My Favourite Outfit: Alexis

Alexis is second from the left

In this series, I ask the contributor to share an image of their favourite outfit – maybe a pair of pants they wore every day, maybe a special party dress – and write about where they were in their life and why the outfit has such significance. Every Friday in November I’m featuring a post by members of Rosie & the Riveters, a band of four women inspired by vintage fashion, The Andrews Sisters, Mahalia Jackson, and The Good Lovelies. Their album Good Clean Fun! came out last month and they are releasing their music video for Red Dress in early 2016. Today we welcome Alexis and her favourite lavender day dress.  

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I stumbled upon an entire rack of vintage dresses in a thrift shop on Whyte Ave in Edmonton and five dresses caught my eye. It is so challenging to find actual vintage dresses in my size—they are usually too small—but I was stunned to see that every single one of them fit like a glove.

My favourite was a lavender day dress from the 1940s/early ’50s. The lavender cotton fabric features a floral design that gives the dress a classy, feminine look. The fabric is actually quite thin, but the overall shape of the dress was in great condition. Last summer I wore it to many music festivals where I performed with Rosie & the Riveters.

This dress is a true Nelly Don gem. Nelly Don was started in Kansas by Ellen Quinlan, who started making dresses in the attic of her home in 1916. By 1953, the business had grown to become the largest manufacturer of women’s clothing worldwide. Strong women like Ellen are an inspiration to Rosie & the Riveters.