O Tannen-what?

This is up at Yoox today, NOT in the sale, mind you, even though Christmas is but a cold and distant memory. This is a charity dress, made by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, with all proceeds (and at $250/per, that's some proceedings) going to Greenpeace.

It's wool. I'm assuming felt, from the way it hangs. Here's the back:




I even almost like this dress. I think with the right joie de vivre, and the right audience (say, a class of third-graders on a pre-holiday sugar high) you could pull this off. I wish the hearts were stars, though, because you could then also wear a big star on your head. (Our house is an angel-tree-topper house, much to my son's chagrin; he's a big star-topper proponent.) Or star deelyboppers! And of course, dangly Christmas-tree earrings. Preferably ones that require batteries.

Of course, every time I come up with excuses for dresses like this I am afraid I am one step closer to being their target audience. I can already be tempted much too easily into stunt dressing ...

If you're tempted by this dress, click on either image to be taken to the Yoox page. And good luck!

Comments

[aurelia]

This could be a Make/Craft remake special with Erin's stars instead of hearts and led lights embedded in each star! Perhaps a light at each point around the star and a chase pattern, or blinking in some deeply significant morse code pattern.My husband thinks it needs christmas ornaments--'cause wearing a dress like that would take balls!

[Linda A-Z]

I think the dress is great! It would be even better with lights ornaments and stars, but the hearts lend themselves to wearing it for more than one holiday. Valentines day is just around the corner, so get your orders in early, ladies!

[MadeByAmanda]

I agree, the hearts should be stars. But how could you wear something sleeveless like that in the winter? It doesn't look like it would work well with a cardigan.

[The Momma Chronicles]

Flannelgraph! Bless my buttons, it's a flannelgraph dress! You could stick whatever you want all over that dress. Hearts, stars, bunnies... heck, while we're at it, how about an entire Noah's Ark scene.Dellaina

[What-I-Found]

But there's no pockets! (If there were you could fill them with candies to strew behind you as you parade down the street)Tina

[knitgirl]

Sadly, I work with someone who if it would fit, would probably wear this. She wore antlers around Christmas, and for New Year's Eve wore a sparkly sweatshirt with a scene of Times Square 2000 on it. The horror! She is like a cartoon character, or Mimi from The Drew Carey Show.

[Anonymous]

Horrendous. Why not just GIVE $250 to charity? This is a waste of... well, felt, I guess.

[Julie]

Perhaps it's just me, but, because of the peculiar shade of green, the same triangles rather than decreasing in size, and the lively random hearts, I'm seeing this as more a projectile than an evergreen, a rocket with fins, or maybe the fletchings of Cupid's arrow. Unfortunately, and this is probably why they neglected to give her a topping, the "Arrow Look" would require a pointy headdress, and would be very hard to carry off (as if it weren't now!) by anyone with a neck shorter than Audrey Hepburn.As much as I would love the opportunity to wear a starry dealybopper headband (and I DO have one which I love, that I break out in only the direst circumstances), I'm afraid this dress screams LOVE ROCKET to me, and would necessitate the old Cone Head accessory I've been saving for when I need to really embarrass my children.

[Julie]

OK, I took a bit closer look at the dress, and, even though the top triangle seems a bit smaller than the lower two, this dress still looks like the tail end of some kind of projectile, (rocket, arrow, whatever) or at least one of those darts that tribal South Americans are so fond of dipping in curare to bring home dinner...Might be a good name for a band: the Curare Love DartsOr maybe the Curare LAWN Darts

[Anonymous]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

[lorrwill]

I could see Bjork in this...

[Vanessa]

AgathaRuiz de la Prada made a dress once that had these flying buttresses that had caster wheels at the end. The effect was like a hoopskirt from the front, minus fabric. Her stuff used to lok whimsical to me and now it just looks trite and tired. She always does hearts, btw.

[mickey]

Holy Kindergarten pageant, Batman! Yuck. On a positive note, I guess you could use Velcro dots to stick on the hearts for Valentines Day, stars and balls for Christmas, candles for Hannukah, flags for the fourth of July... maybe little birds for Arbor Day. It couldn't be any more tacky. IMHO.

[Little Hunting Creek]

this dress makes the sock monkey dress look tasteful and low key, witty even, Wait, in comparison the sock monkey dress is ART.

[Monkeygrrl]

Since it's for Greenpeace, I doubt it's specifically Christmasy, probably just a random tree with hearts. And, although you couldn't wear a cardigan, you could wear a turtleneck under it. I'm not saying I'd wear it, but I did once ride the London subway in a crepe paper skirt, turtleneck, red vinyl boots and two giant hearts (costume party). I also made a felt Valentine's vest that is absolutely hideous (covered in hearts, clown face pompom fringe, ric rac, etc.), so I wear it every year.

[Anonymous]

Ooh, this would be perfect for all those ugly sweater parties I get invited to at the holidays! I would win grand prize for sure! But not for $250.

[Anonymous]

The poor model must be glad they cut off the top of her head for this photo. She was probably having a hard time keeping a straight face anyway. The comments here seem to think it's not necessarily a Christmas dress but I once saw a fourth grader in a Halloween costume made of green netting wrapped around herself in layers, with Christmas balls hanging from them and a star on her head, and she looked better than this. I do appreciate your discussion of stunt dresses, Erin. It made me realize that more than one item in my closet qualifies, though not quite on this scale, and now I know what to call them!Dawn

[Susie]

The description you've given of "what could be" with accessories sounds like an illustration in the Magic School Bus stories. Have you ever seen the get-ups their teacher puts on? She is WAY into "theme" dressing! :)

[oracle]

I love this dress too much.And I happen to think it's reptilian more than anything else. A love-dragon? Which has nothing to do with why I love it.

[Lola....L..O..L..A....lo--oh--luh!]

Crap! I think I just might have to make a couple of these to give to my 2 sisters for Christmas next year......revenge for childhood torture is sweet!

[Anonymous]

Susie-The sad/sappy thing is elementary school teachers LOVE theme dressing and, well, the kids love it too. I taught kindergarten last year and was so delighted to find a stylish blouse with the letter A all over it (Goodwill for a mere $5). The best part was watching my co-worker get jealous over it. Though she is a trendy dresser it took me a while to figure out why she wore some of the stuff she did (basically I thought it was completely out of fashion). She has items that she keeps in her closet for "green week" and "R week" etc. She had the office manager wear an orange sweater and come into her class to read a story to the kids because she "just can't wear orange".JenL

[rodgerpm]

I gave you a "You Make My Day" award, you can get a button on my blog so that you can pass it on to people who make your day!btw: All that felt would get awfully hot at a company christmas party, don't you think? I shudder to think of the pit stains.

[Anonymous]

I love that dress, but like most of you I do not like the hearts that much.