Familial Style

My love for Of A Kind is constantly blossoming. The gals over there do such an awesome job of tying what we wear in to the historical impact of fashion and the personal style of our lives. Their latest featured designer, Winifred Grace, shared the story of her stylistic connection to her grandmother, a woman who marched to the beat of her own sartorial drum.

Winifred Grace's grandmother / Photo credits: via Winifred Grace for Of A Kind

The connection clothing and jewelry can give us to relatives long gone is one that has truly begun to fascinate and touch me. My great-grandmothers died within a few years of each other when I was a teenager, both women leaving distinct influences on me as a child. My Grandma Millie let my family live with her for about a year when I was very young, and continually invited us in to her house on a weekly basis until the time of her death. My Grandma Beltz constantly showered all of her grandchildren with hugs and kisses; she was quick to give of her time and money to any of her family, without being asked, and thrived off of any time spent with her grandchildren. As I grow in to a young professional adult, these two women continue to shape the way I'm realizing I should treat my own family: with unconditional love, appreciation, and compassion.

Recently, my maternal grandmother let my sister and I look through and pick out rings that had belonged to my Great-Grandma Beltz. This was important to me because one of my most distinct memories of Grandma Beltz were the long, detailed rings she would wear every day, often sporting 2 or 3 at a time. Being able to wear a piece of her memory is priceless. 

Two of Great-Grandma Beltz's rings

I have yet to get my hands on a piece of clothing owned by Grandma Millie.... The piece I want most is the blouse she always wore to special occasions, like my birthday parties. It was a green and blue silky material with a tied bow at the neck, and was more fitted than the other blouses she wore on a daily basis. I thought it made her look so feminine. I wonder now where she got it? Was there a special significance behind that piece for her?

The celebration of our families and the memory of them, of our own history and those who impact us, are closely tied to the way we adorn ourselves. A scent, a necklace, a favorite sweater... These things are intrinsically part of the memories our bodies leave behind on this earth. Worn Stories, a blog curated by writer Emily Spivak, houses and celebrates a collection of stories told through special pieces of clothing. Some are personal, like writer Courtney Maum's about her father's Ralph Lauren cardigan. Others tell stories with wider cultural significance, such as Sadie Mintz's tale of the rhinestone earrings she and her husband made for Marilyn Monroe. To me, as a fashion historian, this blog is monumental because it decries the superficiality that is so prevalent in the fashion industry today and helps dissuade the stereotype that clothing equals mere frivolity.

Clothing is most impactful when it is serving a purpose and telling a story; when it is drawing us closer to a past that we suddenly find so relatable to our own present.