February 25, 2009
Stranger’s Nostalgia
I’m a sentimental soul; I have ages of greeting cards, drawings, letters and other little notions of affection that clutter my drawers and hide under my bed. It goes beyond that – I can’t even get rid of old stuffed animals, for fear of hurting their feelings. Really, I’m just laying it all out there for you; I’m a little nutty. This is a contributing factor to two things: my love of all things vintage and antique, and my forever depleting storage solutions.
Since my mom owns a consignment shop, she often acquires the full contents of an estate, after someone’s passing or relocation. It’s amazing to me, how many things people leave behind. I guess sometimes, it’s just easier for the family to get rid of everything and move on. My mom has a huge box full of other people’s photographs, that she couldn’t bear to throw away. It just didn’t seem right. For me, it’s the clothing – especially the well loved vintage dresses, pressed and hanging in garment bags. You can always tell which ones really meant something, whether it’s the professional tailoring, a written name on the tag, or just the way it stands out among the house coats and slippers.
Two years ago, an elderly man came to my mom and told her that his wife died, and he couldn’t live alone anymore. He said he wanted her to take it all, because his kids didn’t want anything and he couldn’t take it with him. It broke her heart; she said he was dying of heartache. My mom spent a long while sorting through their things, and gave me a bunch of her clothing to look through. Well, I donated some of the items and altered the rest, for my own wardrobe. That Valentines’ Day dress was one of them, and this blazer is another (naturally, I changed them up quite a bit). I also have some skirts, dresses and tops that I made out of some of their vintage linens, and a couple more dresses in my closet. I’d like to think that she’d get a kick out of a young gal like me getting use out of her old clothing. As for the rest, I’m sure my mom has found special homes for their tangible memories, and even kept a few for herself.
Outfit details:
(Excuse the wet hair; I showered shortly before the pictures.)
reconstructed vintage blazer – now you know
white floral tank – urban outfitters (a few years old)
shorts – urban outfitters
tights – no idea
orange heels – a gift from my mom, several years ago. I have them in teal, too…but I can’t seem to find them.
kitty Vester – side of the road rescue
-Keiko
p.s. I’m curious – do you consider yourself sentimental? What do you have a hard time letting go of?
p.p.s. I got my Macbook back! The problem was what I hoped it was. It was having trouble booting up and needed the startup disk, which I don’t have on hand. Everything is still there…which reminds me, I should back up right now.
p.p.p.s. This is mainly for Kim, but today was spent making headbands with my lovely intern, Catherine (click her name to check out her blog). We made over a dozen headbands!
