Confessions of a ... Shopaholic?

I don’t consider myself a shopaholic. I mean we all have those few and far between impulse purchases but other than that I feel that I am more of a debater. Should I really buy this dress? When will I actually wear this? Is it going to go on sale next week? ... You get the idea. Well, sadly I have to say that all these preconceived notions of myself flew out the window with my discovery of a few websites that are along the lines of an online sample sale. These websites carry collections from fashion designers to luxury home goods for only a limited number of days at dramatically reduced prices. These sales “open” at 11:00am and then it’s every shopper (and their internet connection) for themselves! If that collection is popular you best be logged in early and ready to pounce because they fly off the shelves faster than surgical masks in Mexico City.
On Tuesday Lauren Conrad was featured and the prices were to DIE for! We are talking 80-90% off everything. Almost all the items were on hold or sold out with in 1 minute. This however did not detour me. I found the dress I wanted and, what can only be described as manically, hit the refresh button. Luck, and persistence, were on my side and I was able to snatch up the dress when it became available again (someone foolishly let it back into the wild)! YESSSS!!!! Pure euphoria!!! I bought a dress from LC collection for 84% off!!! Score!!!
The reflection came only after the elation subsided. Was that really me? Obsessively stalking a piece of clothing for almost an hour online just to say that I landed that elusive piece of fashion at a reduced price? Yes. And I would (and probably will) do it again. All I have to say is that I feel bad for you if I was to ever encounter you at a real sample sale and we were after that last pair of Prada boots in a size 9. Watch your back. I am not afraid to fight dirty!

The Infinity Dress

The infinity dress. The convertible dress. The 7-in-1 dress. Call it what you will but I love them. Victoria's Secret has had one listed for a couple of seasons and I have always wanted one, however not enough to spend over $100 on it. Recently, while I was in Mexico on vacation (no I do not have swine flu) I saw one in a little shop (almost $50 and not good quality). This did provide me with the opportunity to get my hands on one to see how it was made though. The design was so simple I knew that I could easily make this dress myself. Upon doing some research on the web I found a couple of sites that showed how to do it with one stitch! One! Thus began my adventure.
I went to a local fabric store and found some great turquoise jersey fabric on sale so I bought the needed amount and set off to make the dress... and many mistakes, lol. The first skirt I cut out I ended up making the waist about 2x too big (mistake in calculations due to excitement), thus leaving with me not enough fabric to make the straps once I cut out the second skirt. So I had to go back to the fabric store (about two weeks later) to get more fabric for the straps. Once I had those cut out and pinned the parts together I cranked up my sewing machine.... and about 20 min later I had a finished dress!!! Of course the first thing you do is try it on...... I guess I didn't really think about where the dress was going to sit on me and in the end the "waist" is still too large. And to top it off I didn't quite catch the ends of one of the straps in a seam so I have a little flap at the end.
Even with these problems I have to say that it actually looks okay :) Given the fact that it can be worn so many ways I can easily wrap the straps in ways to cover up my mistakes. So in the end I still ended up with my infinity dress and have learned from the mistakes and can now easily make another for me or my friends. So who wants one???