A Selkie Triumph

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been slammed with a lot of bad things in the last month and it's been totally overwhelming at times. It helps when chaos overruns our lives to create pockets of order. When defeat after defeat wearies us, it bolsters our spirits to have a little victory now and then. For me, at this moment, when I'm surrounded by painful circumstances created by powers beyond my control which includes, my body going haywire, my recovery time stretching into eternity, and a couple of spoilt useless Texas assholes that I am unfortunate enough to live next to trying to sue me over something that could have been settled with a simple conversation if they had the spine God gave a gnat between the two of them, it really does help lift my spirits at time like this to have a minor triumph now and then and this dress is just such a triumph.

As soon as I saw the Selkie Spring '22 collection in October of 2021, I wished above all that they would release the Mucha print in a corset dress and even said so on one of the discussion boards. I don't know if Selkie has spies or they just also came to the realization that this was a fantastic idea, but they did, in fact, release just such a dress.....but only at Antropologie.....and on the day when I was in the hospital having emergency surgery. By the time I even knew such a dress existed, it was long since sold out. Or was it.

Now, what I'm about to say, may sound crazy but it also worked, because here I sit with my dress, so maybe it's worth a listen. I bookmarked the link for this dress on Anthropologie and each day first thing in the morning, I would bring up the link and then refresh it periodically throughout the day, just in case someone returned their dress and it was listed for sale again. After about two weeks, the dress did indeed appear. But, I was at work. I rushed to retrieve my wallet and when I returned there was someone at my desk needing help. I didn't want to seem unprofessional, so I helped the person first, it took only five minutes, but by the time they left, the dress was also gone, and it was back to refreshing that link.

At long last, the dress restocked again. Although it was not my size, it was only one size bigger (I thought), so I purchased it immediately only to receive an email to say it was "backordered," which may mean I'd get the dress or may mean it would be canceled. Either option was just as likely as the other. Another week passed as I waited on pins and needles and the dress finally shipped! Initially I had arranged a trade with someone who had my size but the other person accused me of trying to cheat them before we had even got to the name and address stage of the trade and that is a huge red flag for me. The only people that out-of-the-blue accuse strangers of cheating them are cheaters themselves. Liars always accuse everyone of lying and thieves always think people are stealing from them. I don't like to go back on a deal, but it was so strange that I couldn't shake the bad feeling I now had. I backed out of the trade and instead I contacted a tailor and set an appointment for this week to have the dress altered so I can wear it.

I'm not sure how long that will take with wedding season nearly here, so I wanted to take a few photos in the spring flowers before it goes off to the tailor. I will definitely be adding straps as soon as the dress comes back, because the inside is lined with slippery nylon and seems like a slip-up waiting to happen. I truly begin to question whether these dresses are worth it with creative decisions such as this, but I do love the dress and I don't regret all the effort I put in to attaining it.

In a world filled with things I can't control, this is something over which I can exercise a modicum of rule. I knew going into it that it was a long shot, but I had to take the chance. And when this dress arrived, it felt like a huge win to put in the work and see the reward. I know it may seem silly, but we all need a win now and then, even more so when we're drowning in troubles and defeat. Sometimes this kind of minor triumph can give us the boost we need to get back up and keep fighting all our battles, including those pertaining to cowardly Lone Star half-wits. (I'm not speaking poorly of all Texans, only the dummies who live next door, so please don't take offense if you're also from Texas) I may not win all my battles, but I will win a few, so I'm going to keep fighting, keep going, keep doing my best to ignore my neighbors and be patient with my body.

Just as a quick review, this Mucha Corset dress has three layers: one of slick nylon as a lining and two of printed organza. The nylon lining layer is also in the bodice which seems like it will be difficult to keep up. It does have a sticky gel strip around the top for grip but it does nothing for me. I will definitely be adding straps as soon as it comes back from alterations. It has a zipper down the back and it seems to me to run bigger than my previous Selkies. In organza I normally wear XS, but this size small fits so largely that I think I would need XXS. As I am writing this, this dress was released a month ago and the rest of Selkie's spring '22 collection still has not been released and no firm date has been announced. I will include the link below for Anthropologie. Keep clicking, you never know, you may get lucky.