When I started writing Friday Finds posts on my blog in early 2025, I burned out in 6 weeks.
Mitch and I talked at length about what the blog would be for me— a creative outlet, a way to showcase things I loved to wear, a way to share those finds with friends… and maybe more. But then it became a rat race:
- Find new pieces
- Style things in new, protean ways
- Predict upcoming trends
- Add everything to ShopMy
- Post it all Instagram stories
- Write captivating CTAs to convince people why they NEED this thing
As the seasons changed and the weather started to warm, we were traveling a lot more and I wasn’t prioritizing Friday Finds because I didn’t feel inspired by weekly curations— I felt shackled by them.
I picked it back up this past January because I was enjoying browsing through TheRealReal again and wanted to share what I was finding. But I knew that a weekly cadence would catch up to me eventually if I wasn’t careful. And sometimes the secondhand market just… well, it’s not always going to be a hit. Sometimes it’s a miss and you go a week without finding anything. Or you write a whole post, create graphics, and then half the products sell out before you can hit “publish.”
So this week I wanted to do something a little bit different.
I want to tell you about one of my recent finds, and how completely enamored I am with it.
I’m part of the Sézane discussion groups on Facebook, where women (and men!) discuss new products from the brand, tried-and-trues, and share fit and sizing information on a variety of products. I consider them the best possible resource when I’m deliberating buying a new piece from Sézane!
In what ended as a slightly morbid post, one of the women wrote that she was looking for an updated travel dress that could double as appropriate for funerals.
While I wasn’t looking for a new funeral dress, I was curious about what she’d get back in response for something packable, modest, doesn’t need ironing, and had great drape.
She received a number of options and opinions from the group and then a few days later, she posted an update…
She’d purchased the Belinda dress in Caramel from the Archives sale as a test run for purchasing the black (the one in the Archives sale was on deep discount comparatively which is why she started with the Caramel colorway), and had included a few different ways she planned to wear it.
I was HOOKED.
Immediately I was on the hunt.
I knew that given its versatility— shown in her FB post— I was likely to wear it often, and could wear it in multiple ways that would work for my existing wardrobe! I considered getting it in the caramel color too (a great option for any True Autumns out there), but I’d wanted a new everyday dress, so I figured this would be a better long-term purchase for me if I could find it in black.
This woman, named Jama, is typically a size smaller than me from what I could tell via her post history, so I knew I’d feel most comfortable in a size Medium as she had taken a size Small.
For note: most of the time I’m most comfortable in a medium with Sézane’s clothing anyways. I can fit into a small, but if I want a little extra breathing room or want things to skim not hug too tightly, such as with a sweater or a knit dress, I take a medium (that’s a M, a 36, or a 38 depending on the item).
Then, I was scrolling on TheRealReal and came across this listing:
Forty-five dollars?!
I couldn’t believe it, and immediately added the link to a running list of pieces I’d like to buy. And then I hesitated…
- Would it fit?
- Does it fit my wardrobe the way I’m hoping it does?
- Can I think of multiple ways to wear it so that I get value from this item?
Wow! I was majorly overthinking this item that I could buy for the same price as a dress from Target. But I had a running list of pieces I was interested in, and I thought I should maybe be saving up everything I could to get the more expensive items on my wishlist.
Mitch wholeheartedly disagreed and proposed a fantastic idea:
Get the item I wanted most on my list and then also get the cheapest item on my list.
The most expensive was another piece from Sézane, and the cheapest was this dress. So, I added to cart and bought both pieces.
It came a few days later, this past Saturday, and when I put it on, I immediately saw the vision come to life! I wore it to mass the next day:
I wore it throughout the day, and felt completely at ease lounging around the house in it— which normally I don’t do. I’ve very much become a “lounge clothes person” when I get home. I wore a pair of SKIMS shorts with this dress just for preference and kept those on too (I actually find them very comfortable).
The following Tuesday, I wore it again! I tried on two different shoe options before ultimately settling on flats because it was supposed to be a warm day.
Little did I know just how much I would love this dress! I’ve worn it now three times since it came on Saturday and would probably wear it every day if I could.
The Facebook group has since had a few posts about subsequent purchases of the Belinda in black— yes, Jama did get it in black too and seems to love it just as much as I do!— and posters hail it’s versatility! Many who have purchased it are petites who laud the near-perfect fit for us with smaller frames.
I’m 5’3 and it hits roughly mid-calf on me, but doesn’t feel too heavy given the slit on the left side. It’s tastefully done— definitely something I still feel comfortable wearing to work or to mass. I haven’t felt the need to belt it; I’ve enjoyed the relaxed drape on our Fool’s Spring days! It’s been low 60s here and I’ve been comfortable, but with the rain on Sunday it was in the 40s and I still felt warm enough with a long trench.
If you’re looking for a high-quality, versatile dress that you can “throw-on-and-go,” this is IT. I would wear this for travel days, church days, work days, weekend brunches, date nights, etc. I think the Belinda dress is as good as you can get!
If you’re curious about trying the Belinda dress, it’s currently available in most sizes on the Sézane website in black (although there are other colors out there)! And please let me know if you do— I hope it works out for you as well as it’s worked out for me!!!
I hope you found this post helpful, I’d love to know if you’d like me to continue posting this kind of longer-form content in the comments below!
xx happy hunting!
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