I have 2 dresses from the 80’s that I’ve kept all these years. One is the very first 2 piece skirt set that was expensive and my mother bought it for me at a boutique. It was $350 in 1983 and is simply gorgeous and timeless. I would wear it at cocktail or holiday parties still…if I was a size 6.
The other is the first expensive dress I bought for myself in 1984 for my wedding rehearsal. I was only making $16k a year and it was $375 at Gidding Jenny (anyone remember that store?). I walked around the store for hour before buying it. It is gorgeous but very 80’s dated.
I have no daughters who might think these were fun at some retro party. I’m getting ready to list them for sale. Truly, seems like there is no reason to keep. But it still makes me a little sad. Anybody else hang on to those special items for decades, then wonder why?
I have my wedding dress from 1978. I have the dress I wore to my older son’s Bar Mitzvah in 1998. And I have the dress I wore to my younger son’s Bar Mitzvah in 2002. Plus, I have a beautiful bright red dressy suit with rhinestone buttons from – oh, I don’t know; the mid-80s? I love it and will never, ever ever wear it again, but I enjoy owning it.
Heck yeah! I have a super cool opalescent 80’s jacket top that my sis wore to her prom. I borrowed and forgot to give it back. I’ve worn it since then to some 80’s parties. I have an incredible designer sheath dress from the late 60’s-early 70’s with the grooviest pattern ever. I actually found it about 13 years ago for a 70’s party. I have my vintage stuff from my late 80’s heyday that was already vintage when I bought it, so from the 50’s I guess. I was super hip!
But I grew up in the land of rich and pretty people. My family shopped at Kmart. It doesn’t bother me shopping at such places now, but as an awkward teen it did. My mom said I could have some name brand stuff when I stopped growing. I grew 9” in 18 months! But in my freshmen year of HS, my mom took me to an outlet where I got 4 pair of Guess jeans for $100. I still have 2 pair hanging in my closet. (they do still fit, though not quite the same way.)
My grandmother sewed and made my mom, sister, and me a lot of nice dresses. I’ve saved several of them from the '70s. It makes me happy to see them in my closet.
I have some truly vintage scarves that belonged to my grandmother. I never wear them, but I think they’re beautiful.
My wedding dress is very non-traditional, much to my mother’s chagrin at the time. DD is considering wearing it as her prom dress! I think I would love it if she did, but I would also miss the experience of shopping with her for a new one. Been kinda looking forward to that. That’s assuming that prom even happens this spring, which right now I would guess is unlikely.
I have 2 prom dresses. One is black sequins on top with a flowy white skirt and a beaded dropped waist. My daughter thought it had a Gatsby look to it and was going to wear it for her prom last spring but that didn’t end up happening. She asked me to hold on to it because she loves it and wants to wear it at some point.
Gosh, I really don’t. I have a few of ds’s baby clothes. I do have my Christening gown (infant size), and while I know some folks baptize boy babies in gowns, I opted not to, and we had no more children. But, I don’t have anything that belonged to me.
I donated my wedding gown to Angel Gowns last year. They use them to make bereavement clothing donated to families who have infants who don’t make it home from the hospital. I tried it on (it still fit!), had dh take a photo, and sent it on its way.
Besides my 1976 wedding dress I have a full length black velvet wrap around cape from my mother dating from pre 1950. It is dramatic I can’t part with it even though I don’t use it anymore.
I have one dress from High School (it was for an organization I was in that I had to be selected for), and a formal dress from college. Neither was expensive but the college dress was worn to lots of functions and was lent out to several dorm friends and sorority sisters. I wish that dress could talk!
Other than that, no. To me most stuff is just “old clothes”.
I have lots of things - Villager dress from junior high school (unfortunately the belt went missing years ago); dress I wore to homecoming on first big date with exH which is really ugly, but shows how thin I was; a number of Laura Ashley pieces; clothes my mom made for me and more. My favorite vintage piece is the dress my mother wore to my wedding. It is a dusty pink crepe with at least 50-60 tiny pintucks on top and attached skirt. My mother was an amazing seamstress and this dress is a testament to that. It makes me happy to see it in the corner of my closet. I still have my 1979 wedding dress as well and would be happy to donate it if I could find a charity locally that would utilize it.
Why do we keep these things. I never look at mine, tucked far back in the corner. I have pics of me wearing them. I guess I hung on to mine thinking one day I might have a granddaughter that might think they are cool, but I’m becoming less sentimental the older I get.
I have this Ralph Lauren blue tweed moto jacket that is at least 20 years old. It’s gorgeous and still fits. It’s never been out of style, it’s very classic.
I would have to look in my closet really closely to see what the oldest item I have is - besides my wedding dress in the attic. I don’t think I have anything before 2000 for sure!
BUT I do LOVE to see vintage clothing and would consider buying pieces. Fun things like floral shifts, colorful jackets - that kind of thing. I love following Joy Cho (Oh Joy) and seeing how she pulls off all kinds of vintage pieces.
I have my 1996 wedding dress that my mom made and DD’17 says when the time comes, she’ll try it on and decide whether to use it too. It doesn’t scream 1990’s, I think it could work today.
I saved a pair of my grandpa’s overalls and a chambray shirt.
I have a 1993 sweatshirt from my college that I got on my tour.
My mom remodeled my junior prom dress into my senior prom dress and it became part of my girls’ dress-up clothes which we still have.
DD’19 wore her grandma’s 60’s bridesmaid dress to an 8th grade formal.
I remember trying on my mom’s 50’s prom dress as a child. She had a 21" waist so it would have been impossible for a normal teenager to wear but I remember it being fabulous. That and her wedding dress got ruined in the attic.
I have:
My mother’s poodle skirt. She made it herself and has cute applique lions instead of poodles.
The dress my Mom wore to the White House in the late 60s. It’s yellow and made of stiff stuff. Very Jack Kennedy looking. I wore it once to a Halloween party.
The dress my Mom wore to the White House at some later date. Very simple blue velvet, v-neck. I look really good in it and have worn it as fancy dress.
The unbleached muslin dress I wore for my high school graduation. I do not fit in this one.
Quite a few dresses and shirts made out of kitenge fabric from 1970-72. They are cut loose enough that I can still wear them. Some also belonged to my mother. The long ones are fun for summer parties.
This made me sad. Obviously NOT your intention! But, I buried my mother in the dress she had selected to wear to my wedding. She (and my dad) died during our engagement. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer on a fun thread. I am glad you have that piece of clothing. Although my mom did not make the dress she planned to wear to my wedding, she, too, was an excellent seamstress. She made lots of my clothing growing up.
I’ll never forget one visit she made to see me after I had been working about a year. She brought me FOUR new work dresses she had made for me. I remember the thrill I had wearing something new four days in a row! I had a good job, but building a work wardrobe was not inexpensive. I do wish I had something she had sewn for me.
I think the most ‘vintagey’ thing I have is an embroidered jacket I bouth in India in the late 80’s, that and a couture trapeze coat from the late 50s/ early 60’s which belonged to H’s aunt.
