The Eyes Have It sequin dress

This evil eye dress by Australian brand Discount Universe is one of my new favourite purchases.  I can tell you, I feel much more at home in this than in the jeans and a white shirt from my previous post!  With every wear, this dress teaches me a little lesson about something I call PPW, or ‘Pleasure Per Wear.’  We all know about evaluating our clothing purchases on a CPW or ‘Cost Per Wear’ basis which is all very prudent and sensible, but what about pleasure?  Isn’t the whole point of wearing clothes to preserve our modesty (giving side eye to the Kardashians) and to bring us pleasure?  It certainly gives me pleasure to express myself and  wear something that I enjoy almost to the point of glee.

Here’s the story behind the dress.  Once upon a time (last January to be precise) my friend Mithra of The Bubble Joy, one of my favourite blogs, wrote a post about a conference she attended where the keynote speaker wore this dress.  I knew from the moment I laid eyes on it (ha ha, sorry, the dress is a walking pun) that I HAD to have it.  I contacted Discount Universe, who cheerily informed me, ‘No sorry, this dress is *discontinued now.  We’d have to do a special production run for you after our current season, so it might cost more.’  I coolly replied (ok excitedly, not coolly at all) ‘FINE! JUST MAKE ME THAT DRESS!’  A full six months later, the dress arrived in the post.  I opened the package, slipped on the dress, realised it was too big, and have been wearing it anyway because I love it.  I may make a few alterations to it, but for now, I’m simply enjoying the hell out of it.  In winter, I plan on wearing it over a high-necked sheath dress with tights, a long blazer, and boots.  I’ve worn it with some block-heeled Mary Janes to run around town and to attend a Vogue event.  Here I wore it over a slip dress with my trusty glittery heels and a faux-snakeskin clutch… but to be honest the the lower block heel works better with it than these do.

If I’m wearing my stylist hat, here’s what is technically ‘wrong’ with the dress:  The sleeves are not a flattering shape or length on me, so I’ll probably have them removed or altered eventually.  The dress length is also a few inches too long for me, but I can live with that.  The non-structured loose shape also isn’t my most flattering, but I can have it taken in a little.  Whatever.  Je ne care pas.  As you know, I am a huge proponent of ignoring and flouting rules where style is concerned.  I adore the dress.  It has sparkly sequins.  It is unique.  I can wear it nearly year round.   Most importantly, I take pleasure in the jolly mood it puts me in.  Also, I love clothes that don’t have an identifiable ‘moment’ in fashion, like culottes or off the shoulder tops.  I can wear this five years from now and it won’t look dated (Bonkers, maybe. Dated, no).

The Pleasure Per Wear is very strong in this one.  So despite all the reasons to say No to the dress, the Eyes have it.  Have you got a feel-good item of clothing that should be a No but is a great big Yes?

London always provides such a feast for the eyes; this mews in Notting Hill seemed like the perfect monochrome backdrop for this dress.  I love the London landmarks featured in the mural, especially One Canada Square (the building on the right with the pointy top) where I can almost see the exact window where I used to work in my finance days!

*Edited to add – the dress is now back in stock on the Discount Universe website! Thank you to reader Lisa for seeing it was available again.

Linking up to: honest mum, eleganceandmommyhood, highlatitudestyle, fashionshouldbefun, notdeadyetstyle, style nudge, notdressedaslamb