I can remember in my early twenties when I wanted everything to be new. I didn’t appreciate the things that have been passed down in my family and wanted to create my own sense of style. Now our home is filled with almost everything from our families, right down to my dad’s worn-out easy chair. I’ve developed a sentimentality about faded objects from our past and I’m quicker to repair old things rather than toss them out. The cracks just add memories. And in these times, it’s good to remember that it might be less expensive and better for the planet to refurbish something from the past rather than buy something new.
And I’m a total sucker for an old baby dress. When visiting my parents over the holidays, I came across a box of old baby dresses that included my christening gown. I’ve gently washed and pressed it and now it’s hanging in my younger daughter’s room. I’m thinking of doing a whole wall of hanging baby dresses. Much better to look at baby dresses on the wall than for me to have another baby! I realize that there’s something narcissistic about wanting to hold on to my memories of childhood and imagining myself as an infant small enough to fit into this dress. But it just makes me feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of our quickly changing lives.
My grandmother bought this gown in Europe, possibly Germany or Switzerland. It’s a simple cotton with eyelet details and a yellowed ribbon that should probably be replaced. It is still hanging on the early 1970s pink plastic hanger. Be sure to check out Courtney’s post over at style court that features my Liberty of London dress from the same box.
