Too Many Dresses - How White House/Black Market Broke the Bank

Let’s do the math, shall we? 4 females in my house who each need 2 new dresses = 8 dresses to buy before January. That’s a lot of dresses no matter how you look at it.

With Temera’s bat mitzvah coming up, you can’t expect us to wear just any old thing. We all need to look out best on this monumental occasion. We’ll have the morning service at the Temple which will require a more conservative outfit. Then there will be a party in the evening which will require a more festive outfit. Did I mention there will need to be 8 pairs of new shoes to go with the 8 new dresses? Oy Vey!

We’ve been looking around for a while for these new outfits, but last night we walked into White House/Black Market and I was immediately drawn to one of the dresses hanging up. It was just stunning and while I thought I would love to have it… I thought it might also look great on Temera. If you think it’s easy finding a party dress for an almost-13 year old you would be very, very wrong. We didn’t want strapless, we didn’t want sequined, we didn’t want something that screamed: Hey, I’m a 13 year old girl. We wanted something a little more sophisticated, but not TOO sophisticated. Something proper… not strapless, not too faddish, just classic, elegant and fun. WE FOUND IT!

The dress is absolutely lovely and looks amazing on my beautiful daughter. Took us a while to get over the sticker shock… I think the only dress I’ve ever bought that was more expensive was my own wedding dress. Luckily we got 30% off which softened the blow just a little. Whatever… it’s her bat mitzvah… her coming out party, so to speak. She is going to rock this.

And me? I might have found some things too.

I was looking on the sale rack (hey, it’s what I do) and found a very elegant, retro-feel dress that I just immediately fell in love with. The family: not so much. They just don’t appreciate fashion. Anyway, the saleswomen told me that it was amazing when you put it on, so I did. Yes, all of a sudden the family loved it. THIS is the dress I had been looking for. I wanted something either vintage or at least with a vintage-feel to it. This is a gray tweed that looks like it stepped right out of the 40′s. It’s perfect… for the morning service. SOLD! And did I mention it was on sale for $79.99? And did I mention there was 30% off on top of that? Boo ya!

So the saleswomen and I started talking about the bat mitzvah and how I also would need a dress for the evening party. Of course, being the incredible, amazing, sales-oriented women that they are, they brought me out another dress. I wasn’t so sure about this one.

This dress also had a retro feel to it, but from the 60′s this time. Short, black, long flowing sleeves. Personally, I thought it made me look a little matronly (who wants that?) but everyone else said it was amazing and I should buy it. I bought it. I’m still not sure about it. I would definitely need to lose 5 more pounds and get a spray tan - too much leg showing on this one. Plus, it is a size 4. I’ve never bought a size 4 in my life. And it’s short. Very short (hence the spray tanned legs). Wondering if I can actually dance in it without certain things showing. I don’t know. I have to sit on this one a while.

Oh yea… both Temera and I bought shoes to match. We love them. Temera’s first pair of super-duper high heels. Mine are high too… and sparkly. Really sparkly. AND… we both got jewelry to match our dresses. I think David nearly had a heart attack when he handed over the credit card. Please send any work you have my way… I need to help him pay this off.

I can’t show you the dresses… super secret and kept under wraps until January. But… these are the shoes I bought. Love them!

So 3 dresses, 2 pairs of shoes and a bunch of jewelry.

But, of course, that still left 5 outfits to go.

Luckily, we walked back through Macy’s and found Amanda 2 fabulous dresses. Now, Amanda is also very hard to shop for. She is 10. She is at that horrific age when she doesn’t want “kids clothes” but most junior clothes either don’t fit her yet or are totally inappropriate for a 10 year old. BUT…. we managed to find 2 dresses (also a little vintage in style) in the junior section of Macy’s that we are going to make work for her. They will need some alterations since she just doesn’t have the height to pull them off, but I think they are going to look fabulous on her. And… she is just so excited that she was able to shop in the junior department. AND… they were both on sale!

So all in all, we got some great deals, but no matter how you add it up… 5 dresses, 2 pairs of shoes and assorted jewelry costs a lot of money.

Sorry, kids… we won’t be celebrating Hanukkah this year. Or next year. Or maybe ever.

I have no affiliation at all with White House/Black Market or Macy’s. I just happen to really love the outfits we chose and the salespeople at White House/Black Market at the Valencia Town Center were absolutely amazing. They knew exactly what we wanted and how to accessorize.