L.Gomezdelatorre

Reading the book “Craft of Use” by Kate Fletcher made me think about the strong emotional attachment that I have developed toward some of my clothes. It is funny how sometimes, this aspect of people’s life remains overlooked. As we add more and more items to our wardrobe, we tend to forget about the stories of each one of those pieces, which are part of the chapters of the big book that our life history. Whether our clothing collection is large or small, each one of the pieces that we have acquired through time has the power to evoke a special feeling, a treasured memory, or perhaps just even the sweet feeling of pleasure that we felt the moment that, acting on impulse, we bought a garment directly from the front window of a store.  For me, each one of the clothes that I keep has such a strong emotional value.

I believe that Fletcher’s book intends to remind us that each skirt, t-shirt, jacket or dress that we have hides a beautiful story to remember. Therefore, throwing them out without acknowledging this would be as though we were deleting that special part of our past. That is why is so important to make a recollection of those meaningful moments with love and some added nostalgia as we go through our drawers and closet at the end of each season. For example, a dress that we bought for our prom party when we were in high school is full of memories of a night in which we celebrated the great achievement of finishing school and starting a new chapter of our life as adults. However, for many people, it is not easy to learn to appreciate their clothes since we live in the era of globalization and fast-fashion, in which the marketing strategy of the industry encourages customers to constantly buy new things and throw out the old ones. I think taking the time to let memories resurface through our clothes is a key concept to understand that fashion is more than shopping. Thus, associating our garments with our personal history could encourage us to recycle and find new and interesting ways to wear the items we already have.

In my case, I would say that one of my favorite garments is a beautiful pink mini trapeze ruffle dress that my sister gave me as a birthday present a couple of years ago. This was my first retro classic dress, and I love it because of its soft and smooth texture. It features a flat collar embellished with silver rhinestones that combine perfectly with its elegant long sleeves. The dress is made of light pink chiffon, which is a very delicate and beautiful fabric. In addition, this dress reminds me of the trapeze line created by Yves Saint Laurent during the late 1950’s, and I can say that fell in love with it the very first time I saw it. It is funny though that as much as I liked it, I couldn’t get it before it was sold out online. I was totally disappointed about it because knowing that my birthday was getting closer, I thought it was the perfect occasion for me to wear it. Having lost all hope to get it, I was greatly surprise when I got a box in the mail containing the same trapeze dress I was so desperately looking for along with a sweet card from my sister wishing me a very happy birthday. Months later, I asked my sister how she knew I wanted that dress, and she told me that she ordered it weeks before my birthday thinking I would like it. Thus, whether it was a very fortunate event or coincidence of fate what brought this dress to into my life, it was also an act of appreciation and love, which makes it even more meaningful for me.