The Dress I Couldn’t Let Go Of
The floral dress that fitted as though it had been made for me - and the family story I still hope it may carry forward.
· 4 min read · Tania Cottew
We all have at least one thing in our wardrobe that we just have to keep. Mine was originally kept in the hope of having a daughter. Now it is a granddaughter I am patiently waiting for - although I have given some special pieces away to friends’ daughters over the years.
So what is my one dress? This lovely floral dress from the 1980s. It originally belonged to the younger sister of my ex-husband. From memory, her bust became too big for it, so she passed it on to me. It was the first floral dress I ever wore as an adult, and the first dress that actually fitted me from shoulder to waist. I am short-waisted, and it felt as though it had been made for me.
I wore it for years. In fact, I was still wearing it until I was about 48. It always felt elegant and classy, but never restricted to one kind of occasion. I could wear it to work, to a wedding or to a garden party. I wore it with sunhats and soft summer wraps, then chose summery sandals or court shoes depending on where I was going. It was one of those rare dresses that could move between different parts of life without ever feeling wrong.
It was the first dress that actually fitted me from shoulder to waist. I am short-waisted, and it felt as though it had been made for me.
After roughly 40 years of wearing and washing it, the maker’s name has disappeared from the label. The small words Made in New Zealand can still be seen, but the part that might have confirmed the brand has faded beyond recognition. From memory, it came from Smith & Caughey’s because that was my in-laws’ favourite store. If not there, it was from somewhere else in Newmarket, Auckland - back in the days when one got dressed up to go shopping.
There are dresses we remember because they were fashionable, and dresses we remember because of the occasions where we wore them. This one matters to me for something quieter. It showed me what it felt like when a garment truly fitted my body rather than asking my body to fit the garment. That is why I could not let it go.
Perhaps one day it will be worn again by someone in the next generation. Perhaps the granddaughter I am patiently waiting for will love it, or perhaps its story will continue in another way. For now, it remains with me: a little piece of the 1980s, a memory of Newmarket, and the first floral dress that ever made me feel completely at home in what I was wearing.