Disloyalty?

I have had a strange feeling of guilt over a couple of recent purchases: none of them are from Mayle. Why I should feel this way, I don't know. Obviously, there isn't much Mayle around, and most of it isn't my size, some items I don't want, and others I don't need or even like. Part of me feels I should be saving money for any Mayle I can find, but some pieces caught my eye recently, despite myself. All were bargains, which helped.

The two pairs of Earnest Sewn jeans I got at their recent sample sale did not cause me any guilt. Mayle rarely made jeans and I prefer to get mine from jeans specialists anyway. I got a pair of Harlans, the skinny leg, but these were somewhat loose fit so they were a nice compromise between boyfriend jeans and skinny legs. I also picked up another pair of gingers, the dark wash high waist skinny jeans I live in that have been discontinued, making them a no brainer. Both were $60 apiece.

My guilt surrounds the two dresses I bought. Can any dresses live up to Mayle? Granted, I have a few amazing Lyell dresses, but ever time I get a non-Mayle dress, coat or top, I think this was money that could have been saved up towards a Mayle find (maybe Izolda, or Gia, Sascha or even Elvira, should they ever turn up in my size). Still, I fell for the following. At Save Fashion last week, I picked up a Katy Rodriguez dress that was originally $850, marked down to $47.50. Basically, I paid the sales tax. I'd first seen this dress in Lucky a year ago and fell in love--until I saw the price tag. I was happy to take it home. It's the red and cream polka dot dress pictured above--two different fabrics, long at the back and short at the front. I think you have to be tall like me to carry it off (hence the price). Anybody under 5'8" may have problems with this dress. For once, my size was on my side when it came to bargain hunting.

This morning, while writing final essay questions for my students, I checked out elux. As you probably know, they have 50% off sale clothing, free shipping, and only limited stock is available (and no Mayle). So I went through everything and found this striped dress, again pictured above. Its by Twenty8Twelve, the line designed by Sienna Miller's sister (I HATE celebrity lines, so I say this with some embarrassment). But it was $149 and looks like a lovely summer item. I love stripes, I love the colors, and it looks like it could be easily adjusted (I'd have probably gone down to a 6 or 8, but only 10s were left). It is a cotton/silk blend so it will probably wear well in the heat--if and when summer comes.

So, I'm wondering, was I a bad girl? Disloyal? Silly to eat into my Mayle fund? I hate the idea of dressing in one designer from head to toe yet find myself doing precisely that way too often...