For this outfit, I needed something that would go from day to night easily. I was going to running around the city - late lunch with the boyfriend and dinner and drinks with the ladies. Well, when night-time came, all I did was stuff this vest into my leather backpack and change from my loafers to my heels. Easy-peasy. In my opinion, this dress is too short and too tight to be running errands during the day but by adding the vest, I felt like now it wasn't too overtly sexy.
I got to tell you a story about this dress. And about shopping in Korea. I'm a size 8 in the U.S. but in Korea, I'm a size fat. It's a daily struggle for even the most confident or thinnest expats. Needless to say, shopping here can sometimes be a terrible pain. Especially when a lot of the stores only carry one-size-fits-all. I saw this dress and instantly loved it. It's such a cool geometric-print. I was looking for exactly something like this. I felt like I had a lot of cutesy-girly dresses but I wanted something sexy to show off my curves. I wanted to look and feel like a woman, not a kindergarten teacher (which was my job when I bought the dress). I also did not want a boring black dress.
I grabbed this dress the minute I saw it and went over to the mirror near the dressing rooms. The sales clerk looked like she had just been electrocuted when she jerked her body towards me and threw her arms into a big "X", saying no in Korean. Now, I knew I wasn't going to be allowed to try on the dress the minute I walked into the store; I wanted to use the mirror. But the amount of aggression she displayed was very disheartening. She also was attracting a lot of attention from the other shoppers which made it even more embarrassing - I was trying to see if the dang thing would cover my butt. I still wasn't sure if it would fit or if it would look good on me - who knew if this would be a flattering print? I threw the dress at her and said I wanted to buy it. My $30 spite dress (I rarely spend over $10 on a dress). Man, I was pissed off. Luckily, this time my temper paid off and I think I look pretty dang svelte in it!
I bought what my boyfriend creatively refers to as my "bowling heels" at a Korean thrift store and thankfully, trying on shoes is always a more pleasant experience. I also handmade my necklace last winter when I was inspired by the tribal-Native American trend.
Sadly, my dressing room encounter isn't the first, last or worst story that's happen to an expat while living here. Have you ever been embarrassed when trying on something?
Dress: Eunhang Underground | Vest: Amber (Korean company) | Heels: Korean Thrift Store | Loafers: Target (Goodwill) | Sunglasses: Eunhang Underground | Ring: Clothing Swap | Necklace: Handmade by me
