*breathing again*.

But still feel great pain for, April. Sickening pain.

I feel that way each time I come back from HK. There is always something that I wish I had carried on my head because my suitcases are jampacked.

My most recent pang of regret came when Angie posted those Born gladiator sandals. I had hemmed and hawed over those exact same sandals at my local Marshall's for weeks .... at $40 ... and then they were out of my size when I finally decided to get them. I was okay with this until the fabulous Angie posted them in the YLF shop ....

April, you start some of the most thought provoking, memory inducing threads.

1) My BIGGEST fashion regret, the one that really got away, was not taking better advantage of my youth and beauty when it was the easiest, nearly effortless and the most powerful.

There are so many issues related to this that stem from my upbringing.

And then there are these:

2) I worked at the company that published W, Women's Wear Daily and other fashion trade publications in NYC. There were always model sample sales that we were privy too -- and I mean boxes of under $10 designer items. And that's back in the 1980's when model samples were usually a size 6 and I could have worn them. I was a young married right out of college and putting my husband through graduate school and spent nothing on myself but the bare minimum and for what was considered practical. I didn't go to a single one of these employee events.

3) I often travelled to Europe on business, to great fashion cities. I never shopped for any fashion items for myself while there.

Oh, Claudia -- ouch on all three counts. Re. #1, I suppose it's nearly always true that youth is wasted on the young. (To the younger forum members, that is not in any way an insult. It's just human nature to find some things harder to appreciate until you no longer have them.)

And to all of you who have been so empathetic about my sad missed opportunities at Chanel: thank you from the bottom of my heart for your caring and compassion. When I put things in perspective, though -- honestly, at that stage in my life, it would have been silly for me to have been let loose in the Chanel store. I had so little understanding of how to dress myself or what to look for -- it would have been like buying feathers for a wardrobe that had no bones.

So, onward and upward, with only minimal regret over what might have been. And Angie, I promise you, you'll be the first person I call on the day I learn that Chanel's corporate headquarters needs a school psychologist and that the perks include access to the company store...

Oh April, that's funny.

I don't necessarily regret it, but I do sometimes wish I'd gone the more traditional route and worn a big froufy wedding dress the day I got married. My younger sister had gotten married a few months before and my mother wasn't exactly helpful, which is part of the reason I wanted my own wedding to be easy and casual. We actually talked about eloping to Mexico, but my future MIL wouldn't hear of it! Instead, we tried to keep it as fuss free as possible.

I wore a simple white dress and my husband wore khakis, so it was indeed casual.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4.....753481655/

But what better dress would have shown off my small waist and conceal my big rear than a fancy wedding dress?!

Eh, I'm over it.

April, thanks to this thread I resumed my search and FOUND them!!! and at a great price!!! I think i will order on Monday!!!
http://www.heels.com/womens-sh.....=282879493

Yay, Taylor! The one that got away came back.

NK, my wedding was similarly simple. My "search" for a wedding dress went like this: living alone in city, finishing senior year in college. Take a break from studying for final exams, go downtown, try on two dresses in department store, ask opinion of someone else's mother, buy one.

I actually never regretted anything about that, though, and wouldn't do it differently if given the chance.

I just thought of mine...
Back in October when our Nordstrom Rack first opened I tried on a pair of COH jeans that I just loved.. perfect fit, perfect wash, and priced under $100. I decided I needed to sleep on it and of course when I went back they were gone. Ever since then I haven't been able to find a decent pair of jeans there. argh!

I still mourn for the perfect pair of Kate Spade shoes. They were black patent, high heeled Mary Janes. Just the right toe shape, the perfect strap placement and not too twee. I finally found a Joan & David pair that came close but they were never perfect. Given the amount of times I would have worn them, full price would not have been too much to pay. I scoured eBay for months, but never found them.

On a deeper note, like Claudia, I wish I had taken advantage of my youth and beauty when I could:) But then that's the wisdom of added years, right?!

I definitely took advantage of my youth and beauty in my 20s. As attested to by my large cc debt at the time!

Angie -what would you have bought at Chanel? Inquiring minds want to know.

Thank you for being so thoughtful, April.

MPJ, a killer black Chanel jacket, a cream handbag, flower pin and sheath dress.

Actually, I do have Chanel items. Here are a few of them:

http://youlookfab.com/2009/07/.....hong-kong/

Lesson here is to sometimes buy with your heart and not your head.