#48: find the quintessential black dress

Every girl needs a perfect black dress. One that can be dressed up with great shoes and earrings or dressed down with flats and tights. One that could stop a guy in his tracks and render him speechless. A dress that makes a girl feel like a goddess.

Until January 26, 2006, I had no such dress.

I was determined to find one, though. For I had a hot date with my gay fiance' at a five-star restaurant followed by an evening with Sheryl Crow. I needed to find the dress.

Four hours, three malls, two department stores, two suburban malls and a handful of unimpressed salesgirls later, I emerged from a dressing room triumphant. Joe grinned when he saw me in it. My reflection beamed. And when I paired it with fishnets, rockstar-goddess stilletos and starlet makeup, it made even the most man-loving man stop and pant a little.



Mission accomplished.