Fancy Friday: thrifted David Meister

It has been well documented – I love a good thrift store.

I genuinely crave the smell of old clothes, the musk of well-worn apparel, racked into organized chaos from the discarder’s closet. I love the thrill of the hunt – the feel of the fabrics to guess which might yield a precious find, the unique gem. I’d prefer to brag on the second-hand item – the deal of the day, that truly incredible discovery.

Now I should clarify – I am not a vintage-clothing expert. I love newer second-hand items just as much as I treasure older, hand-made pieces. My favorite finds have always been the ones that are unique – things I’ve never seen on anyone before, or items that are on my closet’s “bucket list” (mine, for example, includes worn leather jackets, faded cut-off shorts, vintage fur, and anything sequined).

This dress was one of those finds – the moment I touched it, I knew it was special. The fabric – the pattern and the colors – it was just special. It didn’t have a tag on it, but it looked impeccable, brand new even. You know when you can just tell something is expensive? This dress looked and felt expensive; it was by a designer I had never heard of before. But it was my size, so I took it with me to the dressing room with hesitation and a little fear. What if it didn’t fit? What if there was something wrong with it – a rip in the fabric, a bad zipper? Those kinds of things really stress me out when I think I’ve found something great while thrifting. Because there’s never any guarantees with vintage or second-hand clothing. You can’t run back to the rack to get a different size, or a better pattern cut (speaking of which, the girls over at A Beautiful Mess wrote a really awesome article about vintage sizing a few years ago, which you can read here).

Anyways. I was standing in the dressing room with my friend Bethany, and I finally got to the dress. I’d been putting it off, because I really wanted it, so I really wanted it to fit/look great/be in great condition/etc. I stepped into it, zipped it up from the back, and fixed the matching belt at the waist. And I’d be damned if it wasn’t perfect. Perfect fit, perfect length (maybe a tad long on me), perfect condition. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, and I just couldn’t believe my luck. The price tag was somewhere along the lines of $40, which is a little high for a second-hand dress, but it felt worth it, and it looked designer, so I didn’t give it much thought.

I wore the dress to work the following week. I couldn’t believe how many compliments I received on it – people asked where it was from, telling me how nice I looked, and asking if I had something special planned that day. It was one of those trial-run wears when you just feel like a million bucks, you know? Sometime during that day, I decided I would do a little research on the designer, David Meister, to see what his collection looked like, and what kind of price point his dresses retailed for. I wasn’t completely surprised to see that the line sold in high-end stores like Neiman’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and Bloomingdales, but I was shocked that the “every day” collection retailed upwards of $450. You can see a sampling of his current collection here.

Honestly, besides my wedding dress, it is one of the most expensive piece of clothing that I own. But I don’t treasure it because I know how expensive it was (not for me, but for the original owner); I treasure it because it makes me feel special. It makes me feel accomplished for finding it, lucky that no one else snagged it up before I did, and proud that I’ve cultivated enough years of thrift-store shopping that I know what to look for. Without further ado, here’s the dress:

What I’m wearing: thrifted David Meister dress & belt; thrifted Tahari shoes; Coach purse; right hand bracelet: thrifted; left hand bracelets, top to bottom: J.Crew via eBay, Stella & Dot, Forever21

All photos by my talented friend and burgeoning photographer Caty Dearing of CatyDear Photography. You can check out her blog here, and her Facebook page here. Thanks Caty!

Happy Friday, y’all!