I haven't really been buying many clothes these last few years that aren't vintage items for the shop, but this week I happened upon this dress from SheIn at a local charity shop - £3 with the tags still attached. I figured that at three British Pounds, it was a pretty safe bet to fill the sundress gap in my UK wardrobe. I have moved most of my hot weather fun and colourful clothes to Florida these last few years - I rarely need them here in Scotland and keep only enough to go on the odd holiday, but I was craving something just for knocking about the place, and the weather is nice today.
The Origin of the Bargain Sun Dress
I am well aware that from a sustainability standpoint SheIn is...let's go with problematic. They are a pretty massive offender when it comes to creating fast fashion textile waste, and it is not exactly where one goes to purchase a well-constructed investment piece. I figured this item was already in the circular economy since it was in a charity shop, and not unexpectedly, still had the tags on having been discarded by someone without ever having been worn. Also unsurprisingly, this little bargain sun dress is exactly what one would expect for the three pounds that I spent on it (which is probably about five pounds less than what it retails for online.) The dress is a thin, rather insipid rayon, and likely will only last a season or two. The seamwork is pretty basic, the fit isn't the best....
But you know what else? It's cute. And I actually enjoy wearing it! And that's why I pulled the trigger at the charity shop. Yes, the neckline is laughably low for something I'll probably be pairing with boots and denim, but that's what the wide variety of bralette underthings were invented for. Besides, it's comfy! I paired it with turquoise jewellery because I like the blueish green against the yellow, and it keeps everything looking fairly low key. What is decidedly not low key is my growing-out frizz ball haircut, the likes of which is currently systematically defeating every single silicone-free frizz control regimen I employ. There will be a post about that forthcoming.
All things told, this little dress is certainly not something I normally gravitate to, but I went for it, and it worked for what I wanted it for; it can take a beating when I'm travelling and I don't have to feel all sad if it dies on me. I'm just hopeful that it doesn't choose to do so while I'm wearing it in public. But if that does happen, it wouldn't be the first time, and you guys will certainly be the first to know.
thrifted yellow sun dress: SheIn • boots (old): Dan Post • bracelets: Etsy • ring (old): American West • necklace (old): American West • concho earrings (old): Etsy
If nothing else, that soft yellow color looks great on you. For my own shaggy gray mop, I rely heavily on hair products marked to Black consumers (I am a porcelain-white old lady from North Carolina, USA). Palmer's Olive Oil Formula Gro Therapy comes in little plastic pots that slip easily into a purse or desk drawer. It's a U.K. brand, manufactured by E.T. Browne Drug Co. in London. No silicone in the (very long) list of botanical ingredients that follows "petrolatum." I've got no quarrels with good old petroleum jelly as a balm base. Plus, it's green, so does not turn my silver locks a dirty yellow color when I use it.