My precious

I don't buy clothes, apart from basics, all that often as I prefer quality over quantity, which comes at a price. If I'm going to spend proper money on something it has to pass a checklist: washable (don't mind handwashing), well made, natural fabrics, value-for-money, timeless and will work with what I already have in my wardrobe. And by timeless I don't mean timeless in an Audrey Hepburn-pearls-and-little-black-dress way but will-I-still-want-to-wear-it-in-five-years way.

Which leads me to Lee Mathews. I pop in once or twice during winter and summer and usually love most of what I see and try on. However, my budget doesn't always stretch to buying. When I visited on Friday I realised I hadn't been at all this winter, which is just as well as there was so much that I wanted to bundle up and take home (or roll around in like an over-excited bank robber in a heist movie). As everything was on sale, I did come away with a couple of things but had to leave behind something that ticked every box in the above criteria. Apart from the budgetry box, which is more of an arbitrary conscience vote (that annoyingly kicked in that day).

It was purely by accident that I went when the winter sale was on so when I got home, I checked to see if they had a mailing list so I'd know next time. Not only did they have a mailing list but they also had a relatively new website. On this website was last summer's range and all 70 per cent off (only winter was on sale in the shop and nowhere near this sort of reduction).

I had a look around and found a dress I'd tried on last summer, but couldn't afford at the time. There it was. And not at the original $345 but for $103.50. I figure if I'm patient, the dress I couldn't bring home on Friday should turn up on the website when the new season summer stuff hits the shops.

So, like Gollum, I'm waiting for precious to come within reach. And for the postman, as my Lucy dress should be arriving any day now.

Image via Lee Mathews's summer sale email