Becky Harris
ESVIE Contributor
So, a couple months back I was rambling on about how great Erdem’s S/S 2011 collection is. The colour, the lace, the prints… even the music and the setting of the runway was simply absolute perfection in my eyes. No doubt, Erdem created my favourite collection and overall catwalk of this season. It wasn’t just about how insanely beautiful the dresses were, it was the overall vibe, atmosphere and spirit that was projected and lingered around each gorgeous model as they breezily bounced down the catwalk. For me, the collection embodied Spring.
However, I didn’t quite expect it to have such an effect on the high street as it has. And I only honestly really noticed the extent just last week when, in a dangerous spurt of emotion and inevitable desperation for urgent retail therapy, I found the absolute dress of my dreams in… Debenhams, of all places. Red Herring, to be precise.
Now, normally, I don’t really shop in Red Herring. Actually, that’s a lie, I NEVER shop in Red Herring. But there was something about the significance of that day to my personal life, that just made me feel the need to try every shop in the shopping centre, and keep a highly open mind. I took down my retail boundaries and it was the greatest thing I could’ve done.
Anyway, the Dress. I was wandering past Red Herring, sticking to the main path, playing hard to get and heading towards the shoe section, when it was actually another dress that caught my eye. I thought I’d just mention this as if any one is lusting after a particularly Prada-esque dress but within a budget of £45, definitely try Red Herring. So, I picked up this dress, mentally justifying, “Hmm, yes, this would be great for work…” when I looked one dress across, and literally fell in love.
What I then picked up was THE most elegant, innocent, amazingly white and lacy Erdem-style dress. Oh my god. I love it. It fits to a T- cinched at the waist, with an almost corseted style top and a flared just-above-the-knee length skirt. It’s got velvet floral detail on lace mixed with a mesh fabric. There’s a cute button fastening at the top back. It is everything I want in a dress, for the mere snitch of £45.
And since then, it really has just clicked how many people love Erdem, and that most don’t even know it. There’s lace on lace in red at TopShop- another amazing lookalike which I would happily buy and wear forever, cute little bandeaus and bodies at Miss Selfridge, and florals in many a colour at Oasis and French Connection. Search “lace” on ASOS, and you’ve got a whopping 1,772 choices at the moment. There are simply no excuses; everyone needs a piece of the Erdem effect, and whats more, it could most definitely be a lust that lasts an eternity.
