Vintage Thingie Thursday : A Vintage Dress And A Dream

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you are new to this party, please take the time to read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. I have gotten a few complaints about people linking in and not doing what is required, please, try and visit each and every participant, that is really important. Please only ONE link per week. Thank you for your cooperation in this. I know we are all busy, but even if it takes a few days to do so, please do that. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

This week, will be a little different post for me, but just bear with me. This photo is sorta vintage...it is my husband and myself on our wedding day in 1986. I highlighted the anniversary date earlier this month with a post, you can see it HERE if you missed it. The remarkable thing was not so much the post itself, but the conversation that erupted from it on facebook. Many of you read along as the conversation played out on FB that day. But for those of you who missed it, I want to recap what happened today for Vintage Thingie Thursday. I still get goose-bumps just thinking about it. Hope you enjoy...and on several occasions lately, there is a lesson in this tale...for me, it was to never to give up on your dreams.


On my wedding day, 24 years ago I wore a dress I borrowed from a good friend of mine. It was perfect for a Las Vegas wedding and I truly loved the dress. After the wedding and I returned home, my friend called and asked me to return the dress as her baby sister wanted to wear it to a function. Of course, I returned the dress, but if I am honest here, I did not want to return it at all. I wanted to keep it because it meant a lot to me, no matter that it was not mine. But, I did the right thing, took it to get cleaned, and returned it to her right away....reluctantly. And as things sometimes go, sadly, we remained out of touch after that for over 23 years. But in all that time, I never forgot that dress, and wished so many times I would have just asked to keep it.

This fall, my friend and I reunited once again through facebook and she follows along with all my antics on my blog. After I posted about our anniversary this month, and she saw the photos I had included in the post, and sent me a message on facebook and asked "Is this my dress?"

I reminded her that yes, it was her dress, and that I had borrowed it when I got married.....She said she had forgotten that, and did not remember it at all. Then as the conversation progressed, she informed me that she thought she still had the dress....maybe I'd want it back to make something with???

Friends, I am here to tell you, my eyes filled up, my nose and throat were stinging....all I could do was sit and stare at her words on the computer screen and think....how could this be??? After all of these years? Surely, not....she must be mistaken......but at the same time, the excitement grew just thinking that possibly, possibly....she might have it. You see, there was no way my friend would have known how I have wished for this dress, thought about this dress, and regretted not asking for it or at least offering to buy it from her all of these years ago....no way she could have known what it meant to me to even think she might still have it, I had given up that dream long, long ago.

She told me the dress has been in her daughter's dress-up trunk for years and felt like it was still in there among some other dresses. Imagine....that dress in a little girl's dress-up trunk and it might still be there....I was giddy I tell you. Now, her daughter is 15 years old, and I am quiet sure she has not been playing dress-up for several years, but still.....that only added to the romantic allure for me......truly. My sweet friend apologized over and over that if she had only remembered, she'd never let the kids use the dress to play dress up......

That evening, my friend confirmed she still had the dress....and it was mine.....warned me it was a little worn, yellowed, and maybe I would be disappointed in the condition of the dress. She was worried I think.....but I was thrilled, as long as SHE HAD IT, there would be nothing wrong that could not be fixed.

My friend even explained that when she pulled the dress out of the dress-up trunk and looked at the tag, the dress had MY NAME on the tag, she said she was just stunned. My name was there from when I took the dress to be cleaned before I returned it to her all those years ago. She said she never noticed that, and that just confirmed the dress belonged to me and it was just meant to be. Truly, that is the truth. Remember I just don't believe in coincidences, things happen because they are meant to.....my name was proof enough.

On my wedding day long ago, my friend's dress was my something borrowed, my shoes were my something new, this hankie belonged to my grandmother whom I never knew,( my mom's mother), that was my something old and my something blue was....well.....my unmentionables.

Here is my vintage hankie....THAT I held onto for all these years......I tell ya' when something means something special to me....I never part with it...except this one time with the dress.....just sayin'

I picked the dress up this morning from my friend. She was quick to point out a few spots that were from safety pins that pinned the dress up for the little girls to wear. She said again, she hoped I was not disappointed. I was not disappointed in the condition of the dress, even the coloring was fine with me, I added an off white ribbon to it, and it is truly the same color as the dress. The only problem I had with this dress at all was a vision I had dreamed up in my heart.

I totally came to the conclusion before I picked this dress up, that I could get this back on for our 25th wedding anniversary next year. Surely, I could do that, after all, I would have a year to lose enough weight to do so. Well, once I had this dress in my hand....reality sat in really quickly. The dress says an 11/12. Well, I am here to tell you, the sizes in the 80's sure were off because this is more like a 5/6 if that. Mercy.....talk about disappointed, not in the dress....but myself.

Not only that, but once I had my tiny daughter try the dress on, well.....I saw my dreams of wearing this again sail away to a remote island somewhere......I doubt I could get this over my.....well....you get the picture.....

The dress was a little bit big in the waist, and bust area for my daughter, but not enough to give me much hope. My daughter laughed at the sleeves, said "could they be any bigger, Mom!!!???" ....classic 80's sleeves......I was in style little girl.....really.

I will say this, Alisha was really supportive, assured me I could wear this dress again if I truly wanted to....and oh, I want to. She said I just need to work at this, stay with it, and hang this dress where it is a constant reminder of my dream. She told me to not give up. She is right.....after all, this dress did not come back to me after all of these years, not to complete the dream I have always had....to wear it again. Lord....give me strength!

I hope you enjoyed this tale of my vintage dress and how I ended up with it once again. You guys are the best, because you let me ramble on about my life and are so supportive. Thanks bunches! I guess this means I'll be having new post under Weight Loss Journey again.....Have a great week! Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday everyone!