12:35 a.m.

Vintage 40s Linen Dress

J. Peterman is magical. Intentionally otherworldly, the catalogue is an eccentric mix of old Ladies Home Journals, tea-stained handkerchiefs and notebook sketches from a long-ago trip to Europe. There are no photographs. Light, airy paintings of the Adventurer's Shirttail Dress or the French Explorer's Jacket flutter across the pages and gently inspire ideas of where one should go next. What could easily be called a wrap dress instead takes me across the sea — I instantly imagine myself meandering along the Seine in the blue-and-polka-dotted wonder that is the Champs Elysees Dress. A calm, Parisian breeze sets in, and the silky, of-another-era fabric dances under my fingertips.

The text alongside the products is less a description, but rather a compelling oddity of epigrams and thoughts. Reading about this dress is like listening to my grandmother recount what she wore the night it snowed on New Years Eve in London. It was as if it were yesterday. It was as if we were always meant to own dresses like this.

"Found the original at a vintage boutique on the Right Bank.

It looked lived in.

And enjoyed.

Champs-Élysées Dress (No. 2663). When the world still needed a hug. And so did you.

This one does it in a lightweight sensuous silk charmeuse. Skirt is lined. Wrap ties at left. Deep V. Full graceful sweep. Point collar frames your neck. Full length sleeves with self-covered buttons.

Optimism is always welcome.

Wherever you are, you'll always have Paris. Imported."

Champs Elysees Dress