Last Saturday, I was out and about on Selby and Snelling, doing a little shopping to pass the time, and I stopped in Lula. I immediately spotted a fuchsia dress with a standup collar, elbow sleeves, and a train—and I fell head over heels. Tried it on. Didn’t fit. Wanted to cry. You know the feeling, when you find the perfect thing and then it’s not right on you? Pure agony.

Well, Hayley, proprietress of Lula, saw the long face and immediately began bustling about, pulling dresses and hanging them outside my fitting room. In a normal store, this kind of thing drives me crazy—I know what I want, and I don’t want to be bothered. But in a vintage shop, I definitely need help. Sizes can be wonky, for one thing, and sometimes it’s hard for me to figure out what’s great and what’s junk. And sometimes I just plain don't have the patience to sort through everything.

Everything Hayley pulled was great. She nailed my style from just my first fashion choice and helped to zip me in and out of several dresses. (She even got my fiancé to try on a pair of red-and-white checkered golf pants, which I honestly thought he could have rocked if they would have fit.) There were a few others I wanted to buy, too.

It was truly outstanding service, and I can say, without a doubt, that it’s going to be my new favorite haunt. Here’s what I walked away with on Saturday (you’ll note I’m a huge fan of the shift and also pink). Sorry for the photo quality—the colors are actually quite consistent in real life (no fading or stains).

I am planning on wearing this with hot pink espadrilles and red patent peep-toe pumps. Also, this dress is brown and white, not black and white.

Here's the front of the dress Hayley found for me to replace the fuchsia one (and yes, I'm still thinking about how I could make myself fit in it, and it's probably gone.) Here is the back:

It actually has a little peekaboo back, not a zipper all the way up. Great detail! And the obi-style sash. Lovin' it.

This shift is a little less vibrant than it comes across—on the tag it says "pale tangerine," which is pretty accurate although I'd maybe call it salmon. And in keeping with my train-like, here's the back:

You can sort of see the two extra panels that hang out on the back. So wearable. It hangs much better on a person than on a hanger. Dress it up or down.

And because I really can never have enough pink, here's a great herringbone-patterned pencil skirt. It's longer than it looks in this photo—past the knee, not above.

PS: All of this cost approximately $130 total. Everything is in gorgeous shape and freshly cleaned. Just watch me indulge in my 1960s obsession! (I'm sure my mom is probably shaking her head as she looks at these.)

Lula, 1587 Selby Ave., St. Paul, 651-644-4110