Frocktober 2015: Dress Memory

This week, I hung up all the donated frocks I have recieved.
I’d had a stressful day at work and was feeling a tad overwhelmed; so I needed a orderly task to calm my brain.

Seeing all the frocks, I am amazed. How lucky have I been to get so many wonderful dresses from so many wonderful women?!

A spiritual moment….?

As I unpacked each frock, I recognised some of them – friends’ dresses from moments in time that I’d shared with them – and started getting sentimental.

From 21sts, from Birthdays, from nights out, from nights in, from photoshoots; it was a kind of strange spiritual experience. It reminded me of a book I’d read….

Every fabulous frockette needs to read this book.

I can’t remember how I came to know about it, but it appeared in my life like it was a necessary read. Lorelei’s story is so lovely – the ups, the downs, the travels, the tears – all shed and shared with some special dresses (yes, there are photos!). My words simply don’t do it justice, (sorry Lorelei, if you ever read this!).

Unpacking all these dresses, I felt the air around the racks thick with memories – so many moments lived in these frocks. I am just the purveryor as they will go off to new homes on October 24th; and I feel really good about it.

I feel like Lucy Siegle would be kind of proud of me. She wrote an excellent no-holds-barred book called “To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World?” – which really changed my thinking on where my clothes are made, and how having an ethical wardrobe isn’t as hard as you think.

The ‘ Dress Memory’ carries through the Generations

My Grandmother, Margaret and I always talk about dresses and scarves when I call her. Dresses from weddings, from post-War, worn to engagements, everywhere and every kind of style. Dresses have become such a special symbol of her, for me. Our memories are tied in such a special way to dresses – the material materialisation of memory.

I unfortunately was broken up with on Sunday by the gentleman I was seeing (sigh); I had a sense of foreboding that morning, so I didn’t pick a dress I liked too much in case I decided to attach the memory of that to a dress(!)
But at the end of the day, we have so little control in life – my experience on Sunday was okay in the end. I bear no grudge to the dress, or the man – at least I know there is a good dress waiting for me in my cupboard each day, in the mean time (hehe!)

I don’t think my story will be dissimilar to Lorelei’s – and that kind of exciting.

Frock on!

Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy frocks (could you, though??!)

A x

See you on October 24th, Perth Frockers!!!

Get all the latest updates for Absolutely Frilling Frocktober on the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1692079624355061/