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The Sentimental Holding Zone.....

Sal

Veteran

Laura's post brought up the issue of the sentimental holding zone. Pieces that you hold on to and may never wear again. What is in your sentimental holding zone?

I have the following pieces that I am unlikely to get rid of despite maybe never wearing them again. They are either too precious and delicate or too small. But I would lend them to future family members.

My wedding dress
My Dad's wedding suit
My Mum, Grandmother and Great Grandmother's wedding dresses
A bridesmaid dress from 1995
Ball dresses from 1987 and from 1991

The following I keep and could wear again, one or two are tight but not far off fitting and the rest fit. The shirt was worn this year, two of the dresses in the last 3-4 years, and the fur cape has been worn to a costume party.

My 40th party dress from 2010
A bridesmaid dress from my sister's wedding in 2007
Four occasion wear dresses dating from 2000-2010 that are a bit dated but I still like.
My Mum's fur coat dating from 1980
A family fur cape dating from the 1940s
A shirt that my Father in Law wore in an important sporting position in 1974.

The fur pieces are ethically tricky as I would not buy them now but I keep them and feel that is better than discarding. I am sure others would make different decisions.

Here are a few pics of the dresses and one of the fur cape.

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34 replies

Latest reply was from Elle

nuancedream

Veteran

I really don't have a sentimental holding zone. The last thing i want to create is a clothes museum built upon sentimentally. I would have an overflowing closet and it would stress me out.
If clothes no longer work for whatever reason, I will thrift/consign/ give away items.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

This was a VERY fun trip down memory lane. Every item is KILLER Spectacular in every sense. LOVE it, Sal

That red dress in KILLER Sublime! Gran's wedding dress is a work of art! And the Grecian beachy vibe in #5 is soooo adorable.

Yes, fur pieces are tricky. You made a good decision.

We keep sentimental items in a box in our storage cage. Amongst them, what my Mum and Greg wore to our wedding. My own wedding dress was unfortunately very accidentally carted off to the Salvation army

Molly Mac

Veteran

I keep a few pieces in my sentimental holding zone: the outfits each of my boys was christened in, my late father’s tuxedo jacket, a fabulous fringed mini dress my mother wore in the 60’s, my wedding dress, and my first pair of Dr. Marten’s from the 90’s. For me, holding on to these items is no different than keeping old family photos. They instantly evoke wonderful memories of people and events that are special to me.

Irina

Veteran

Beautiful pieces, beautiful memories!
I have only a few - a dress made for me in 1995, the only item that survived from a few clothes I took with me when coming to Canada. A dress I wore to my son’s wedding. And a beret my late mother knitted and wore.

Runcarla

Veteran

Haha! 3 items in my sentimental holding zone are onesies! The outfits my babies wore when I brought them home from the hospital, and the competition suit I wore when I participated in my last triathlon.

My black ball skirt lives in the back of my closet, and a very worn neoprene suit for open water swimming has pride of place in seasonal storage.

@Sal - that pale gold Grecian style dress is gorgeous! I hope you get to wear it again.

Sal

Veteran

Haha Carla!! I do have a small amount of baby clothes too (I think 4 pieces in total). And this dress still fits nicely but I don't have many occasions to wear it. It was a bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding (my other sister wore the same dress in silver).

Irina - having a small number make them more special.

MollyMac - yes exactly!! I do have a few baby things too which I didn't list.

Thanks Angie - it is fun to look at them. The 1969 wedding dress is gorgeous but my Mum was 4 inches shorter than me and a smaller frame. The grecian dress fits well still, the red one has some small marks and it is snug around the waist....

Nuancedream - I have friends like that too. No need to keep things when you have memories and photos.

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Like Carla, my sentimental items are from my daughters’ childhood years. A couple of newborn outfits made by me, with crocheted blankets by grandmas, a sweet blue and white striped sailor-collar dress I made for first daughter’s Easter at age 2, and several garments made by the girls for 4-H projects. I have kept no sentimental clothing of my own.

LaPed

Veteran

That gold dress, especially against the beachy backdrop, is sublime.

I have a handful of DS's baby clothes I've kept -- mostly handknits from my mom. And I also have some old stuff from my own childhood and teen years that DS may be interested in some day. I was a jeans-and-tees tomboy, so if the graphics on the tees appeal to him, or if the cut of jackets/pants cycles back around to the 90s/00s by the time he's the right size for them, it might be fun for him to go through the box. I remember my cousins having really some really cool 1970s punk tees that they'd scrounged from the back of my aunt's closet. I was pretty jealous.

