Re-Imagining Gram's Gowns

Our grandmother's
dresses out for a dance
​in 2007.

My sister
and I played dress-up.
Our mother ​took
​photographs.

And then
they hung in my
attic for over a decade...
until ​it was time to
let ​them live
​again.

Some
went to our
local theater company
and others went to goodwill.
A few stayed behind
though, because,
well, they just
​needed
​to.

How could
I resist those colors,
textures and the spirit of my
grandmother?

Well...
Not exactly me.
But what
if...

I'm a mender
(see last week's blog
post), not a maker or re-maker, but
maybe there was a costume designer with
the imagination I needed to help
re-create these in my
own image?

Along came
Rebecca Sewart, owner of
Pins & Needles Garment Company. She
saw the potential and, probably with her upcoming
work with Joseph and the Amazing Techni-Color
Dream Coat in mind, started with the
dress. The entire process
​was magic.

What a 
gift to have an
energetic, creative
person who loves fiber
come to my house and lovingly
​transform a complicated fabric into the 
coolest pair of 'retro' trousers
​a gal could own.

Gram must 
approve, because I feel
her spirit when I wear her re-imagined
evening gowns, which now contain Rebecca's energy
as well. Stay tuned for our next shared
​creation...It seems that
patience pays. 

---

Notes:
My sister is the incredible maker, Sarah Swett, who plays with fiber and is currently enamored with making her own clothes. My mother is Shiela Swett, who loves to take photographs of nature out her back door. I learned about Rebecca from the owners of The Pink Alligator, a consignment store in Lebanon and Hanover, NH. Rebecca is now creating costumes for a production of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat for a theater company in Massachusetts.  

Final thought: I have to assume that those who made my grandmother's clothes and the fabric from which they came earned a living wage, since they were either hand made or couture, but I don't know for sure since working conditions varied fifty years ago. In today's world of fast fashion, though, I am trying hard to use the fabrics I have and keep things as local as possible. This project brings me complete joy because it honors my grandmother's standard of owning well-made clothes that last and my standard of embracing the ethic of slow, sustainable fashion. And in the process, I have clothes that make me feel powerful and beautiful, but which I never would have bought off any rack in any store. Thank you, Gram.