This week I was forced to take a daughter shopping for a dress she could wear to her school’s homecoming dance.  There is a level of stupid about the fact that they have to wear semi-formal attire for homecoming, in my opinion, but I won’t go on long about that.  Suffice to say that I don’t believe it necessary to require a dress that would usually cost upwards of $100 (depending on the store) for a dance in the courtyard of the school that will only last three hours.  And of course, if you buy a dress you need shoes, jewelry, a little bag for the cell phone and lipgloss… it can add up pretty quickly.  Frankly, I feel that it’s a bit exclusionary, since I’m sure some kids’ parents won’t be able to purchase the required ensemble.

So I put off going to find a dress because the depressed side of me was not interested in spending the money and I really didn’t look forward to the pursed lips and wrinkled brow that my daughter would display when I took her to resale shops and thrift stores to see what they had.  My kids have a weird aversion to buying clothes previously worn by others.  Nevermind that they have probably been laundered, and the ones you try on brand new have been tried on by others and remain unwashed!  Some of my coolest clothes in high school came from the local AmVets… ah, memories…

But on Wednesday a friend of the daughter’s mom gave her a ride home from school and she suggested to Delaney that we try a store nearby that has great deals on clothes.  It’s Name Brand Clothing, and they are having a “1/2 of 1/2” sale.  So we ran over there to see what was available. 

When we entered the store it was immediately obvious that we would be required to do some digging to find what we were looking for.  The racks were crammed, there is nothing displayed… we should have taken snacks and water to keep our energy up.  But I, for one, am willing to dig for a bargain, so we plowed into the formal dress section and went to it.

Fortunately, the dresses were organized fairly well – no issue with finding all the sizes mixed up, which always makes me crazy.  Instead, the challenge we faced was the condition of the dresses on the racks.  This place has tons of merchandise, a lot of it high end designer names, but most of it has some sort of damage.  There were dresses with missing or unsewn straps, stains, holes, busted zippers, missing buttons, ripped seams… you name it.  But we did, in the end, find a very cute babydoll-style dress with cap sleeves that looks adorable.  It has the rock-n-roll vibe that I think she wears well. 

How much did we pay for this brilliant find?  This is the best part.  You won’t believe it.

$3.00!!!

My daughter is happy, and my unemployed budget is happy.