Shopping Around

Flared shirtdress
image from Gap

With warmer weather on my mind, I'm on the hunt for the perfect white shirt-dress.

I'm looking for something in a classic cut, with sleeves I can roll up, and in 100% cotton for those really hot days we'll soon be bemoaning, but I'd also like a little room in the skirt for movement, because I find the straight shirt-dress cuts to be too restrictive. It's proving to be rather difficult to find so far.

I thought a good alternative to have in case I cannot find exactly what I'm looking for would be this dress from Gap.

It's got an important feature for white clothing -- it's fully lined (in cotton!). The shirt is quite flared, which allows for the movement I want, but the overly flared shape and the collar-less neckline makes the overall look not as classic as I'd like.

Even so, it hits all my other wish list items, so I decided it is a good option, and this morning I stopped into Gap and picked it up. I also found it in a blue and white print, so I scooped up both.

Later, when I checked my email, I discovered that if I purchase this dress online, I'll save $20. I felt a little bamboozled. Obviously, the store-bought dress is going back promptly, and I'll wait for the less expensive version to ship. After all, the weather isn't right for it yet anyway.

It certainly was a good reminder... With so many stores now offering different sales online from their in-store sales, it's important to not only shop around, but even shop around within the same shop.