I’ve had a love/hate relationship1 with Ted Baker for a few years - loving the sale price + amazing fit of this dress for a brief beautiful time, hating that it’s so specially stitched & zippered that I can’t easily get it altered.2
In the summer of 2019, I was in Bangkok with my husband who was working during the days, so I took myself out on adventures, which meant walking near/through two luxurious malls to catch a train. The Ted Baker store happened to be close3 to the train platform so of course I had to wander by there at least twice per day. I tried to give a believable browse through their regular-priced garments before eagerly rifling through the sale rack, where I discovered a stunning yet understated t-shirt. It had a white background but not like a plain white tee; it was the kind of white that suggests a fabric made of melted moonstones. A cluster of large flowers, cream & pale pink & grey, with the sparest sage green leaves printed all over it - this was/is not typically a pattern I’m drawn to, but this shirt was beguiling. The cut was snug in a demure way. I wanted it. A peek at the price tag told me it was $85. On sale. A t-shirt. I’m pretty sure I started sweating, which wouldn’t have been unusual outside in Thailand but in their malls, one needed a sweater to protect against the frigid air conditioning. I walked away from that shirt yet continued to think about it for the next 24 hours; I even revisited it once before leaving/after discovering space in my suitcase. But I left it behind.
Fast forward a few weeks when I was casually shopping at our local consignment store for back-to-school outfits. A pink t-shirt with big flowers & black zigzag Charlie Brown stripes caught my eye. Another sumptuous Ted Baker, in my size. I mentally groaned, thinking it would be priced too high to justify adding to my teacher wardrobe, but then saw it was marked $20. Plus I had a birthday discount! It went home with me and became my go-to for any day I was feeling blah, or any days I wanted to be fancy-ish but also wear jeans. It was perfect for spring & summer days, and I could even make it work in the fall4 with a grey or black sweater.
I do still think about the first shirt, and I have tried searching for it (starting when I got home in July of 2019) but the thrill has waned.5 A little like looking for old boyfriends on Facebook - fun if you actually get a peek at someone after a handful of decades but ultimately unnecessary, and maybe a little depressing. We’ve moved on.
I haven’t actually worn my shirt in the past year because when I tried it on in mid-2023, it felt too tight and didn’t look quite right with anything. I repacked it away with the spring clothes last November, then dutifully got it out again in March. I thought it might work this week but my hormonally salty brain said nah, so it’s still hanging out, waiting for a good vibe day. We’re hopeful for October.
At least I didn’t have to work there, with founder/CEO Ray Kelvin making people hug him [for FIFTEEN FULL SECONDS] and “slow dance” at their desks. O.o
Yes it is still hanging in my closet, waiting for some sort of postmenopausal sorcery to happen. Please send positive ju-ju.
Not that close - I couldn’t find it at first and almost walked through some sort of music video filming with a bubble machine on the skybridge. But close enough.
It is memorialized in one yearbook picture. <3
Of course I looked today using increasingly wacky keywords about flowers but alas, nothing that came up gave me the same YES feeling.