who needs the man when you've got the dress

When relationships crash and burn, a woman's first instinct is to head for the sweatpants and sweatshirt. We, as females, would like to do nothing better than curl up in bed, sipping a cup of hot tea, and watching some anti-testosterone movie (starring, perhaps, a Richard Gere or Ben Stiller) which emphasizes unlikely romance and has nothing bubblegum about it. We need to be reminded that not all men are dogs, and maybe there are one or two decent ones out there- and that there is a realistic possibility that we will find one of them. That, of course, and the fact that we need to wallow.

But I'm here to introduce a new approach to this famous "day after" syndrome.

When it's over it's over- no need to waste time thinking about it. Sex and the City has a fabulous example of just such a situation (and if you don't know what I'm talking about, I won't take offence to you skipping to the next paragraph): When Burger broke up with Carrie on a post-it, she declared that she just HAD to go out with her friends that night- she refused to remember that day as the day she was broken up with on a post-it, but as the day something fabulous happened. (And for those of you familiar with this episode, I won't go into detail, but try not to let THAT happen to you!)

So on with my story...

On a day which I would have rather stayed in bed from sun up to sun down, I decided to take the unconventional route and make myself useful. Over the past weekend, I visited one of my favorite stores, Urban Outfitters, on Newbury Street. Amazingly, I met up with an old friend I've been eying since September- a lacy blue dress, complete with a hefty price tag- $198.00. Being the fabulously broke college student I am, even back in September, I knew I could barely afford to try on the dress, nevermind purchase it. However, I did get a photo of myself in it, way back when, just for the fun of it (and in hope that dressing rooms don't have cameras and there may be some security guard laughing at me- but that's besides the point).

Anyways, this dress has haunted me the last few months. It has long since disappeared from the racks of the store, and has even been taken off the online database. I saw the exact dress, or its twin, on an episode Gilmore Girls, on a magazine model, and of course, in my dreams (you thought I was kidding when I said I was a shopaholic).

So anyways, I met with my exact dress, face-to-face, Friday afternoon- on the clearance rack! My heart leapt for joy, but I was brought down almost equally as quickly- the redline item still carried the price tag of $130.00. Determined to try it on and live out the fantasy, I pulled out my size- marked down to $79.99. Confused, I convinced myself I STILL could not afford that much, and tried it on only for kicks. On my way out of the store, I noticed a sign in the store- take an additional 50% off all redline merchandise. I forced myself to exit the store.

Fast-forward to today. Laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, I convinced myself to make this the day I finally purchased my dream dress. Mustering up all my courage, and energy, I got ready and stormed back down to Newbury Street. Being a sunny Sunday in Boston, Urban Outfitters was jam-packed, and I had to fight my way back to the clearance rack. Much to my dismay, most of the items had been picked over- including the dress section. Where there had been a smorgishboard of sizes of my exact dress, I now saw a series of velvet hoodies replacing it, along with uneven hangers and ripped skirts. My heart, of course, sank- until I noticed a little flash of blue. Digging through the briar patch (aka broken hangers), I pulled the lacy number off the rack and practically hugged it- not only was it the last one, but it was my size! Fate.

Checking the $79.99 price tag again, I decided I couldn't let my dress go again. I waited in line for a price check- hoping this 50% off deal hadn't already been applied. As I asked the girl behind the counter to do a price check for me, she couldn't help but smile. "Oh, this dress? I think this is like ten dollars or something."

Do my ears deceive me? Ten?? She rang it up. "Yup, that will be $9.99."

I kid you not when I tell you it took all my strength not to leap over that counter and hug her.

Long story shot, I got my dress- my $200.00 dress- for $10.00. What a way to remember my day. I practically skipped home, and wore it around the apartment for at least an hour (thank goodness my roomies aren't home). Never have I found a better bargain- and never have I spent a more rewarding $10.00. I'm not one to believe in love at first sight, or even fate for that matter, but when occurrences like this happen to you- it's hard to be my usual cynical self.

This day will go down in history, not for the careless talk of men, but for the day I carried the love of my life home in a shopping bag for only $10.00. Add a little Richard Gere to that, and you've got the perfect day.