International Lip Service

My first stop when I landed in London last month was Topshop. Literally, my first stop. I didn't even bother waiting for the bellhop to deliver my bags to my hotel room. I traded in my dollars for pounds and hit the street. A short walk from The Crowne Plaza, St. James stands one of the UK's 300 Topshop retail outlets. 

I made a beeline for the sale section, in hopes of filling my arms with as many pounds of Topshop apparel I could carry, for as little pounds as possible. As I scanned and slid each hanging treasure behind its former, I stopped when I spotted this printed party dress.

Immediately I could picture Patricia Field hand selecting this print for one of Carrie Bradshaw's quirky outfits. I had to have it. It was speaking to me, saying, "I'm one of a kind. I turn heads. Bring me home to the states and I'll make you the envy of everyone who sees me. I'll spice up your post graduate wardrobe with a hint of youthful flirtation. And I mean, hello, February 14th is right around the corner. If not then, when?"

For a bargain, I invited the flirty frock to make the voyage with me overseas. I donned it for my sister's 25th birthday party in SF. I balanced its overtly feminine print with a grey three quarter leather bomber. The corseted strapless was a smashing success. Plenty of attitude with a hint of risk. 

To my delight, my dress was featured in the February issue of Nylon, the holy grail of hip fashion magazines. 

Each month, Nylon features a pile of newsworthy themed goodies. The contents of this mythical Mary Poppins' bag are sprawled across the last page of the magazine to leave the readers with a lingering taste of eye candy, and in this case, some Hershey kiss candy. This month, my Topshop lip print dress is featured in "Bag Check." I knew this dress wasn't lying to me when it said it promised to be the life of the party, as well as the page. 

And that's no empty lip service.