( The Frumpy Frock )

“I’ve only worn this dress twice and the second time is for this picture. Yet, I’ll always keep it, as the memory of this dress will always take me back to a sunny afternoon three years back.”

My boyfriend and I had just started dating at that time and he had just moved back to Shanghai after six months in the United States. We were so head over heels, and on a gorgeous blue sky afternoon in Shanghai – one that is rare and truly appreciated – we decided to indulge in some daytime drinking at The Fountain in Xintiandi. I wore one of my favorite white summer dresses and ordered a blackberry mojito. As I’m the type of person who unfortunately at 26 could still benefit from a sippy cup, this turned out to be a huge mistake.

I was carelessly laughing at something he said, and next thing you know I knocked over my drink. The blueberry mojito rained down my poor white dress, and everyone around us gasped, stared and felt bad for me. There I was, sitting outdoors in one of the busiest places in Shanghai, with the biggest streak of deep purple stains down the frontside of myself.

Embarrassed and soaked, I asked my boyfriend if he could quickly run to a store nearby to get me something to change into. ‘Something plain and simple,’ I asked. Twenty minutes later he returned with a big smile and this dress in hand. When I took the dress out of the shopping bag, I realized it was neither simple nor plain, but it was the sweetest thing ever. I put that dress on and we walked home hand in hand.

( Yichen )
( China )