Willing to go broke for brocade

I am slightly obsessed with little brocade dresses right now, particularly those in geometric patterns. I'm also a little bit mad at myself, because I lived in China – land of cheap, gorgeous brocade silk and cheap, talented tailors – for two years and did not have the foresight to have a little brocade dress made. And so, I am thinking of planning a return visit to China asap.

Here's a few dresses that got me into this mindset: First, this fantastic patterned dress {above} found on the website for Bombay Electric, an amazing new store in (you guessed it) Bombay that I can't wait to see. (Note to self: Plan a return trip to Bombay too.) My friend Priya has been hard at work sourcing great local fashion for the store for the past year, and I can't wait to see it all in person. If that fantastic dress is any indication, this is a boutique that could do some serious damage to my wallet.

Oh, but that's not all! My brocade obsession actually started months ago, after I first saw the Milly spring/summer 07 collection. How perfect are these pieces below? If there ever was an outfit that was "me" right now, this is it:

Well, maybe not those sunglasses. But definitely the rest.

(If you haven't seen it yet, the whole Milly collection is just fantastic and didn't get nearly as much press as it deserved. Be sure and check it out over here. I also especially love some of the black and white dresses.)

And only adding fuel to my personal shopping fire is the Stuart Weitzman ad campaign in magazines right now. (And Stuart Weitzman doesn't even make dresses!) But still: If this picture doesn't make you want a little brocade (or brocade-ish, tough to tell) dress -- with a peter pan collar, no less! -- I don't know what will.

Drool.