Besides that, I have a couple "project" pieces that I keep saying I'll repair but haven't gotten around to, and a bunch of nostalgic fabric scraps that could eventually get turned into patches or a quilt, but for now they're just sitting gathering dust...

Sal

Veteran

Interesting cjh that your sentimental items are all hand made - I wonder if that is why?

La Pedestrienne - I had a project pile but I don't any longer - that does not suit my personality!! My friend dressed her child in clothes from her childhood (1970s). It was fun!! I don't have much from my childhood as I had two younger sisters that got my handmedowns..... I hope the graphic tees get to be reworn by your son.

The gold dress has had a few wears - first to the wedding where I was a bridesmaid, to two 40ths, to another wedding (this one pictured - which was on the beach hence the photo), to an art gallery launch (I was overdressed), to a 50th tea party, and to a party to watch Harry and Meghan get married...So at least seven wears. To me it suits outdoor occasions more than evening occasions.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Love the pictures - you look grand in all of them! I have very few sentimental clothing items - wedding dress was rented for example. I did not keep old band tees, mostly Grateful Dead anyway, which is a shame .

unfrumped

Veteran

I have few sentimental items.
A type of shawl or wrap my mother made for me in HS from a silky polyester fabric to go with a fab jumpsuit she also sewed for me- jumpsuit is long gone but I keep the wrap. Some handbags also that were hers.
I have my MOB dress from 7 years ago that no longer fits. Interestingly I am not that committed to keeping it — it has great memories, was the nicest dress I’d ever bought, a lucky find for the occasion- DH drove us to a city a few hours away to shop for it- but I’m ok that that was then, but I feel some kind of guilt about giving it away. Like I’m not sentimental enough! When actually it bothers me more to have something that no longer fits. ( scarves and handbags don’t have that problem!)

nemosmom

Veteran

Such lovely pieces, Sal! That blue dress is absolutely stunning!!

My sentimental holding zone has a couple of my boys’ baby outfits and their first pair of shoes. I also have two pairs of pointe shoes from my ballet days - one from my first solo and one from my final performance before “retiring” at age 21.

Deborah

Veteran

I don’t really have a sentimental holding zone but I do have my wedding dress :). Your grandmother’s wedding dress is just beautiful. The detail and design is quite special x

Bijou

Veteran

My favourite sentimental keep is my sons first big boy shoes worn when he was 1 years old. My stash of baby stuff is kept in this Harrods bag bought for me by my Mum, so also a precious keepsake.

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cat2

Veteran

I don’t have anything like this other than an antique kimono and a silk shawl from the Gold Rush era. The pictures from events mean much more to me than the garments.

Joy

Veteran

I con’t have a sentimental holding zone. Moving I was even motivated to get rid of my wedding dress. Before that I got rid of bridesmaid dresses. Grandmothers dresses were used by first cousins. Maybe they will be used again by their daughters or nieces. I have very little room for holding anything that is not currently being worn.

Jane

Veteran

Gorgeous photos Sal. They make me smile just looking at them. The beach photo exudes love!

I have very limited items - my Karen Millen wedding suit, and various small evening bags from my aunt when she used to cruise around the world in the ‘20s. Nice to have and I do use them for evening dinners.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I have a heap of stuff. Baby and children’s clothes is several bags full, including several tiny dresses that I wore as a baby or toddler and then my girls wore 30 years later. I am not yet a grandmother but surely with one daughter married and the other in a serious relationship I may as well keep them for now. It must be closer than it has ever been since I have had my own children!
I also have a small number of my mother’s clothes and soft sleeveless knitted vests of Dad’s. And my own wedding dress plus several other things.
This is all after major purging 2 years ago! I used to have more. I suppose I must cling onto good memories.

Minaminu

Veteran

The only thing that is on my holding zone and has a sentimental value is my wedding dress. I was planning to alter it and use it as a cocktail dress, but that's a project that I might do once the ups and downs of 2020 have gone...

Lynne

Veteran

Beautiful, Sal, I can totally see why you treasure these!

Angie, I can't believe that happened to your wedding dress! How awful!

My friend had quilts made with her daughters cotton sundresses, they a beautiful collection of colours and prints.

I've kept dome things, and I occasionally wash or dry clean them in the hope that they'll survive without developing storage stains.

lyn67

Veteran

Wow I can 100% relate keeping! How gorgeous you look in bright red, cobalt and white! And you are a grecian godess! I knew about you FIL's shirt he wore to the Olympics, but tWOW for the 3 generation wedding dress, the Mom's fur coat and that family fur cape from the 1940's??? These are really really stunning!

