Thrifty Thursday: Erin Wasson X RVCA Velvet Boatneck Dress at a Bargain

Christmas comes but once a year, and when it does? Please oh please do the right thing darlings and drape yourselves in velvet as much as humanly possible. Call it the George Costanza complex, but ever since my years as a child watching Seinfeld reruns from my hiding place behind the couch, I have had an ever so slight obsession with velvet. Unfortunately, its use in the fashion world is oftentimes nonexistent – except around the holidays. Hence the reason why I am so quick to savor its softness the moment radio stations begin rotating Christmas carols.

Finding the ideal velvet frock can be quite a challenge; especially once you’re over the age of eight. As grade schoolers it’s fine to don bright red velvet dresses trimmed in white faux fur; once you’ve graduated into the real world, however, such a style is juvenile. It is at this particular time that one wants velvet in sophisticated doses; body-hugging pieces that enhance your best features and conceal your worst. Erin Wasson’s X RVCA Velvet Boatneck Dress is it.

Neither tawdry nor excessive, the Velvet Boatneck Dress is understated velvet done right. The midnight hue is classic without being clichéd; while the texture of the material paired with the slightly-off, unconventional color adds a slight shimmer to the dress which makes it appear as if it is laced with enchanting silver thread throughout (it’s not). The crowning characteristic of the look, however, does not come from the royal shade or slightly billowy sleeves reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Juliet Capulet. That honor falls upon the thumb casings about the wrists, which provide a fingerless glove aesthetic to the design. It is the presence of those thumb casings alone which almost makes me willing to shell out the $100.00 required to make this lovely mine. Almost, but not quite.

American Apparel’s Stretch Velvet Double U-Neck Long Sleeve Mini Dress, while lacking the unusual thumb casings of the Velvet Boatneck Dress, makes up for the pretty peculiarity by featuring a back which dips scandalously low – an elegant and dramatic quirk with the power to make one channel their seductive side simply by slipping it on – for a mere $42.00; a price which makes it hard not to want to scoop up two. After all, you can never have too many flirty frocks lurking in your closet.

Who are you channeling today, darlings…the thrifty temptress or the sassy big spender?


Fashionably yours!


Thanks to Saks Fifth Avenue and American Apparel for the pictures.