Tuesday 23 June 2009

28 days to go: To eBay or not to eBay?


I am being ruthless with my wardrobe edit.
I am thinking of ebaying this dress.
I know I have posted about how much I love it.
But - I am not sure if it fits into my new rules.

1. Does it suit my shape?
Not so sure now!
2. Is it age appropriate?
Again, not so sure.
3. Does it go with anything else in my wardrobe?
Not really.

I am thinking with my sentimental hat on now.
I love the colour and the print of the dress - it cheers me up when I'm down.
It has travelled to Rome, the South of France, Barcelona and Anglesey with me.
And I may get Scraggy Sarah Syndrome.
What's that?
Well back when I was about six years old my mum had asked me to clear out my dolls for a Toy Sale at church.
There was this doll I never played with.
She was filthy. She had no clothes to fit her.
I had hacked at her hair and one of her eyes was wonky.
She was the first to go.
But the following night I couldn't get to sleep.
I thought of some other little girl being given Scraggy Sarah.
And then I started to cry a little; then a lot.
By 11pm on this Sunday night I was inconsolable.
My poor mum rang everyone she knew who was collecting the toys.
At 11pm - that is how desperate she was.
Finally she managed to find out Sarah's location and the teenage son of the woman whose job it was to clean up the dirty dolls arrived just before midnight with the special delivery.
I was so happy.
I cuddled Sarah all night.
And ..........never played with her again!
Anyway here's the dress, please help me decide.












Today it is hot and sunny and I am cleaning the house.
I wore....
Shorts, Vest and Scarf - Tesco
Shoes - Birkenstocks

20 comments:

fröken lila said...

well, i wouldn't worry too much about if anything is age appropriate. if it makes you feel young and great, why shouldn't you keep it? so maybe you don't have too much to go with it, but then, maybe there'll be this one day where you just wish you kept it. if it has such a long history as it seems to have, why don't keep it, and if it is only to have something to give a granddaughter in 30years time and tell her the story of the dress... so i'd vote to keep it.

love home|life|style said...

I vote KEEP!, even if it just reminds you of your year of no shopping! Just imagine if someone got lucky and won it for 99p - that would be awful.

Jean said...

Keep it. It's been a good item to have, versatile, colourful and looks good.

Meli said...

I like it- though I would love to see you in it without leggings/jeans/etc. It is pretty and you feel great it in. If you ever find yourself putting it away for a few months and forgetting it, THEN is the time to get rid of it. ; )

L said...

I vote to ebay it... If it doesn't fit your body perfect, it's not appropriate there is no reason to keep it. You'll find another dress that's more perfect for you!

Cosmic said...

I agree too! for sentimental's sake:)

I feel if you are confident you can wear ANYTHING(It's the personality that makes an outfit:)!

xoxoxo

Sharon S said...

I think you've answered your own question, especailly on the scraggy Sarah debate, LOL! You've proved it is a versatile dress with at least 2 outfits and 'age appropriate' I am learning is just nonsense-wear what you want, thats what I say! Its a keeper for sure!

Darla said...

Anything that cheers you up when you are down is a keeper, be it a red dress that doesn't go with anything or a doll named Sarah.

Besides it looks good on you.

Darla

Christina Lee said...

what a great story-we had a yard sale last week- my son is still teary about a caterpillar tunnel thingy he hadnt played in in two years. he gets misty eyed about it asking if we can buy a new one! KEEP IT!

Heather Bestel said...

Listen to your heart - you'll know what to do!
Heather x

Stephanie N. said...

I think it's adorable on you. The print is lovely and happy. But being completely honest, I have seen you in many other dresses that I think are even more flattering and adorable on you. I've been trying to teach myself that it's better to just keep the clothes that look great on me, and not the ones that look no-as-great. But that's SO HARD!

And the sentimental tug is so strong. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be able to let it go because of the emotions attached to it, but I'd reinvent it into something else that will get more use. I have done this with many sentimental garments. You've probably seen what I did with the shirt my husband wore on our first date... but I have even done this with my senior prom dress and my wedding dress. Yep, I took a pair of scissors to my wedding dress and refashioned it. I had made it myself (when we were both 21 and still in undergrad, having married young, so my skills and craftsmanship were so-so compared to what they are now). It wasn't so nice that I wanted to preserve it in case a daughter or someone else wants to wear it one day, but I wanted it to have a life beyond my wedding day. Now, when I wear the skirt that it became for me, or when I see a photograph of the bodice that it became for an actress in a show I costumed a few years ago, it makes me so happy.

If I lived near you, I'd offer to help you refashion it into something else for yourself. Wouldn't it be neat for it to have a new life and go on more travels with you? Perhaps I am too sentimental... :-)

Jane said...

Wow I am blown away with all the time and trouble you have taken to respond to my post.
Stephanie - I wish you lived near me too!
I have decided to hang on to it and try a few different ways with it. That is PLan A.
PLan B is to write a story about it and pack it away in the box on top of my wardrobe. It has got me thinking that I should do that with the selection of baby clothes I have hung on to too.
So thank you.

Heather Bestel said...

I've held on to a couple of things belonging to Zoe when she was a baby. Her first babygro and her first blanket. They are in a box so we can get them out and look at them whenever we need to and I wish I'd done the same with a favourite dress I had many years ago.
This dress was pure heaven - it made me feel 'like me' every time I wore it. It was Laura Ashley and the print was like a meadow of flowers; it was the right size and shape and I adored it. I wore it so much that eventually it started to fall apart. Try as I might I could not keep repairing it and eventually I gave in and got rid. I miss that dress so much - the feel of the material, the way it made me feel, the memories attached.
If I could turn the clock back I would have kept it and framed it. Or cut a peice of the material out and made it into something I could carry with me to look at everyday and make me smile.
It was so much more than just a dress.
Hx

Goober said...

I say KEEP it - anything that cheers you up and is that adorable deserves to stay in your closet.

Imogen Lamport, AICI CIP said...

It looks to me like a great summer holiday dress - so when you go away to the beach or Spain or wherever you go and want something to throw over your bathers.

camille0528 said...

Anything that cheers you when you are feeling down is something to be kept. Good Luck!!

Unknown said...

I'd either refashion it or get rid of it. I try to go with the Zen idea that stuff is already broken. so when you break a glass or lose a shoe just remind yourself that in a hundred years time they probably wouldn't be here anyway.

lunarossa said...

I don't think it's matter of age either, Jane. Looks good on you and if you feel confortable, keep it a little bit longer. There's alway time to sell it on ebay later! Ciao. A.

Candycane said...

You look lovely today btw .. and I would SO KEEP that dress it really suits you .. and you don't want Scraggy Sarah Syndrome now do you LOL that story made me laugh so much! :D

xXx

just ducky said...

I gotta tell you...I'd get rid of it or alter it. It is too short to wear without something like pants/leggings on under it. It is too long to be a shirt. You are a beautiful lady with some nice fashion sense. With that being said---my opinion is that it is time to let this one go. I can ascribe some wonderful memories to every article of clothing/knick knack I own. If I kept everything based on memories...I would end up living in a horribly crowded house. Besides...you have the pictures for your memories. Ebay and find some wonderful flattering piece to make new memories with!

~Just Ducky