shopping with PMS goggles: mirror palais dupe or bebe clearance bin?

on luteal likes and questioning your taste

From The Care and Keeping of You

What they don’t tell you about PMS is that your style compass can start malfunctioning. And I’m not referring to the act of getting dressed (aren’t we all in PJs and dingy tee shirts?), I’m referring to what you gravitate towards while browsing clothes online. One of my favorite PMS activities is lying in bed, scrolling through resale sites with a bag of spicy vinegary chips. Clothes you normally wouldn’t look twice at start to look a little cute.

For example, I went down a hole of vintage slip dresses. My thumb stopped scrolling when I saw this Victoria’s Secret slip (100% silk, nice) that had a sheer skirt in a V shape. I squinted. Idk. It’s kind of tacky but there’s also something about it? Was it giving Blumarine SS24 angel??

I am glad I didn’t buy this. After waking up from a nap I decided I would probably never wear this.

~we’re all fallen angels~

I have PMS goggles. It makes me see too much potential in things. At best, I’m more open-minded and experimental. We do need those moments, to surprise ourselves with what we’re attracted to. At worst, I end up spending on items I regret when the PMS fog has lifted.

Confession: I did buy one thing from my luteal browsing spree. I find myself feeling the need to justify why I think it’s cute, because I am questioning my taste right now.

Mirror Palais Dupe or Bebe Clearance Bin?

It’s a vintage cowl neck dress (100% silk, nice!). I actually do not own any cowl neck dresses or tops because the styles I have tried on don’t seem to suit me. The draping just seems so hard to get right. However, this particular drape looked promising. It reminded me of Emily Mariko’s custom Mirror Palais reception dress (my personal favorite of her wedding looks).

But the straps. They’re obviously plastic with rhinestones. The plastic is yellow from age. At $30, it was a risk I was willing to take. I know that’s already gonna be a problem for me and maybe I’ll try to DIY cut and change the straps. If you do like this 90s dress aesthetic, I suggest searching for the following designers on the Gem app: