Haunted Clothing...

This project started as part of my Senior Seminar project at UW Bothell, and I think (hope) it will grow into an exploration of the memories embedded in our clothing; the memories that we cart around with us everyday. I encourage and invite you to send me your pictures and stories...

-Kate

Pearl Bracelet

This bracelet belonged to my mother's grandmother, and like the pearl clutch, it really does hold memories of her. The luminescence of these pearls glows as if she's inside them looking out. I really like how the one picture makes the pearls look as though they're lying on a mirror, when it's actually a two strand bracelet.

Gold Earrings

These earrings also emigrated to the US from Sicily and they carry a lot of that "old world" charm with them. I don't have a whole lot of personal connection to these, but my mom does, and I know she feels that closeness with these as well as the other pieces of her grandmother.

Beaded Clutch

This pearl clutch was always one of my favorite items...but I've never been allowed to use it! Again, it's my great-grandmother's, and it's precious to her. The craftsmanship on this item is amazing, and it's really priceless.

Holey Jeans

These are my all-time favorite jeans...I've had them for years and years, and they were my benchmark for post-baby jeans. They fit me 3 months after giving birth, and I was pretty excited about that. However, because I wore them ALL the time, I busted a rather large hole in an inappropriate place, and despite my efforts to repair them, the hole kept getting larger. I've retired them, but I can't seem to manage to actually part with them. I know I'll never wear them again, but I can't get rid of them! Maybe I'll do something with them someday, but for now, they're in a box under my bed.

White Button Down

This shirt is one of my favorites. My husband wore this to our rehersal dinner, and I've always loved both the cool crispness of it and the way the embroidery feels embossed and stiffer than the rest of the fabric. This shirt reminds me of that day everytime he wears it, and I love that this everyday article of clothing can remind me of such a memorable time.

Many Pocketed Cargo Shorts

These shorts don't hold much for me, but they are my husbands all time favorite shorts...I remember buying these when I worked at the Gap for like, 4.99, and he was so excited. They are full of holes, and getting close to unwearable, but he refuses to part with them. I still wonder what makes us hang on to stuff that is totally unusable, unwearable. Is it really just memories? Is that enough to make humans keep closets full of clothing we'll never wear again?

Embroidered Jeans

White Floral one-piece

This is the first "girly" item that I bought after having my ultrasound and finding out I was having a girl. I thought it was the sweetest little outfit, and I somehow knew that Ryan would be tiny, and would fit into this size in the warmer season. She did, and she actually wore this outfit when we were in Alabama and went frolicking in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a great afternoon with good friends after a fantastic wedding. This outfit also represents something I'll never have before, my tiny little bebe. She'll always be my bebe, but never that small again.

Lavender Silk Gown

Winnie the Pooh Hat

This was one of my favorite hats of Peanut's. She always looked so sweet in this hat and it's little matching outfit. And, as much as I generally hate all things with characters on them, this one doesn't bother me. Maybe it was the post-delivery hormones, or something about the bear ears, but I was able to set that all aside and dress her in this all the time. Picking it up out of storage for this project, I realized how much it still smells like her and how it smells nothing like her all at once. She's now a toddler, and this hat would fit one of her many dollies, but the touch and smell of this hat will always remind me of her at 7 pounds, cuddled up on my shoulder.

Purple Plaid Dress

I wore this dress every other day in kindergarten. My dear mother would have to pry it off my 5 year old body to wash it each night so that I could wear it as much as possible. Looking back at it now, I can only hope that if RE develops a similar obsession, it's not for purple plaid. this is one ugly dress, but I suppose it was very en vogue in 1985. I always was quite the trendster.

Floral Housedress

This dress belonged to my Great-Grandma Scimeca. I don't know much about her, but that she was my mother's favorite person in the whole world. I've only even seen a handful of photographs of her, and she was in black mourning clothings in all of them, so it's difficult to imagine her wearing something to chic. I'm sure she'd be rolling in her grave to know that I wore this to school one day in 9th grade, and fully intend on wearing it again now that it's back in my possession. I like to imagine her standing over an old 1940s sink, washing dishes, yelling at kids, with the wedding ring that I lost sitting on the edge of the sink. That's another story though...

The Green Sweater

This sweater is one of my all-time favorites. I bought it for 3 reasons: 1) I'm obsessed with this color green, 2) it's CASHMERE and 3) I was able to monogram it with my new initials. I was ever the blissed-out bride, and wanted to proclaim my new self to anyone and everyone who would listen. And how fun is it to do that in cashmere? Really, it's the softest sweater I've ever touched, and I'm seriously saddended that it's got too many holes for me to continue mending it. I think I have finally decided it will spend it's retirement refashioned as a jumper for RE, as soon as I get around to doing it. Or maybe a skirt, but in one way shape or form, something for her, the fruit of the union I was so proud of (still am).