As promised, a scan of the Darth Vader silk fabric I bought in Beijing. The Darth heads are about the size of a quarter.

I only bought two meters, because, although the temptation to make a hugely full-skirted 1950s shirtdress out of this stuff was nearly overwhelming, how many times could I actually wear it? (Keep in mind that I have very little Star Wars interest; haven't been to a comics convention; have never, not even as a little girl, dressed as Princess Leia, etc.)

So what I'm actually thinking of making is a nice skirt with a contour waistband, lined in black habotai. I'm going to edge the hem in picot trim, to give it some weight that it badly needs. And I'll use the leftovers to make a Darth Vader bow tie for my little boy. He's very excited.

For some reason, no matter how long I looked at the bolt, I didn't see any "TM George Lucas" on this anywhere! Go figure.

I'm back!

Okay, so my mad Photoshop skillz are never going to win me the b3ta challenge [warning: that link often nsfw], but I needed to crop the other views off this pattern envelope (click on the image to find out why).

Oh, never mind, I'll tell you — it's because one of the other views comes with "dance pants," that's why. Do you know what "dance pants" are? It's a euphemism for "this dress is so freakin' short you have to make matching underwear." And the thought of that nearly ruins this dress for me, and this dress is not so bad. Even if I did drag it out of a comic-book longbox labeled "BAD 70s PATTERNS".

Anyway. Imagine this dress with narrow sleeves, done in tissue wool jersey in a deep jewel color, possibly with a contrasting silk sash, because that's what I'm imagining, and this is my guided meditation, okay? Got that in your mind's eye? Good. Now relax, breathe, and enjoy this image. Don't think about the dance pants. Damn. Sorry about that.

I'm sorry if you are coming to this blog looking for a respite from the horrifying Katrina news. There's nothing I can say about Katrina and its aftermath that hasn't been said better, by other, smarter folks, but here's one thing I hope people think about: many areas of the country, not just the Gulf Coast areas, are going to be affected as gas prices go up and up and stay high. When you need to buy gas to get to work, that money has gotta come from somewhere, because in 99% of this country, public transport is not an option. Biking to work is not an option. Walking to work is certainly not an option.

I am seeing posts all over the internet asking "Where can I send food, where can I send clothes and bedding and toys to the folks hit by Katrina?" And many organizations are saying "Thanks, but we need cash." But — poor people, just as poor as those left behind to suffer in New Orleans, are going to be hit by a gas price hurricane, right where you live, wherever you live. So, please: think about making regular donations, every month of this year, to the local food pantry. Clean out your closets and give those warm clothes you never wear to a local charity — bonus points for giving business clothes to The Bottomless Closet and other work-enabling charities.

We don't have gas stamps. The Salvation Army doesn't have a gas kitchen. There's no Gas for Families with Dependent Children. There's no Gas for Tots program at Christmastime. If you want gas, you have to have money. High gas prices are going to take a big chunk out of the pockets of the people who can least afford it. Rising gas prices are going to mean hungry and cold people all winter long.

I am not talking about gas companies' profits, or gouging, or whatever. I am not talking about whether gas prices should be high, to discourage people from driving, or to encourage public transit, or whatever. Sure, people like me can drive less, walk more, conserve. For other people, the choice isn't between a job far away and a job close by: the choice is between a job far away or no job. That's not a choice. The single mom who has to drive to the suburbs to work or else her kids need to spend three hours before AND after school in care? That's not a choice.

So, please, give what money you can to Katrina relief now. But please also make a resolution to give what you can to your local charities, now and all winter long. I've just put a repeating reminder in my calendar on the 29th of each month for the next year, to remember to see what I can give on that day. Call it Katrina Donation Day.

So, after being in China a few days, I am completely obsessed with the gorgeous, slim, almost-but-not-quite traditional dresses I am seeing on the street. Where on earth these women are getting these dresses, I have no idea, as every place I've been has been a tourist nightmare of rayon satin, but hey. They're allowed to keep their sources a secret from me.

However, the internet, as always, provides. Check this one out, at chinasprout.com. So pretty, so inexpensive ($42!), so orange! (I like orange. There also seems to be a blue one I couldn't edit out. Blue's just … okay.)

Oh, and folks, you're gonna love this. Dress a Day reader Eevin Hartsough sent me this link: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/fold.php. [warning: flash animation] Fold a shirt in two counterintuitive and swooping movements! It's fun and provides a tremendous sense of accomplishment (okay, it did after I practiced it a few times). If you don't feel joy upon seeing this you might need a joy recalibration. See your doctor.

