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You. Need. This.

Erin14 Comments

Do you have a black eyelet dress?

Like, say, this one, from Holly at LuciteBox?

Lucite_eyelet_vintage

I don't set myself up to be a "dictator of taste", and I don't think I've ever done one of those "Ten Items Every Woman Must Own" lists, but if I did, a black eyelet dress would be on the list. ("Trench coat" would not be on the list. Has there ever been a fashmag printed that didn't tell you to run out and buy a trench coat? "Trench coat" is like the "free square" in Bingo.)

This is why you need a black eyelet dress: they're perfect. (Okay, okay, I'll elaborate.) Black eyelet has a natural tension between sweet and sultry, between looking (and staying) cool and looking hot. It's easy to dress up or down, and easier still to accessorize. (Black pique is *almost* as good, it's just slightly more casual.)

I've seen black eyelet like this (elegant, restrained) and black eyelet wild (in some 1980s fashion spread — I wish I'd kept it — a black eyelet A-line dress with eyepopping neon bra & briefs under it, possibly a swimsuit, but hey, it was the 1980s, everything was neon). 

I've got one black eyelet dress that I've worn nearly to rags, so I'm definitely planning a black broderie anglaise dress for this summer, lined in black batiste (or unlined, if I choose to go the neon underthings route … UNLIKELY). 

This one is 38/28/40, and trust me, you will wear it until it gets rusty and falls off you. 

14 thoughts on “You. Need. This.”

  2. What’s with the little “reward” tag? That’s a turn-off, and I’m a very long-time reader. I don’t click mystery tags. What’s the deal, and why do you need a gimmick?

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  4. Boden has an eyelet dress in its Limited Edition range – in navy and white, not black, sadly, but still useful (potentially):
    http://www.bodenusa.com/en-US/Womens-Limited-Edition/Dresses/BH003/Womens-Allover-Broderie-Dress.html?NavGroupID=177

    And while I’m here, I saw some Laura Ashley dresses today that made me think of you (although not sure if US Laura Ashley exists/is the same as it is here in the UK, but anyway….)
    http://www.lauraashley.com/dresses/postcard-print-cotton-dress/invt/md157navyp/
    http://www.lauraashley.com/dresses/archive-pink-posy-print-cotton-dress/invt/md453whitep/
    http://www.lauraashley.com/dresses/archive-blue-posy-print-cotton-dress/invt/md453bluebellp/
    http://www.lauraashley.com/dresses/waterside-print-cotton-dress/invt/md156whitep/

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  5. I have a black eyelet skirt that I’ve been wearing for a couple years now. However, I’m about to retire or repurpose it, since I need a wardrobe update. I do have some more black eyelet fabric, I think. Maybe I should make that into a dress and make some bright colored slips to wear under the dress. That’s not a bad idea.

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  6. I have a black eyelet sheath dress that I bought back in December at Goodwill for $5. Perfect condition and just my size. Now I’m waiting for the right weather/occasion to wear it.

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  7. Hi TE — the tag is a test for a friend … folks have given me really good feedback (see previous post) so I’ll probably take it down tomorrow (since it doesn’t actually DO anything yet).

    Thanks!

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  8. I bet if you designed one from the ground up, you could customize the sultriness with removable lining panels…

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  10. OK, it’s kind of late to point this out. But I just noticed that eyelet is on sale at Fabric.com until midnight eastern time. They have plenty of black.

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  12. It catches the spirit of the adorable black dress Zoey Deschanel wore to the Oscars this year, only for grown ups. (Her clothes are adorable, but she’s probably the only person over the age of 11 who can carry most of them off.

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