Long Live The Perfect Party Dress

On a writer's beloved Paco Rabanne dress, korean skincare picks, and screen time.

Sometimes, the two weeks between these installments feel like ages. In the past fourteen days, I started a new full-time job at K18. Remember the hair mask I was obsessed with? Same brand. I’m Brand Copy Lead, which means touching all the language about/around K18. So far, I’ve loved meeting my very smart co-workers on Zoom and am looking forward to an offsite in CA later this month.

Taking a Zoom while the laundry dries!

The downside? Transitions are hard! Being my own boss had its challenges, believe me, but I could wander the neighborhood on a call with my best friend at any hour of the day. I often read for long stretches in the afternoon. And there were days I checked my inbox only a few times. Oh, and let’s not forget, I wasn’t on Slack. I’m learning to balance it all, complete with a pounding headache every day at 6pm and lots of sanity walks at night. But here we are! We have clothes to talk about.

This week, I tapped the brilliant + well-dressed Megan O’Sullivan for the newsletter. She has this amazing story on Vogue about dressing like your crush and just wrote a great piece about the return of “normal dressing” for i-D. I love (you will too!) her newsletter, Hotcakes.

How long have you had this piece?

Almost four years. I bought this Paco Rabanne paillette dress in 2019. I was getting married and searching for a celebratory piece (RIP to the cheugy wedding era). I didn't go through with the wedding/marriage, but I kept the dress (two of the best decisions I've ever made). Although cliche, now I feel like this dress is a celebration of self preservation/rewriting a narrative/independence, etc. Cue Diane Keaton performing "You Don't Own Me" in First Wives Club. 

Where did it come from?

It was on major sale at Farfetch. I was on the hunt for a classic Paco party dress, and my dear friend Lauren sent me the link to this one. It's special because the paillettes are doubled/layered throughout the dress -  the classic silver discs are layered with these white and red floral discs.  I've never seen one quite like it. 

How much did you pay for it?

It was around $700 (a splurge for me). 

How do you wear it?

My first time wearing it was on my 30th birthday. I knew I wanted to save it for a special milestone. It was a dress christening! I wore it with knee-high orange platform boots (the joy!!!). Since then, I've worn it out with strappy sandals, and I've worn it more casually with a long-sleeved tee layered underneath it. There's this one vintage photo I found (maybe from the 70s, OG Paco paillette days) of a girl wearing her silver Paco dress over a pair of light wash, wide-leg jeans. I'm still waiting to recreate that outfit. 

What does it represent?

There is clothing you find, and then there are those special garments that find you. This one felt like the latter. Around the time of purchasing it, I was really leaning into my flower child/prairie era. This dress has some of that with the tiny, liberty-like floral discs, but ultimately, this is no cottage frock. It is a party girl, good time, disco-until-morning, dance-it-out, yes-sir-I-can-boogie, dress. On top of that, Paco's paillette dresses have a lot of that feeling baked into their legacy. In some way, it was exactly what I actually needed at the time. I look forward to keeping that feeling, in the form of a dress, with me for all of my days. 

Archived Outfit

Ok, vintage Paco Rabanne is hard to come by! But in honor of Megan’s pick, here are some party-worthy dresses. But leave it to Noihsaf! This one is $600.

I used to work for this brand + remember when the chicest woman in the office ordered this dress. It’s $95 on Vestiaire!

Another Galvan dress! I’m telling you, they nailed sequins. This is under $300.

A subtle nod to sequin on Etsy + $33.

Honorable Mentions

As alluded to, it’s back to 2016 and into Korean skincare for me! This toner/essence hybrid feels so lux for being under $30. And OMG this glow. I mean, it’s hyaluronic acid-based, I get it, but I’m using this morning and night. But for under $30, I don’t feel like I have to be stingy.

To be honest, these three books were all very good fits for me. Embark on the trifecta! They balance each other wonderfully.

The Kingdom of Prep—J.Crew/Jenna Lyons fans, this is the exact book you’ve been waiting for.

Romantic Comedy—A near perfect novel! I loved every minute of this smart, funny writing. A true blue romance!

Old Flame—Weird in the best way, this is the story of a copywriter in NYC. There are short sections, big friendship themes, and scenes in Italy.