Okay, so I've been thinking about a more 1970s look for this fall — narrow-shouldered dresses in deep jewel tones with vee necklines, bell skirts, defined midriffs, and bohemian trims — but just in case I come to my senses and remember that I'm nowhere near tall enough to pull those off, I bought this.

Click on the image to go to Miss Helene's Vintage Sewing Shoppe on Ebay — lots of nice patterns, nicely priced, too. Maybe you'll find the 1970s pattern I was looking for.

I probably won't go back to the Yuanlong Embroidery and Silk Store in Beijing today and buy four more meters of the Darth Vader mask print silk (I only bought two meters), so that I can make the dress on the left in Darth! Vader! Silk! I mean, I'm pretty sure I won't do that, as hysterical as it sounds to me right now. I'm mostly sure.

So. It seems that not only can I get online in Beijing, but I can do it from the comfort of my hotel room. (Also, I need to keep myself awake for another hour or so unless I want to be really screwed tomorrow, jet-lag-wise.) Here's a cute dress that's listed on eBay right now. Click on it to bid. (B33)

It's in a lot of four patterns, but this one is the cutest one. Go ahead and check out the other ones, but you'll see that I'm right.

I love cheongsam dresses: they're so pretty and elegant and fairly easy to wear (except for the no-pockets thing). This one in particular I adore — it's cotton, so easier to wear than the usual silk/rayon versions, and it's in a big English-roses print, which is another step away from the traditional. There's a brown colorway, too, which looks even more like a sofa. (That's a good thing, in my opinion. I like upholstery prints.)

Click on the link to buy it; I'm really tempted because it's only $35! But I won't buy it today, because I leave for China in a hour or two and who knows what cheongsams I might find there?

Yep, that's right, I'll be gone through Labor Day. (For work, not pleasure, but how can I avoid taking pleasure in a trip to China?)

If I have internet access I will update from the Forbidden City. Otherwise, this space will remain static until Sept. 5. Aren't you glad you have this dress to look at until then?

Sorry this picture is so small — I couldn't get a better one. So go ahead and click through to see this great wool-blend wrap dress at Bluefly. It's $150 or so, but don't you want to look like an agate? I do.

I hesitate, though, because I am fairly klutzy and an overly-enthusiastic gesturer, and wrap dresses? They don't stay so wrapped on me. So my advice is: if you are like me and tempted to wear wrap dresses, always wear pretty underwear and slips. That way the embarrassment factor is not as high. Avoid safety pins: they either come undone and poke you, or they don't hold and then you have a TORN unwrapped dress. Much better to sew in extra snaps if you must.

This one only goes up through a size 10, unfortunately. Which is bad because wrap dresses look great on curvier figures!

This is what I know about this dress:

It's $49.99 (click on the pic to visit the web page)

It's at JC Penney's.

It's matte jersey (no fabric content given, so I am assuming it's poly).

It's a basic dress that will look really pretty good on: nice sleeves, great neck detail, and the banding really defines your waist.

I don't know:

Where the heck to find an actual JC Penney's store, since I haven't been in one since I was about fifteen;

If this is that horrible matte jersey that sticks and snags, or the really nice kind that flows and isn't too hot;

Where the top of the model's head went. I'm assuming there is visible gray matter under a glass dome, pulsing, pulsing, or they wouldn't have cropped the picture like that.

Come to think of it, if this is an evil-scientist dress, it would look GREAT under a lab coat.

This dress is on sale at Bloomie's (okay, on sale at Bloomingdale's is still $200, but …) so click on the link if you are interested. It's silk-cotton jersey, so it will hang like a dream, and, although I'm usually not a fan of the uneven hem, here it really works.

This is a good now-and-later dress — you can wear it now with sandals and bare skin, and it should also work in cooler weather, too. I'd wear it with a gunmetal-gray silk undershirt (3/4 sleeves of course), tights, and boots. (These boots, by preference. And if you are the person that sold them to me on eBay would you please mail them NOW? kthxbye!) That would look very cyberpunk, to me. With a silver leather cuff watch and silver beads.

There's a similar (and much cheaper — $50) v-neck dress at Bloomingdales. Click here for that one, which is washable wool and also available in red and petite sizes. I'd wear the red one with a white Peter Pan collar blouse, tights, and lace-up high-heel oxford pumps.