An Unexpected Rampage

In general, I've found that teenybopper stores like Wet Seal churn out pieces that, well...let someone take one look at you and go "That girl just came from Wet Seal." Not that it's a bad thing. I totally understand people that want to pinch their pennies and head to Wet Seal-like places. However, in my own efforts to stay cheaply chic, I've often found myself scouring teen shops for items that, well, don't look like they belong there.

One store I remember quite well was Rampage. Around the time of my 8th grade graduation, my mom took me to a big suburban mall to try to find a dress (the options were more budget-friendly than Chicago's Michigan Ave.). I vividly remember stepping into Rampage and finding an endless array of dresses that just spoke to my 8th grade self. They were all around $60-70, so I was afraid to ask my mom to get me one. As you can tell, the bargain hunting started when I was quite young -- my dress turned out to be a $24.90 number from H&M which I would totally wear today if it wasn't far too small for me.

Anyway, the reason I bring Rampage up is that I decided on a whim today to browse their selection of dresses. I found the usual brightly coloured satin numbers with excessive puckering and numerous dress versions of the high waisted skirt + blouse combo, but I also found a hidden, $49 gem.




Isn't it gorgeous? It's a tiny bit goth, but I love it! For the uber-trendies out there, this could be part of a tight dress + blazer with rolled up sleeves + fierce shoes look, but even for the normal people this is still quite a find for a store like Rampage. I kind of wish this had been around for my homecoming, because I completely would have worn it!

Sigh...ah well. I kind of want to buy it, but I'm trying not to buy dresses unless I have an upcoming occasion to wear them. But, I mean, it's only $49, right?