THE DRESS FOUND ME in 2021 in my favorite ever church basement. I am not religious, but being a secondhand shopper my entire life means that I (and my mother) have found that the best places in South Jersey are in fact in church basements, in terms of price and quality of items. The Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church in Audubon NJ is the absolute creme-de-la-creme in all departments, open for a mere three hours, cash only, every other Saturday morning from September-June.
I started to shop there my junior year of highschool, when many places began to open back up in the aftermath of COVID. On one of my first visits, I spotted a length of deep maroon on the dress rack. And as soon as I saw the pattern and square neckline I knew instantly that this dress was made for me (almost). Except for the fact that it wasn’t; it was many sizes too large for me to fit into. So, rather than purchasing it, I left it on the rack, 100000% sure that someone who would fit into the dress would snatch the beauty up in the following weeks.
But weeks followed, and then months followed, and after an entire year NOBODY bought the dress I fell head over heels for the very first time I saw it. How? Fate perhaps. So, I figured that if nobody else with the same size wanted the dress after a YEAR, it would be okay for me to take it home and alter it. Which I did, messily, promptly, because I was so excited to finally have it in my hands. But before it came to me, and even before it reached the Logan Memorial Presbyterian, I wonder, what memories did it hold?
Judging by the tag alone, I can certainly say that this dress is from the 90s. The long and easy flowing style of the dress was also an extremely popular silhouette in the 90s, the dark color indicative of grungier tastes (more on 90s style from FIT!).
Harnessing the POWER of the internet at my fingertips, I unlocked a few listings on ebay of dresses with the exact same “notations” tags, both of which were made in the 90s according to the sellers. Although my care tag has worn out, both of these tags are marked “Made in Mexico.” I wonder who originally sewed my dress three decades ago, where they are now, if they are still sewing. I cannot find anything about Notations’ present day supply chain, aside from the fact that their clothes seem to be mostly sold in Boscov’s. Any information about their practices from 30+ years ago is unreachable to me, at least for now. I am still so thankful for the many hands that pieced this dress together, and that it got to me from over 2000 miles away.
I don't know the exact fiber content, but its definately a polyester mix, although quite thick, holding up very well for 30 years of existence. I've taken this dress out of it's origional context, butchered it with rushed alterations and shoddy handiwork. Clothing is tricky because its function mandates change and movement. I have more changes to cover, more memories in this dress I've not written about yet. But in changing this dress, it's emmeshed itself with my life, and my life within its.
