Worn Stories: The Little Black Dress

I read Worn Stories where people talked about the memories of the clothing in their wardrobe from having to go to the hospital to be with your dying mother to realizing a friend many years ago (before you were friends) bought the same piece of clothing you had donated and you recognized it.

It made me think about the worn items in my wardrobe, and I thought I’d do something similar with the items in my wardrobe.

LITTLE BLACK DRESS

This is the dress that is part of the first outfit my partner (then boyfriend) has ever purchased for me.

(We don’t do the gift thing now, we cook and bake for each other instead.)

He wanted to give me a gift when we first started dating, and bought me an entire outfit saying we had an unlimited budget.

 

At that time, I didn’t realize that he was serious (he was willing to spend any amount as a once-in-a-lifetime thing), and he actually wanted to buy quality, such as things made in his native France but did not know clothing stores for women.

He met met at a time when I was getting out of my $60,000 of student debt and was in super-frugal mode, so it’s safe to say that I too, was unfamiliar with quality clothing stores for women.

The outfit was meant to be something to wear to a fine dining restaurant, and consisted of:

• A black sheath wool dress – made in Canada by Josef, a local clothing brand
• Club Monaco ivory wool sheath coat – it pilled and didn’t last
• Nine West black heels – the heel broke and the shoes are gone

…and what remains of that entire outfit, is this still gorgeous, and classic dress.

No one had ever offered to, or followed through on such an incredibly generous gift, and I wore that outfit out to a fancy Japanese (my favourite cuisine) restaurant the following week.

I still fit in the dress because it is so well-made that even though it says Size 2, and I am currently a Size 4, it fits and hugs without being too tight.

10 years later, we had a baby (Baby Bun!) and are still going strong.

I wear the dress from time to time (to work) and every time I do, I remember the entire experience.