Another one that got away. Totally my size. Totally my style. And totally out of my price range. This quaintly fishy frock showcases some google-eyed sea creatures on the verge of early late 50s early 60s illustration abstraction. I like the mix of turquoise, fushia, red and gray. I love the silhouettes of the little black minnows darting among the larger fish. But I don’t have the $175 asking price. If you're flush, you can find it here.

The Sartorialist is having a contest. It appears to be an essay question: describe the influences on your style. Post your style essay and you can win a signed copy of "Sex and Words" by Bruce Weber. I am tempted to cross post this one:

Poverty has had the biggest impact on my style. I cut my teeth digging through the bales in down town L.A.’s used rag trade. Even my brownie’s uniform was vintage 50’s (a shirt waist dress complete with a full skirt and someone else’s den number that my mother and I painstakingly altered). Though I am the girl who can spot the one cashmere sweater in the Goodwill, I’m not always looking for the pony in the room full of shit. If you want it cheap, that means you want what’s out of style. I used to browse fashion magazines to figure out exactly what no one would want. Remember when you couldn’t give sweater vests away? I reclaimed polyester decades ago when outré shirts printed with King Tut or the Milky Way were only 25 cents.

Now that I am no longer exactly an ingénue, and no longer mind-numbingly poor, I try to look for things that are a bit more becoming and appropriate to wear to a day job. But overwhelmingly I still choose vintage dresses in super loud prints. And I get a weird flight or flight response (elevated body temperature, racing heart) whenever I buy anything that costs more the 20 bucks. Though I think about dropping real cash on one or two investment pieces per year (vintage designer, or 40s rayon novelty print dress), I never do it.

Well, I could go on and on. What do you think: is this a winning essay, or should I try another track?

Happy Chanukah, goslings! Enjoy the gelt!