Fashion Stories: Great-Great Grandma’s Wedding Dress

Investment Piece: Out of the Closet: Great Great Grandma's Wedding Dress
Investment Piece: Out of the Closet: Great Great Grandma's dress
Investment Piece: out of the closet, great great grandma's dress

Loves!! I’m so exited to share the first of the new project we’ve been working on:

Fashion Stories : Telling the Stories our Fashions Hold.

I’m a big lover of fashion. I’m a big believer in stories. I’m convinced that we’re all story-tellers and that in our closets are pieces that hold meaning and explain different parts of us. Whether it’s something that shows a side of us that we don’t normally share with the world, or the outfit that we got our big promotion in, our fashions tell our stories. So, let’s bring our fashion out of the closet and listen.

Or, at least, that’s the idea.

And our first story? My great-great grandma’s wedding dress. Wedding dresses are one of those things that we all hang onto, and pass down. They’re full of the hope and love that the first owner had on her big day, and as we pass them down, the dresses get full of the love and hope that the older generation has for the younger generation.

Investment Piece: Great Great Grandma's Wedding Dress

My Great-Great Grandma, Cora Christine, wore this gown in 1887 to marry my great-great grandpa, Arthur A. From just a fashion standpoint? The beading (that even runs underneath the belt), the train, the sleeves. It’s just exquisite. The story? While this wedding dress was originial to my great great grandma, she got it at McNeil’s Gowns (an extensive Internet search has produced nothing on this brand, if you know something I would love to hear it!), it’s been passed down in my family for generations. It’s become one of the things that no one can (or wants to) get rid of–and not just because it’s gorgeous.

I never got to meet my great-great grandma (I’m not that old), but getting to wear her dress let’s me in on little bits of her personality. That she must have liked details. That she could pull off being delicate and a train. That she wanted a dress for her wedding like this, at a time when some people didn’t go big for their wedding day. There are parts of her in me, and this dress describes both of us.

I made us a little video for Out of the Closet. Our fashions hold stories, and I love telling them:

(Yes, there are some technical issues. It’s hard being great at fashion and not great at technology. Also, if you know someone who’s great at editing send them our way!)

Loves! Thank you for listening to my stories. I would love to come play in your closet and tell yours!

XO RA

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RachelAdelicia

Actress, avid shopper, and a lover of fashion. Hoping to make the world a better place one pair of shoes at a time.