What to do when you don't have much money and want to buy....

A couture dress...

I am not a good shopper, I have a wardrobe full of ridiculously glamorous evening dresses, but nowhere to wear them to.
And my basic daily wardrobe consists of jeans and cheap tops or gym clothes, all the better for cleaning in, a more likely activity than a ball or black tie do.
My addiction to buying frivolities knows no end, and I found a version of this dress on a Chinese website that would make it to measure.
Regular online shoppers will know only too well the risk versus reward analysis that needs to be done, it could be the wrong size, fabric, colour, dress, I don't think that trading standards are too active in China so it is very much a case of buyer beware.
I have been weighing up the pros and cons for the last couple of months and happened across the website one morning last week when my mother was staying, dress had been reduced by $50, it was meant to be mine.  Mother is total internet luddite and looked very bemused, but also for the first time, a little interested as I bought a couture dress at 7am while she made her first cup of tea of the day.
And it arrived 6 days later....

It is quite a thing of beauty, the pinky beige colour is just perfect, neither too flesh nor too pink, it easily rivals any of my more expensive purchases and it is 100% silk chiffon, not the polyester I was expecting.

I can't stop looking at it...

And it fits like a glove.

Spot the Dior...

Do you remember the first few collections that John Galliano did for Dior?  He created some of the most beautiful couture gowns that I have ever seen.  From the mid 2000s the collections started to get a little more surreal and then there was the public fall from grace.  These early dresses weren't just beautiful, they were also completely wearable.  I wonder if Amanda Harlech had more influence than anyone ever credited her for.
My budget has never stretched to couture, but I did buy a couple of pieces from the ready to wear collections and the detailing almost raises them  to a couture level.

Spot which of the blue jackets was the original Dior,a friend had it copied in Thailand for me as the very wide pockets were sometimes a little unwearable for every day (answer below).  I was going to sell some of these bits on ebay, but after looking around the boutiques at the offering for SS12, there is nothing that compares with the quality and the workmanship.

(answer the one on right is Dior)