spring, and in the mood for dreamy...

i've always had a weakness for lace and pastels. perhaps it's a reaction to having been forced to wear boyish clothes as a child. i remember looking longingly at the more girly outfits in the store while my mother steered me over to the children's jumpsuits and overalls corner. she once sewed my sister a gorgeous, pink grosgrain and lace dress for a piano recital, and i was so full of envy and longing that i felt a bit dizzy.

which is like the feeling i got when i saw this vintage lace dress in dulcinee on stanton st. in the lower east side.

of course, "compensating for childhood trauma" is just one excuse for my latest frivolous purchase. i admit i was also influenced by the suddenly warmer weather, and the cherry blossoms i saw earlier in the day at the brooklyn botanical garden. it looks like i caught the very tail end of the peak, so i'm glad i went this weekend. it was pure, pink loveliness, and made me a bit homesick. no one loves cherry blossoms like the japanese, who've made a culture out of appreciating the fragile and ephemeral.