I'm glad the dress is going to work. Sounds very nice. I thrifted a Pendleton wool blazer and wore it for a while, although I donated it last year. Their woolens are really lovely quality, although the styling definitely can go stodgy if you're not careful.
My best friend when I was a teenager had two schoolteachers for parents. Her mom went to the Pendleton store once a year and bought a wool suit. I'm sure that it was a big financial investment at the time. By the time I had her as a teacher she had quite the collection of wool suits, and it's all she wore (at work anyway).
