Meeting Diane von Furstenberg

I’m on cloud nine! Tonight I met Diane von Furstenberg at the Bellevue Nordstrom store. She was on tour promoting her new fragrance. I was looking for a new scent, so I popped by to sniff (and purchase) DIANE (the parfum) and meet Diane (the legend).

You might not know that my interest in style has a lot to do with my Oma (grandma). She was always a polished, fashionable woman who had great wardrobe tips. I watched, I learned, and I was lucky enough to receive her original DVF two-piece wrap from the early 1970s. I believe this pattern debuted in the ’73-’74 season at the beginning of Diane’s career.

Two-piece wrap: Vintage DVF
Tights: Hue
Necklace: Macy’s
Bag: Thrifted
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik via thrifted

I wore the outfit to meet Diane von Furstenberg. She literally invented the wrap dress and I wanted to show my appreciation of a classic item by wearing it to the event. I thought she might recognize it and be pleased that something that she designed had been worn and loved for close to forty years.

I lined up behind the velvet ropes with a lot of other women and waited for my turn. Diane was sitting on a table near the escalators. We were escorted to her one at a time for an introduction and a hello. I wasn’t trying to make a statement about me by wearing the vintage dress, but I got Diane’s attention.

photo courtesy of http://www.teamphotogenic.com

When it was my turn, I walked over to her and her eyes lit up. She said, “That’s an old dress. I made that one in the 70s.” Then she asked the professional photographers to take extra photos of us together. I told her how Oma (and Diane, through Oma’s impeccable taste) influenced my style.

Here’s where it gets even more awesome: Diane offered to purchase my dress from me! She said, “Will you sell it? I’ll buy that and give you a new one.” Wow! But I couldn’t. I thanked her and told her this particular dress has a history and means too much to me.

Here's what I found on Twitter when I got home: http://twitpic.com/72wkcj

She shrugged and signed my parfum bottle and her headshot and I was on my way. But not before she told me that somewhere there’s a photo of her wearing this same dress. I’m going to find it.

Diane was elegant, cordial, and genuine at the meeting. I was elated. I’m not the “fan” type (for anyone), but I was excited to meet her and nervous when I did.

That was supposed to be the end of the story, but it got weird on the way back to the car. Like a klutz, I was walking to the parking lot when I decided to change direction. In the process, I tripped over my foot and landed on the ground. Full asphalt contact: first knee, then hip, and finally shoulder. All the while I was holding up my shopping bag so I wouldn’t break my autographed bottle.

I also thought that if I ripped the dress it would be worthless and Diane wouldn’t want to buy it from me (not that I’m selling it). The funny thing is, Oma was always concerned when, as a child, I fell. She’d run over and say, “how’s your dress? Wounds heal, but you can’t replace that outfit.” I loved it! Shouldn’t it be the other way around? But Oma said it in a way that made me feel better (even though I know she wasn’t joking).

So there I was, lying on the cement in Oma’s dress. I quickly got up, embarrassed, but uninjured. Then I inspected myself. The outfit was fine. Somehow I’d managed not to ruin it. Maybe Oma was looking out for me. It might have been her way of saying, “Thanks for not selling my dress. In exchange, here’s a soft landing.”

I spritzed a bit of DIANE in my car and laughed at the crazy evening I’d had. Fashion is certainly a wild ride sometimes.