Adventures in Thrift Shopping

Remember Anthropologie's Mompos Dress?  It's been a while since this was a highly sought after as-seen-on-tv celebrity style worn by the likes of Taylor Swift, Ginnifer Godwin on Once Upon a Time and....I don't know, some other actress.  Like just about every other Anthro lover I searched desperately for a reasonably priced dress, but alas, too many celebs had been seen sporting this style for it to ever drop below $100 even when it had been worn.  I considered this dress unattainable and moved on to other things.  

    Feeling a little bored by what a lot of the shops are offering at the moment, (even Anthro hasn't thrilled me with one of its styles in a long, long while) I started browsing resale sites for something from Anthro's glory days when low and behold I came across this Mompos dress for only $25 and it still had the original belt!  How often does that happen?!  I was stunned, but something this highly sought after that was listed so cheap?  I knew there had to be a catch, so I carefully read the item description.  The seller mentioned that there was some discoloration around the neck and under the arms.  Hmmmm...the seller felt it was minor and just needed to be dry cleaned.  Ok.  I was hooked.  I've never been one to shy away just because there's a little dirt involved.  So, I bought the dress.  

    I received it within three days.  Upon opening the package, I saw that the seller really underestimated how desperate was the need for a cleaning.  Since it was 100% cotton I chose to hand wash it instead of dry cleaning.  It was a risk, but I felt that it needed a good scrubbing to bring out the dinginess.  After a little TLC I hung it up to line dry and it looked a hundred times better.  My best guess is that because this item said "dry clean" the previous owner never washed it at all.  I get it, it's a real hassle to take things to the cleaners and pick them up again and have to pay for it, but this was beyond.....just beyond.  It's still not pristine, but one more hand washing should have it nearly good as new and all of this is just a part of the adventure of bargain hunting and buying second hand.

Shopping Info:  Anthropologie Plenty by Tracy Reese Mompos Dress, Vivacious Vibes T-Strap Heel in 38 by Chelsea Crew from ModCloth