A Unicorn for My Sartorial Stable: Pink Lemonade Nancy

Ok, confession time: I completely failed at my buy-nothing-in-February pledge. I made it about two weeks, which isn’t particularly impressive. BUT! There’s a very good reason that I failed, and here it is!!

This dress was my biggest ‘unicorn,’ (e.g. an item I didn’t buy when it was available and have been trying to track down in the secondhand market ever since.) By the time I discovered Pinup Girl Clothing, this dress was already sold out in my size, but I fell in love with the print and couldn’t let it go. I ended up with the same dress in a different print, which confirmed that the fit was perfect for me, but couldn’t give up on my dreams of lemons and leaves on a pretty pink background. I pined. I tormented myself by reading Taylor Phoenix’s review of the dress, and looking at PUG’s website over and over, hoping it would magically reappear in my size. I posted a pic of the dress as my #ProposedPUG entry on Instagram. Turns out that hashtag isn’t about getting engaged to your favorite garments, but about asking PUG to bring back old favorites that have sold out.

And then, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, one day an Instagram friend messaged me to say she’d seen it on eBay, and remembered my Proposed PUG post! I was literally out the door on my way to do errands at that point, but I ran back inside, googled it, and placed a bid. In what felt like another miracle, six days later I won the auction. I was so excited that I commemorated the occasion by making this meme:

My new dress spent a couple of weeks traveling from its old home in Australia to Chicago, and arrived to Much Rejoicing. Let me tell you, the print was everything I wanted it to be and more! It's so bright and cheerful, and the little heart buttons and lacy edging at the top of the bodice are beyond sweet.

This photo shows the colors of the dress more accurately than the full-body shots. I think it has something to do with the cloudy weather during this photo shoot.

You'll never want for goofy faces so long as you read this blog!

When the border of your photos matches your belt, you *might* be a little detail-oriented.

This dress fits true to size, and I think it's also very flattering. The seam between the skirt and the bodice hits right at the bottom edge of my waist, so if you're much shorter than me, or especially short-waisted, this might not be an ideal cut for you, but I like how it elongates my hobbity torso! I'm also incredibly impressed by the construction of the bodice. It's vanishingly rare that I find a dress that's supportive enough to maybesometimespossibly go braless in, but the Nancy gets the job done sans underwire! Apart from this dress, I don't really own anything else that I find supportive enough. It's basically a modern miracle, and I'm pretty excited about it!

A few other noteworthy aspects of this dress include the super-deep pockets on the side seams, the adjustable straps (a godsend!), and the full circle skirt, which is perfect for twirling.

See?

One more, just in case you weren't convinced of Nancy's twirly merits by the previous photo.

Again, this one gives you a better idea of how the colors look in real life.

Dress: Pinup Girl Clothing

Belt: a random Amazon purchase

Petticoat: Malco Modes Samantha

Shoes: B.A.I.T. Footwear Jenny in Celery

Hair flower: Penelope peony from Daisy Jean Floral Designs

Purse: Pinup Girl Clothing, secondhand

This dress totally surpassed the expectations I had built up for it: the pattern is vibrant and delightful in real life, it fits incredibly well, and wearing it just makes me so cheery and happy that I probably look a little odd from all the grinning. Unicorns do exist, people, and I am grateful for the kindness of strangers!

What's your "one that got away?" Are you still searching for it?