The Dress with the Coffee Stain

“But yeah, you need a special talent to make a mess on something that you are not even wearing”. This is what my friend told me after I told her the story of The Dress with the Coffee Stain.

Let me tell you about my hidden talent.

It was an overcast morning and I had a voucher burning a hole in my pocket.

I received a Woolworths voucher from my friend as a birthday gift. I said that I would not buy anything that is already in my cupboard because nowadays I am just buying the same item in different colours. Albeit, if it is comfy, then why not?.

I went off to visit the new Woolworths Edit shop in our recently opened mall in Malmesbury..

Etienne and I saw this dress the previous day, and I told him I liked it a lot. It was a bit late already, so I went back the next day to try it on and buy it. I was so happy with how it looked and excited. After my purchase, I decided to treat myself to an iced coffee.

Side note – iced coffee is my latest favourite. I used to despise cold coffee, and for as long as I can remember, I refused to drink iced coffee because it reminded me of all the lukewarm and cold cups of coffee I had to consume in a very busy work environment years ago. However, I tried it one very hot day in November, and man, was I surprised. I love a cold brew coffee. It is just delicious! Anyway.

I ordered my coffee from the new Vida E Café in the mall and proceeded to the condiments counter. I placed my bag with my new dress next to me on the floor and added a sweetener to my coffee. I stirred it, and when I lifted the stick from the cup, it spilled. For a moment, I almost passed out because I thought I made a mess on my crisp white T-shirt or the shoes that I am wearing, but I cannot find the coffee drop.

I got this feeling inside that the drop might have travelled to the bag with my new dress in it.

As I look down, I still do not see the spilled coffee, but as I draw the bag closer to my face, I see it. Nice, fresh, and soaking into the new material of my brand-new dress. I thought to myself, there is no way that this happened. This is just impossible. I tell the lady from the coffee shop what I did, and she gasps. She tells me to get home fast and place it in Omo (washing powder) water. Let it soak. Do not rub it and then wash it. If the stain is not lifted, then only rub it because you do not want to damage the fabric. She mentioned, ‘No, someone is jealous of the new dress, and that is why the coffee landed on the dress.’ We had a laugh, and I left.

I went to Clicks and bought the old trusted Vanish. When I got home, I showed Etienne the stain, and he then mentioned there was another one. So, not just one but two stains! I just laughed. I soaked the dress (without rubbing it) and then washed it on the wool cycle, as that is the gentlest setting on my washing machine.

I am happy to report that the dress is free of coffee stains and intact. No damage done. Phew!

I just could not get mad because this was just too bizarre to get upset about. I sent my friend a message to thank her for my new dress (she gave me the voucher) and then told her I spilled coffee on it without even wearing it. I told some more friends, and we just laughed because how insane is this. I am more chuffed that I did not get upset about it, and I learned something that day. I stayed calm and embraced the happiness I had in my heart. In the end, all turned out well, and I have a funny story to share.

Has anything like this happened to you? Please share your story! I would love to hear it.

E xx