revolveclothing.com)
Tie-front dress by Lewis Cho ($121 at basicboutique.com)
Linen/cotton dress by Alice Roi ($165 at activeendeavors.com)
Felicity dress by Christopher Deane ($228 at activeendeavors.com)*
Shiffley dress by Sunner ($117.50 at pinkmascara.com)
Multi-pleat mini by Karen Zambos ($226.80 at shopbop.com)*
Polo dress by AKA New York ($149 at shopbop.com)

And because I know others are more likely to be incited into action when they know the person pushing them has done the deed herself, here below are a couple of pics of the deeply-discounted Sea NY Summer-white frock I picked up from Ron Herman's online mega-sale last month:

*your Editrix's top picks

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

that Lewis Cho dress is calling my name!

Anonymous said...

good god that haircut is terrible. the dress is great though!

Johanna said...

Anonymous 8:54-

Hey now, that's called a morning cowlick! Cut me some slack at 7am, 'kay?

XOXO
J

p.s. and yes, the dress *is* great!

Anonymous said...

Don't listen to them, babe. Your haircut is both adorable and hot, an accomplishment not easily achieved. I find the cowlick endearing :)

Anonymous said...

What is up with your back in that photo??? Love the dress. REALLY love the haircut.

Anonymous said...

Got the Cho. Can't wait to tuck it into the back of my closet and forget about it until next Spring!

Anonymous said...

White??? I can't think about white right now! and anon 8:54 is right-on about your hair. Shoulda kept it longer...

Anonymous said...

Hm, I can't do it - buy a white spring '07 dress that will only hang in my closet for months. It's like my high school best friend's mom who bought Christmas decorations on sale in January for the following year. Not for me. But the Catherine Malandrino dress is really cute.

Anonymous said...

I have short-short cut too and can assure you that 'punk rock cum cowlick hair' is a product of early mornings.

Alas, for white dresses I will abstain. I've lost too many white pants and skirts to my lack of coordination.

Great legs! Tapering this week?

Anonymous said...

I'm cutting and pasting your calves onto a picture of mine from E's wedding, okay? What, it's not okay? Well too bad, it's done and I look exceptional.

You should bring that vintage dress home for Thanksgiving so I can steal it for a while. Love those sleeves!

Anonymous said...

lady, where can I get those shoes??

Anonymous said...

Brown University's LGBTQ society called and they want their haircut back.

Johanna said...

KYAH-

(puzzled) I don't know, what *is* wrong with my back?

Elle-

Hold up, you don't hit up the QVC Holiday Shoppe clearance in January for next year's decos at 80% off?? Um yeah, this friendship is going nowhere FAST.

I do want to borrow that satin headwrap, though, when you get a chance...

Anonymous no more-

Thank you, short-haired sister. And yes, def in the taper this week. And next week -- Xmas in October known as the CARBO LOAD!!! I can't wait to eat bread and pasta again!

BFFiC-

Cut and paste away, darling, so long as I can do the same with your rack :-)

Manhattan darling/Candid Cool-

The shoes were my August splurge -- Stuart Weitzman deconstructed bow d'Orsay stilettos (4.25 inches). I was wavering, but then BridalBird dropped, "I will never try to covince you *not* to get those" and it was a done deal.

Anonymous 12:04-

I miss Brown so much that I would hand-deliver my haircut to the LGBTQ headquarters in Faunce House in a heartbeat.

XOXO,
J

Anonymous said...

I'm so out of the fun college loop at this point that I don't even know what the "Q" stands for.

Anonymous said...

Wait...Quaker?

Johanna said...

C-

Queer, Miss C, QUEER!

And if I'm not mistaken (would Real Sex 32 lie?), this is the preferred nomenclature for both genders.

best,
j

Anonymous said...

dont forget the other enemy to fine white garments - DOG HAIR.

Unknown said...

Etc - easy solution to that problem - White dogs! Or, in my case, white cat. Who is the sworn enemy of every black, brown, red and green piece of clothing I have - all I have left is white! (...Which I look awful in. Thinking about the polka dot dress in yellow though.)

Anonymous said...

You honestly don't see what's wrong with your back? Beauty must be blind...

Anonymous said...

you have amazing calves! what do you do??

Johanna said...

etcetera-

That's why I have a white dog :-)

Teek-

you stole the words right out of my mouth...

anonymous 4:14-

Uh, okay.

anonymous 4:54-

In addition to always wearing heels (it makes a difference, ladies...) I pretty much stick to running and mostly up and down hills. My route is to take MassAve as far as it can go and then turn around and do it all over again on the way home. There are at least 4 challenging hills in this course, the most frustrating of which is up near the Glen Echo fire department. I usually tune into Britney for that one.

best,
J

Anonymous said...

Torn between the Lewis Cho and the Malandrino...I can't believe you were able to get a picture without Monte's little body in the shot! Where was he?

Anonymous said...

Those calves!