Karan dress that you could wrap and twist and tie all sort of different ways, thereby creating a whole new dress with each twist/tie? Well, a reporter for The Daily Beast has just finished up a test-run of the convertible, loads-o-looks frock and attempts to answer the question: “Can a $895 dress be a bargain?” Or, is it just impossible as we surmised? Find out what she thought, after the jump! Her first go of it:
Source: coquette.blogs.com
“I decided to debut the dress at Thanksgiving dinner, opting for the short-skirt/halter-top version, which looked like one of the easier styles (for now, I was staying far away from the necktie version). I began by wrapping the sash around my neck to try and create the halter-top. Instead, it looked like I had slung two, sad-looking ropes over my shoulders. Plus, there didn’t seem to be enough material to do both the top and the sash that was supposed to go around my waist. Running out of time, I gave up, and made up my own variation, throwing the sashes over my shoulders and then tying all the loose material up in back. The girl in the picture had on leggings. As perhaps the only American woman who doesn’t own a pair, instead, I pulled on a pair of black running tights. To cover up my sloppy handiwork, I put on a cardigan.”
Fail. (Though, it must be said, her husband did like the look!) A second try, this time with an in-the-know wrapper/tie-r friend:
“Within seconds, she had undone the straps and was furiously bandaging the sashes around my waist. When she was done she stepped back and surveyed her work. “I learned that from wearing calypso dresses,” she said proudly. Everyone nodded in approval. “It’s an action hero dress,” remarked my sister-in-law, Ali, staring at the sashes. ‘You need to save someone with it, like in ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith.’”
Not so bad! Though when she tried to really eek all ten looks out of her dress:
“The next morning I finally set about the challenge of mastering, step by step, looks one through 10. By now, the Donna Karan PR people had sent more elaborate instructions. Or, sort of elaborate instructions: a few bullet points, really, explaining how to create the ‘Capsleeve Infinity Dress,’ the ‘Twist Halter Dress (2 different ways),’ the ‘Strapless Infinity Dress’ and the ‘One Shoulder Dress.’ For the next hour, I stood in front of the mirror, at war. The most helpful hint was that twisting the sashes was the key to the halter top. But other than that, the bullet points were mostly lost on me.”
But, in the end:
[The Daily Beast]“I’m confident that someone with more—any, really—fashion savvy, would have had far more luck. I don’t think Donna Karan is lying. I also didn’t feel like a total failure…Is the dress worth $900? You decide.”
Original by Nina Carbone
