The Perks of Being a Packrat

I'm really trying to be a good girl and pare down my clothes to the essential. It's taking years, and it certainly doesn't help that I still shop a lot. However, in the past few months I'm finally donating a few bags to Purple Hearts, attended two (one I hosted) clothing swap parties, and eBayed/etsied a lot of my better looking new and vintage garments. I am just now finally letting go of many of the beautiful vintage dresses I purchased in high school and inherited from my family that I hoarded for costumes for photography series in college.

One thing that is helping me finally purge is the fact that I have lost weight from when I was sixteen so a lot of these things don't even fit me anymore. On the other hand, dresses I saved even though they had never fit me that I am now willing to part with suddenly fit me like a glove. Luckily those items are in the minority and I've come out of my sorting with three gorgeous frocks.



This is one such dress. I was all prepared to sell it this week. Though this morning when I was showing it to my roommate I thought that maybe it will finally fit me. I received this dress when I was seventeen from a penpal who sent me many great thrift store finds, including Electric Warrior on vinyl. I was never able to zip it up the back so blaming my ribcage (and not the fact that I was on the chubby side) I would wear it with a corset over it for photoshoots). Today I was able to zip it up save for the first few inches at the top, which I will either continue to lose or be able to just let out a tiny bit with the help of a seamstress.



Otherwise, look how perfect it fits me! I cannot bear to part with this dress. If nothing else it would be a perfect wedding dress. The lace and the ribbon...and I'm not wearing a bra since the corset is boned, and you can't even tell. How dreamy.

The other two dresses I wanted to post about I was too lazy to put on and take pictures in, but here they are anyway:



This green floral maxi dress never fit me, even when I was 14! I was going to sell it in the early summer but I figured what the hell, tried it on, and it also fit like it was made just for me. It's the perfect length for my height and is the first dress with a long skirt that doesn't make me look stumpy. I was also surprised how perfectly it fits my boobs since this dress belonged to my mother and she was a 32A her whole life. The back is also deliciously low, it's so sexy and I love showing my back off.





Same story with this dress. Never fit me even when I was 14, was gonna sell, figured what the hell, fit me perfectly. However, this dress was purchased by my skinny dad in his 20s when he went as Joan Crawford for Halloween- ha! And that's not the only dress dad thrifted for a Halloween costume in the late 70s that I think is very pretty and fits me, my parents were into Halloween in a big way. Anyway, I love 70s take on Victorian dresses, and the detail on this one is stunning!



I really love the lace with the ribbon (a pattern is emerging I see here) and the high neckline. It's also a great length for my height, but I'm thinking of hemming it to just above the knee. Opinions? I also am not sure if I hem to leave the skirt as-is or attempt to make it a pencil skirts. Comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Anyway, I am going to update my etsy shop soon with a ton of great dresses, a few blouses and pairs of shoes, and a whole bag full of hats! Stay tuned.