Mother's Clothes

This is the dress I mentioned in this post from last week.

My in-laws were married in April, 1977 and this is what my mother-in-law wore. She looked much prettier than I did and much less like a moody teenage goth kid. It was an honor to wear such a special item for this shoot and an even bigger honor to use the materials to make my own wedding dress, 37 years later. Holly used most of the gauzy fabric at the bottom and the lining in the bodice of my dress and to add volume to the bottom of mine. It was then draped with spider web-like lace and gently wrinkled tulle. All were dyed the palest of greys, which sometimes looked like a light purple or a light blue in some light. The dress was originally a light ivory with a blue sash.

Soon after this shoot I mailed the dress off to Holly to be "destroyed" with permission for a new incarnation. It was bittersweet and I was apprehensive, as I've spent a lot of time with my in-laws and have witnessed such a great dynamic and beautiful marriage between the two, so I felt that I was doing them an injustice. But my mother-in-law was more than enthusiastic about the project, so it made me feel better. She doesn't have any other children, so it made the hand me down all the more sentimental. Like a time machine! The flying time machine dress... Or something.

Next week I'll have a short video for you of the process of making my dress with Holly.