Party Dresses!

This afternoon I walked up Clinton on my way to find a Christmas tree and was surprised to see Liz in the store. The weather is so foul--icy, snowy, and windy--that I wasn't sure Xtabay would be open.

Inside, the store was warm and light, and Gabe hopped up from his nap to say hello. Liz, glamorous as ever in a black fur cap fit for Laura in Dr. Zhivago, was just pulling the drycleaning bags off of some new dresses for the store. And what fabulous dresses!

I loved the black velvet Suzy Perette wiggle dress with the bow just under the bust. Some lucky woman is going to put on that dress, walk into a party, and men will drop like flies. There was a lemon meringue, floaty 1950s dress, too, with chiffon wrapped in a deep vee in the front and back. I swear Elizabeth Taylor wore a dress exactly like it in one of her movies. Liz also brought in a nude lace dress (very this season Prada) bejeweled with tiny pearls and crystals. I also loved loved loved a black wiggle dress from Saks Fifth Avenue with an exaggerated, emerald green sash. This is just the tip of the iceberg--I also saw three rayon 194os dresses, a gorgeous black dress with peekaboo holes and sheer black mesh on the shoulders, a ruby red chiffon 1950s dress, and that's just a sampling.

The Xtabay has a lot of great jewelry in now, and more coats than I've seen in a long time. Liz was lucky to buy dozens of pairs of 1950s and 1960s earrings that had already been converted for pierced ears. And I don't have to tell you with weather like this how nice a well-built, stylish coat is.

So, what are you going to wear for holiday cocktails with your friends? How about that work Christmas party? Don't you want to let them know that you're about more than practical separates? And what about for Christmas Eve dinner and, of course, New Year's Eve?

If I know you, your New Year's resolution is to Be Fabulous. Come down to the Xtabay to get an early start on it.