Since I was a small child I’ve been fascinated with fashion, particularly the clothing of years gone by.
My family were very involved with amateur theatrics and my grandmother was an excellent dressmaker, so there were often costumes being made for various shows. Sometimes my grandmother would cut up old ballgowns to make a new outfit. I loved watching her surrounded by metres of soft tulle, or gently urging buttery candlewick satin through the machine. My family are inventive and creative, especially when it comes to reusing things. One of my aunties had her wedding dress made from a very old handmade lace bassinet cover. My mother was her bridesmaid and her dress was from the 1920s. My mother dyed it and added lace to it to give it a more modern look.
If you read last week’s column, you’ll know that my sewing skills aren’t anything to write home about. I’ve usually chosen dresses that don’t ask much in the way of repairs or re-modelling. My love of vintage clothing hasn’t gone away, and I was lucky enough to be young at a time when charity shops were full of vintage treasures.
The 1950s black and white dress in the style of Dior’s New Look.
The first vintage dress I remember buying was when was 16. It’s a 1950s black and white dress in the style of Dior’s New Look. I carried that dress around the world with me and was last able to fit into it about eight years ago. Despite no longer fitting into it, I still have it. I imbue my clothing with a kind of personality, depending on how the piece makes me feel and how I felt at whatever occasions I’ve worn the item to. This dress is smart, wholesome and polite. It’s been with me longer than any of my children, and I’m nowhere close to being ready to part with it.
The green vintage 1950s wiggle dress.
Next on my list of dresses I love, is a green vintage 1950s wiggle dress. I’d left my love in the Library Bar in Dublin to wait on me while I ran to do an errand. On route to my errand I was passing a small vintage shop in Temple Bar that mainly sells men’s clothing but occasionally has the odd dress. I poked my head in and spotted this dress on a mannequin. Well I knew at once I had to try it on and once I had it on it fitted so beautifully that I knew it wasn’t coming off.
Keeping the dress on, I bartered the owner down to €30, which back then was a bargain and now is an even bigger bargain.
I’ve never had a dress that fitted me so perfectly as this one, it’s as if it was made for me. The personality of this dress is refined and elegant. My alterations lady tells me I have a French woman’s body which I choose to take as a compliment, but perhaps she’s right as this dress was made in France. So I returned to my love, very late but looking considerably more fabulous than I had when he last saw me.
Lastly is this 1950s ballgown. It was gifted to me by my friend who runs the Yellow Yard in Derry. I’ve worn this dress to a lot of fabulous events and pictures of me wearing it have appeared in print a few times as well, it’s terrific fun to swirl around in as the skirt is so big.
They just don’t make dresses like this anymore. Its personality is joyful, fun-loving and over the top. These days 1950s ballgowns are increasingly hard to come by so I can’t see myself ever parting with this fabulous dress.
All these dresses are imbued with memories and emotions for me, they all evoke different feelings. The things we choose to wear, and the things we choose to keep say a lot about us.
Fashion is not flippant, it’s an opportunity for us to convey who we are to the world, without saying a word.
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