By Nadine Kam

The dress.

Well, I guess I spoke too soon when I said I wouldn’t be adding to my wardrobe over Labor Day weekend. After I wrote that Friday, I headed home, then out for dinner, when a friend called and said a top I had admired at Betsey Johnson had gone on sale and did I want her to buy it or put it on hold for me. “It’s $75, $75!” she emphasized.

“Uh, well, I have to try it on,” I said, but told her to go ahead and put it on hold.

So I went to Ala Moana first thing Saturday morning, just before the store opened, but what I had really looked at that night was the same design, as a dress with a feminine 1930s-40s vibe. I tried both on, and even though the top was on sale, I still liked the dress better for ease of wear. With the top I’d still have to hunt for the right pencil skirt — darn, I had just passed on a good M Missoni one on sale at NM weeks ago — or jeans, which I rarely wear. So I got the dress AND a peace dove bracelet.

The bracelet.

I interviewed the designer at the time the Honolulu boutique opened and it’s amazing to think it was only then that — although she’s been in business for 30 years — she was just starting to license her brand, which seemed very belated. Girls would have killed long before now for Betsey Johnson jewelry, shoes, sunglasses, purses, etc. But, I get it. When you’re so engrossed in the day-to-day biz, it’s hard to address the future beyond the next collection. I don’t envy designers. It’s a tough business, hard to predict consumers’ future desires and you pretty much have to make the right call every season.

Anyway, my friend called while I was in the store and goes, “Are you buying it and would you mind if I buy the same thing?”

She was in the mall so walked over and ended up with the top, so I guess it all worked out. I don’t know how other people feel about friends buying the same clothes, though it seems to happen to me now more than ever. I guess it’s natural for people who hang out together to share or grow into similar tastes, but it makes it hard when you have to check in with each other to make sure you’re not wearing the same thing at the same time.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 11:12 pm and is filed under Accessories, Random thoughts, Shop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.