Can I recover my money after leaving it at a clothing store to keep my dress as "mine"?

I left money so I could be paying for the dress, I wenbt out of the country and a lot of months passed by, now that I went to check on the status of my investment, they told me it was lost cause I took too long (march was the last time I payed for it) and now the money I put in is theirs and my dress is theirs too!
Their reason is that they told me that if I didn`t pay I would loose it all, the money and the dress.
I have my ticket but is there anything I can do to recover one of those 2, money or dress?

It sounds like you left a deposit, instead of fully paying for the dress, so they would hold it. However, typically most states have limits to the time frame that the seller must hold a product while waiting for someone to come back and pay for in full for the product. It can be as little as one day, but not one state requires a seller to hold the product for months unless specifically drawn up in a written, fully executed contract, agreeing to extend the time frame beyond the scope of the law. The seller might even be able to sue you, if that seller can prove that but not for your actions, they would have sold the dress in your absence. After a reasonable time frame they can sell it and/ or keep the deposit or both.

There probably isn't anything you can do. You had a deposit on it, or had it on layaway, but didn't meet the terms for payment.

Hon, did you read the contract when you entered into it? If not, you lose all that you paid into it for the dress and the dress, because the contract should spell out all of the terms.