Burgundy is a Girl's Best Friend

We all went shopping today at the mall. I needed to find a nice dress for the gala. The letter said it was a "black tie" event; I honestly had to look up what exactly that meant.

We hit JCPenney's first: They had a rather small selection of mostly prom-ish gowns, none of which I didn't really find tacky or ill-fitting for myself. We left quickly.

Next we went to Macy's: They had a larger selection, and a variety, and I actually tried on a number of dresses there. For all of them, however, the prices were either a little too high or the fit was ill or the style was matronly or the neckline wasn't modest enough. We left there, too, a little more reluctantly.

Finally we hit Nordstrom's, with darkness having set in outside (how time flies when you're trying on dresses...), and I searched a bit. There was a yellow Maggy London dress I'd seen online that we all liked when I saw it, but I wanted to look a bit more before I picked something to try on...and then we saw it. A lovely crinkled silk, pleated dress in a rich, delicious shade of burgundy, right there. It was a winner even before I tried it on, but in the dressing room I got definite thumbs up from my toughest critics--my mom and aunt. It was definitely the dress.

It's very pretty, I'll admit. Not quite an evening gown, but it reminds me of a dress from times past--the 50s, maybe. I plan to wear it with a wrap we own, coincidentally in almost exactly the same shade of burgundy, portraying richly beaded peacocks, and then pair it off with some jewelry. I might post pictures afterward, or maybe of the dress alone.

I'm very excited!