I’ve been meaning to read the book Love, Loss and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman, but am happy to know it’s now been made into a Broadway play by Nora and Delia Ephron.
This morning, the Ephrons are visiting the Martha Stewart Show, reminiscing with great nostalgia about what they wore to their first proms and to their brownie meetings. The domestic doyenne doesn’t hesitate to share a story about how she hid a bra from her mother (who was apparently in denial about Martha’s burgeoning womanhood) in the back of her closet until her displeased mother discovered it.
We all have memories of what we wore when a significant event happened in our lives. The Aussie actor Simon Baker remembers handmade swim trunks, my mother remembers the-in-her-words jazzy raincoat and hat she made during her college days. I remember a friend’s black poodle skirt that I’d beg to wear any chance I got. I felt transported to the 1950s, a period that I had assumed was America’s utopia.
7 Responses to “Love, Loss and What You wore?”
Ohhh, this is fun!!!!! I hope this counts, but when I think about what I wore, I’m actually reminded about what I did NOT wear. My senior year of high school I won a scholarship competition and was invited to an awards ceremony. I knew exactly what I was going to wear: a sophisticated off the shoulder sweater (ugh, it had shoulder pads!) to go with a black calf-length skirt I bought for the event. I was going to look like the chic, smart girl.
Then the horror came. It never occurred to me that I’d need a slip – such an old ladyish garment anyways. Well, i could have used one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When I got on stage to accept the award, the whole world could see all my business. I mean you could make out EVERYTHING.
When I think about it today, I still cringe. Now, before I go out, I always triple check from all angles and in all lighting.
From the time I 10-16. My parents would give me the BIGGEST Underware bloomers in my stockings. They were so large I can fit into some of them today. They would be like, you are going to grow into them. I finally said enough with the undies my senior year in HS lol. But for a while…I wore the biggest undies ever LMAO
I remember wearing big clunky brown boots to my prom. (:
@Cynthia Umm, I don’t know what to say about your big bloomers, but I can say that I have been laughing for a good hour, thinking about your oversized undies. Hopefully, you aren’t selling any of these at Urban Frugal Chic?;-)
I still remember my days of the week undies, which I wore until I was far too mature to fit in them. What can I say, they made me nostalgic for my childhood. Before school each year, mom would buy us a new pack of orange, red, yellow, blue weekdays, signaling the end of the summer and the beginning of school.
@Pace I just hope your brown boots matched your dress? If yes, then you looked just fine;-)
Oh, the prom. Yikes. I wore pale lavender satin – lame bridesmaid fabric – and I made the dress myself. Full length, v-neck, sleeveless. And so not me.
Gah, the things we do when we’re teenagers.
Can’t recall what I was wearing on my feet, but I expect the shoes were as cringeworthy as the dress.
The only dress I own (not worn since about 1991) is a vintage Dior black wool coat dress that I found in a secondhand shop on Queen Street in Toronto. I could probably renovate it a little and wear it with palazzo pants and comfortable shoes. Or smokin’ black boots. Yeah, that would do it.
Okay, I’m still shuddering about the prom…
I remember my Mom making me a tutu out of crepe paper for the carnival. She also made me into a Japanese girl with a kimono and her knitting needles in my hair in second grade. I won that carnival that year, I was the carnival queen. Mami, so creative. Best memories ever.
I do remember what I wore to significant events, but often remember more what others wear. Almost to the point of sounding stalkerish. I remember what DH and his best friend were wearing the night we met.