Cardiff girl

Veteran

You look lovely in all your finery.l agree with your decision about the fur.
l have my wedding dress and some of my daughters baby clothes mainly to remind me how small she used to be which is ever so easy to forget now she is towering over me.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

For years I kept the matching Ghanaian outfits my son’s uncle sent for his first birthday. He wore his; I did not wear mine. I was actually glad when a friend who has become quite serious about drumming set up a workshop with many percussion instruments, and decorated by hanging West African outfits similar to ours in the rafters. I popped ours in the mail and believe they spark joy where they are.

I brought two sentimental pieces with me on the move—a shirt from a dance costume my son wore when he was about 8 and a faux leather jacket with shearling fleece trim his aunt sent him from Italy when he was 1. We recently realized we somehow also have his dance tights from that costume. They barely fit around his arms now!

My own most sentimental pieces would be what I wore on my wedding day and for the reception a few months later. I’m honestly not sure what happened to them—always so awkward to encounter after the divorce, because they represented a happier time, but it was clearly over.

Sal

Veteran

Fashintern - Yes - I think sentimental pieces can have very mixed emotions. I do have one or two pieces that I used to love that no longer for various reasons. And wedding dresses after a divorce are really complex.

Cardiff Girl - I know exactly what you mean re tall children!! Fur is not common here - partly because it is not cold enough - but it was popular for evening wear from the 40s-80s.

Lyn - I think I was misleading re the wedding dresses! I have four dresses - all different. My Great Grandmother (1910s) , my Grandmother (1930s), My Mothers (1969) and my own (1998). The first two are very very delicate and unwearable. My Mums is definitely wearable by someone petite.

Lynne - quilting sentimental pieces is such a good idea. Practical and sentimental!!

Minaminu - that would be a fun project. Is it white or off white, or coloured?

Jenni - the baby things are so special aren't they. And yes keep them if you can.

Jane - oh yes, the bags are wonderful. I have a couple too!! Such a lovely memento and easy to store. The gold dress is a favourite of mine. It was fun to wear as a wedding guest after wearing as a bridesmaid.

Joy - I can understand that too. My family has a mix of people who don't like to hoard older pieces and those that do. I am somewhere in the middle!!

Cat2 - the kimono sounds gorgeous. And photos are easier to store than clothes!

Bijou - how cute!! I have a Harrods apron given as a gift - I think a popular thing for people to bring back from the UK was a Harrods souvenir.

Deborah - how nice to see you!! The photo is my Mum actually (1969) and I realise my writing was a bit misleading. It is a stunning dress (but has been too small for me since I was 13!) I am four - five inches taller than my Mum and have my Dad's broader shoulders and frame.

NemosMom - you were a ballerina!! How wonderful to have these mementos. The blue dress was worn for my 40th, two other weddings, and at least one other 40th. It still fits but feels a bit dated. But I could and might wear it again for the right occasion or even the wrong occasion!!

Unfrumped - scarves and bags and jewelry are great for the fit issue. Lovely to have. And I don't think there is one way to treasure memories either.

Shevia - a rented wedding dress is a smart idea. The other good one is selling them immediately and getting good money for them.

Minaminu

Veteran

Sal, I had a preloved midi dress in cream and blush. I have to take it in and was thinking of altering the circle skirt into a simple a-line and use the material for short sleeves. One day!

Sal

Veteran

That sounds like a fun but not simple project Minaminu. But a great one.

Anonymous

Ha! I’m so unsentimental ( protective and preemptive strikes against being hurt and disappointed ) that the only things I have kept are the special baby things I either made or bought for my daughter . My favourite is a Sherpa fleece little bunting bag I designed and made with embroidered winter themed stars and snowflakes etc . I was so proud of the work I put into that thing ! I held onto my wedding dress ( also something I designed , sewed and beaded myself ) until our move 2 years ago . I don’t miss it -and why hang on to it ?

Sal

Veteran

I love all the different views here. It is what makes things fun.

Brooklyn

Veteran

I love the blue dress and the gold dress on you Sally. I hope you get to wear them again.

I have my wedding dress and a few other inherited items. Some knitwear my mum made me that I don’t like (sssh!) Plus a few holiday purchases.

I also have a Missoni dress that I purchased when I got my first big promotion at work. It’s too short for me, and a deep v neck, so I don’t wear it. This post has started me thinking about adapting it. Maybe into a skirt. It’s beautiful and I don’t want to part with it.

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