They Say the Neon Lights Are Bright, On Ebay...

I hardly get enough chances to talk about myself, so today I thought I'd treat you to my ebay update.
Remember the vintage dresses I asked your opinions on? (Refresh your memory here.) Here's how it all went down. I did not buy any of the dresses shown that day. I found a good reason not to buy each one of them. Unbeknown to you, I had a couple of other dresses that I just knew I would love, so I didn't even bother to consult you on them. I won some and I lost some, but I'm the lucky owner of the following dresses:

On a whim I bid on our first dress and nobody else did so it was mine for $.99. But then the shipping was $10.99. "That's how they get you." The dress arrived in mint condition. I am a steady size 8 and this dress claimed to be a size 8/10. Upon trying on the dress I quickly realized that must have meant a vintage size 8 because it fit like a size 2/4, much, much too small.

This photo is of an old lady, I mean skinny friend trying it on. It was too big for her and didn't fit her body type. So if you're a busty size 4 and don't mind itchy lace, give me a call. (We both agreed we would shorten the sleeves.)

Before you see the second dress, I want you to imagine what I envisioned: a light, cotton print, rather sweet summer day dress. The dress was shown pinned on a manikin and even Justin thought it looked pretty. It was said to be a modern medium in size....

I thought this photo would look best with a cigarette dangling from my mouth, but I don't even know anyone nearby that I could borrow a cig from. That's how righteous I am.*

Perfect. Just perfect. It turned out to be a housecoat, big zipper down the front and all. I don't know in what era is was ever a medium, it fits like an XL.

So far I hadn't had much success, too small, too big, but #3 would be just right. I just knew it! And so, with high hopes, I waited for my package. And waited. And waited. Would you believe it? The seller had heart failure and lost her house all after I won her auction. But eventually the dress did arrive...

Here I am posing uncomfortably in the air.

It was wearable! I love light blue. This photo doesn't show off the neck detail, a jaunty tied knot. It was a size too big at the time but I wore it anyways. I've since lost a little weight so now it's two sizes too big, said haughtily. It would have been more flattering in my actual size but it's all a guess.

{For this next part, you may want to play the song at the bottom of this post. It was in my head for weeks while dealing with these dresses. It fits not only in title name, but in the melancholy tone too.}

There are so many pretty vintage dresses on ebay, so why is it so hard to buy the right one? I have a vintage dress that I've been wearing since 1997 that I still wear with pride now! Sure it was too big then and I can just wiggle into it now, but the dress works. That got me thinking and I checked out the dress tag and it said "Henry Lee". So I started doing dress searches on vintage Henry Lee dresses and: jackpot. There aren't very many of them, but they are just the styles I am looking for: basic, modest, feminine with a hint of uniform.

Here I am in '97 in said dress. Do you know what's unusual about this picture? (The prominent fork? Justin's snarl? ((no)). I don't have any makeup on! A real rarity at the time.

Here's where things get sad. I lost the bids on two really cute Henry Lee dresses. I don't know how except that someone with auction stealer must have been collecting Henry Lee dresses as well. I am still angry about it. When I saw this next dress come up, I was ready and desperate. I've been looking for a pink dress all spring.

I love this dress. I mean I LOVE It. Sure, the bow is sticking out and needs to be tacked down flat, but that's an easy fix. I think I would look fantastic in it. It is a vintage size 10 with no stretch, which is about a size 4 now. I knew this when I bought it. I was hoping for a miracle, but no, it's too small. I had a smaller friend try it on with generous intentions on my part, but when I saw her in it I wanted to rip it right off her. So the dress with continue to hang in my closet.

Lastly, I bought this non-Henry Lee pink dress and it fits decent. I don't love it like the above dress, but it satisfied my pink craving.
And that's my sad tale. I continue to watch for Henry Lee dresses on ebay. There is a different brand, Henry Lee Petites, that shows up all the time but it's not the same thing.



"Henry Lee", by Nick Cave and PJ Harvey. Warning: Harvey sings "damn" in her first riff of the song. Justin likes to say that I'm the PJ Harvey to his Nick Cave. If he could, he would wear his hair just like Cave too.

*I wrote this post while still wearing my flower housecoat.