Budget.

About a month ago I stumbled upon a dress in Anthropologie that made my heart swoon. It was a stunning turquoise gown, Grecian in its design, long and flowy, gorgeous yet simple enough that it was just begging for the right accessories to dress it up. It was a Kelli kind of dress.

It was also $178.

A gorgeous dress, yes, but true to the Anthropolgie way, extremely overpriced. I walked away from said dress because I needed to honor my Lent pack and because almost $200 on a rayon blend dress is simply not how my budget roles.

Still, I found myself thinking about the dress a lot. I found it online, still at $178. I read the reviews of women who had purchased it, I clicked through the various images of the model and mannequin wearing the little number. I emailed the link to my mother, I even bookmarked the catalogue page on my computer determined to check in daily until they finally put the thing on sale.

Last week I logged in to see they'd lowered the price to $90. Just under 50% off. Immediately I clicked on my size and sent the dress to my "shopping cart." I filled out shipping information and a billing address and got through the process up until the shipping price was added in - driving my dress up to more than $100 again.

And then? I stopped, took a breath.

I went back to the catalogue page again, I studied those images of the model again. You know? I thought to myself. It's still overpriced. A brilliant color, yes, and a flattering cut that would work wonders at the summer weddings I've got on my calendar. But simply not worth $100 of my hard earned money.

So I let it go.

I cleared out my cart, I logged off the Anthropologie website.

I didn't need the dress a month ago, I don't need it now, I won't need it tomorrow.

With clothes I often want more than I need. I say this not as a confession or with embarrassment. It's just a fact. I love outfits and styles and fashion. Dressing up is something I do for me and I always - always - feel more like myself when I've put some thought into the clothes I'm wearing. Funny thing though, that this dress, which had been the object of my desire for weeks suddenly and clearly became the item that wasn't aware of its own value or worth. But I was. And while it would have been lovely to have it hanging in my closet, I'm truly okay with having let this number get away from me.

I may adore fashion trends and all things clothes but I will forever be far more interested in how someone chooses to execute a look versus how much they spent on said look. I think often of one of Coco Chanel's quotes - "Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman."

Indeed. No matter what that dress cost.