ISO's Really Do Come True

How do we get ISO's?  Chances are if you're reading this blog, it's because you're a fellow fashionista who regularly checks all the best shops for the latest styles.  And yet somehow you'll come across a stunning dress or skirt that's long gone and think, "How did I miss that?"  While simultaneously thinking, "I gotta have that, where can I get it?!"  Suddenly you're In Search Of that dazzling unicorn that slipped by you in store.  For years I'd see those ISO listings pop up, but I never really thought they worked.  Occasionally if I'd seen the dress in question I'd comment on the post, but for the most part the posts were so old, commentless and gathering dust, and I'd always feel sorry for the poor schmuck who really thought they'd find what they were looking for by relying on the kindness of equally fashion-obsessed strangers.  That was before.....

I think I must be stuck in 2013, the heyday of ModCloth's novelty dresses, when I wanted everything and couldn't afford anything.  Since then I've grown, matured, gotten a better job that allows me to purchase the really special dresses if I want them, but I never forgot those first loves.  I thought I'd moved on, but when I saw the Sea Shanty Singing Dress by RockSteady, it reignited my love for that label.  ModCloth carried some of their finest dresses and I.....didn't....buy....any...of....them...back then.    I finally managed to track down the Sea Shanty dress in Navy (c0ming soon) and in Pink(recently posted).  Then I found the Space Cadet Dress.  But there was one more, the original, one of the very first dresses I ever drooled over at ModCloth---Clowning Around in Ivory.

I remember that it was Christmastime and I'd been given a gift certificate to ModCloth.  It was enough for two dresses, just two.  And I had narrowed it down to three with Clowning Around as a heavy contender.  In the end, it was the customer reviews that prevented me.  People complained that the sizing was way off, so I went with the sure bet and bought a dress that I don't even want to mention because it was boring, fit terribly, and I ended up never wearing it and always regretting that decision.  (Oh, my, did she just devote five paragraphs to a dress she didn't buy seven years ago?  You Bet I did.  And I've got at least two more in me, so buckle up or X out).

If there is one thing I've learned about myself over the last five years of doing this blog it's that I am obsessive.  It can be a bad thing such as spending hours going over a conversation with a good friend and picking apart every detail to agonize over the things I said wrong and whether or not I offended her and now we'll never talk again.  Or when I didn't buy a dress and spend seven years looking for it, so I can add it to the approximately 3,000 other dresses in what used to be a bedroom but is now a Dress Holding Room--screw it, I can sleep on the couch.  

Yes, sometimes I am ashamed of how much I fixate on everything.  But, as I work through my mania here, I've also realized how my obsessive personality has been a positive thing in my life too, like the way I never leave a job unfinished, or how I will comb through every detail of everything I do until it is the very best representation of what I can offer and do-- be it parenting, friendships, the workplace, etc.  

I'm learning to accept myself (not to excuse myself) but to try and have balance as much as possible, but also and not to be too hard on myself.  After all, everybody has their quirks and hangups.  So, I knew when this renewed and feverish search began in June of this year, it wasn't going to end until I finally owned the dress.

After so many close calls, (I found two in the right size, but both were outdated listings and the orders were canceled) I turned in desperation as a last resort to the ISO.  When I tried it for the first time with Sea Shanty it yielded absolutely nothing and I wasn't expecting any better this second and even more desperate time around.  To my surprise, within minutes I got a hit.  It didn't pan out.  Then a few hours later, a second hit and this one was a success!  Some lovely fellow fashion-lover had the dress, was ready to part with it and for a very reasonable price.  We quickly struck a deal and I held my breath waiting.  The dress arrived in three days and before it even arrived I got a third hit for the same dress in gray (and, yes, I did buy that one too).

So, while ISO listings may not bear any fruit, it certainly doesn't hurt to try, because there are a few kind strangers out there who love fashion just as much you and me and we've all got each other's backs.

Shopping Info: Clowning Around Dress by RockSteady, Heart Bag from: SHEIN, Paprika Heels from ThredUp.  Use my link to sign up and save $10 off your first order.