the first date dress: 25 years later

I wore this Signature by Robbie Bee dress on my first date with the manfriend on Friday, July 6th, 2001. We’d met three nights earlier at Jake’s Dilemma on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

The dress was in the window of a store in the Chanin Building on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. I passed by it every single day on my walk to work. I loved the color and the print, but I wasn’t quite ready to drop the cash.

On Thursday, two days after we met, the manfriend called me at work and asked me out for Friday night. I bought the dress on my lunch hour. And it worked. We’ve been together ever since that first date at Moonlighting (which is now e’S Bar on Amsterdam).

I haven’t worn the dress in many years, but I’m glad I saved it. It’s a little tighter than I remember it being back then, but that’s okay. I may not have the body I had twenty-five years ago, but I’ve still got the dress. And more importantly, I’ve still got the man.

Check out our “meet cute” video on Jake’s Dilemma’s Instagram page.