24 May 2011

A Cautionary Tale

Emily_Current-05-full
from the closet of Emily Current via The Covetuer

I know I'm not alone in my love of white lacy dresses, even if I don't actually wear them very often. What is it about those pieces that tug at our heartstrings? Anytime I try to wear one, I end up feeling a bit too precious and afraid that I'm going to spill something all over myself. Unfortunately my luck in the lacy white dress department has been running a bit thin lately. A cautionary tale...

When we took our trip to LA, we were trying to avoid checking bags so I shipped a box of clothes (including a couple of my favorite white dresses) to our friend's house where we would be staying. All was well, I wore a couple of the dresses while we were there (photos to come) and when it was time to come home, I packed them into their box to ship them back. I was confident that we would beat the boxes home by a day so I would be there to accept them when they were delivered but the post office used some sort of super sonic coast to coast delivery system because the box ended up beating us home by a day.

Rather than leave a notice on the door or try redelivering the next day the postman just tossed the box over our gate and left it on the sidewalk. In the pouring rain. Ugh! By the time I discovered the box, it was soaked through. Rainwater poured out of the corners when I picked it up. My heart sank! I knew what I would find when I opened the box but I was hoping against hope that everything would be OK. What I found was a pile of sopping wet dresses, the dyes all running onto one another. After a good old-fashioned foot-stomping hissy fit I calmed down to assess the damage; three white vintage dresses (including a 30s chiffon one I bought in LA and hadn't even taken off the tags) that looked like they'd been badly tie-dyed. Double ugh!

No amount of soaking has lifted the dyes so I think I'll be investing some time in a Rit bath for them soon. I just have to decide what color to go with. Who knows, maybe I'll wear them more once they're not so pristine looking. I knew I should have wrapped the clothes in a plastic bag before shipping them and have no real reason why I didn't. Lesson learned! The hard way.

Emily_Current-1

25 comments:

LittleMissLee said...

aww - im sorry to hear about your debacle! I know people say it's only clothing blah blah blah but some pieces are just too special

http://blogoftheprettythings.blogspot.com/

xxx

Ginta said...

OMG, my heart stopped for a moment while reading the post! I hope you'll be able to save what's possible and make the best out of it.

Anonymous said...

OMG I am so sorry! I would of had a heart attack! I am to in love with those lacey dresses!

Anonymous said...

OMG I am so sorry! I would of had a heart attack! I too love those lacey dresses!

http://grlfashionista.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/a-d-i-y-wedding/

Caramel Latte Kiss said...

How awful! I hope you've complained. You should; they can't treat people's post with such disrespect.

Julie said...

Aw, that sucks! I'm sorry to hear that! Stupid post office!

sweet harvest moon said...

What a sad story :(

Anonymous said...

noooooo! that is AWFUL! of all times for the USPS to actually be EARLY! :( if you do manage to salvage the dresses, please share your tips!

kater said...

Oh nooo! That is so heartbreaking :( On the upside, I've always had lots of luck with RIT dyes, so hopefully you'll get some nice new colors to wear :)

Anonymous said...

That's brutal! Heartbreaking! I was thinking that you could try using Thiourea dioxide. It's what we used in a dye class I had to remove dye. But it might work.

LittleRachael said...

Love love love love LOVE! I want to own all of these...

Little Rachael
Little Rachael
Little Rachael

Yoshi said...

That's such a shame! Hopefully you can salvage them somehow. At least the box didn't get stolen...

There are products you can get that you can soak dye-stained white clothes in (although I'm sure you know that all ready), in order to get the colour out - I've had luck with these previously but I'm not sure how well they work on delicate fabrics.

Caitlin Rose said...

omg this is just such an awful story! I can't believe that happened. what terrible luck. maybe you'll have some good luck with clothes to even things out.

harmonybatham said...

Oh how awful! If you do decide to dye them the one in the bottom left corner would look lovely in a seafoamy blue gray color...

viv said...

I'm so sorry for your dresses. It's so scary when one can't trust postal service. Checking bags in is also bit terrifying... I guess one should just wear everything when travelling! Hope you can rescue them in some way or other.
Lovely, lovely pictures, btw.

Anonymous said...

Oh my god, why do postmen do this? What a pity. I love every single picture and dress of the shown!

http://ascentofrosewood.blogspot.com/

Morgan Jordan said...

Aww man I'm so sorry to hear that!! That sounds terrible! but beautiful inspiration photos. :)

giselaandzoe said...

mann i even want to kick the post mans booty. so sorry!

Solineauxfraises said...

Very nice !!!
Un real "cabinet de curiosités" ! I love it !

http://tutuetbarbeapapa.blogspot.com/

mieka said...

rit also makes color remover - you should give it a shot before dying them. if it doesn't take the stain out, it'll at least prep the fabric evenly to take the dye better.

mieka said...

you should try rit color remover before you dye them. it may take the stains out. and if it doesn't, it'll help the fabric take the dye more evenly when you do dye them.

Emily Rose said...

dear lord! what a horrible story!! sorry to hear, especially about your new dress you just bought.

The Kitten Paws Blog said...

Ahhhh!!! Thats awful :( It's so nerve racking traveling with your most favorite clothing. I've never shipped packages home but I'm always nervous when I check my bags in that they'll get lost. Hopefully they are salvageable....

Cel said...

Ugh, that sounds awful! I'm so sorry that happened. At least you're going to try to save them.

Unknown said...

Amazing photos! I love white lace too!

Georgie
xx

http://styleprincessdiaries.blogspot.com