OK. I just had to try it on. I was walking right across from the duomo in what is probably one of the world’s most expensive shopping districts, surrounding the Galleria, and my head whipped around when I caught sight of the fabric of this dress. It pulled me into the store, Pollini.

Pollini Dress

I walked up to the dress, pulled it off the rack and kept smiling. The fabric was a VERY sheer, somewhat stiff-bodied chiffon and it was constructed in layer-upon-layer of bias-cut, undulating ruffles. Each layer was a different stripe or polka dot in primary and secondary colors.

Wild. I kept smiling, the dress amused me. I twirled the dress on the hanger, just to see how the fabric moved. It was a visual feast. So much fun.

The woman at the store nudged me to try it on, so I finally gave in, (though never intending to buy it). It wasn’t the price tag (780 Euro or about $1100), but more that it wasn’t my kind of dress to wear. (It also didn’t fit me like it does the model in the photo!) It’s the kind of dress I’d hang on the wall just to please my eyes. It would be great art. (Too bad this photo, from their web site, doesn’t allow you to see the fabric patterns.)

I looked at the other clothes in the store and enjoyed the layering that they’ve integrated into the other garments. Sometimes an asymmetrical collar or skirt wrap. 

One thing about Italian clothing is the sumptuousness of the fabric! Having been a seamstress for 40 years, beautiful fabric with a “good hand” makes me swoon. I can’t even FIND fabric like that in Seattle. As meticulous as I am, I don’t know whether I’d be able to work with fabric of that quality. The threads are so fine and so “buttery soft” that it would take extreme finesse to work with it, much like a slippery silk.

But, Oh!, to TOUCH that fabric makes my heart beat faster!