My Favourite Outfit: Rhonda
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 this outfit has such significance. Today we welcome Rhonda, otherwise known as Mom. Except for a few key differences, we are the same person. I have accepted this. Mom/Rhonda is an artist, my Jane Austen buddy, and since my childhood has been my instructor in all things artsy (including sewing). This is her favourite outfit.
Choosing a favourite outfit from my past is harder for me than for the previous writers; I have a longer past. Despite this longevity, I discovered that my wardrobe is not well documented photo-wise. I was delighted when I found this photo. I made this 3 piece outfit (skirt, jacket, and blouse) in December, 1987. I was 30, living in Kingston, Ontario with my grad-student husband and two children. Stefan had just turned 3; Elise was 10 months old. I had gone on a girls-day-out kind of trip to Ottawa, and Bouclair Fabrics was the prime destination. I bought the pattern and fabric there. Even though big shoulders were the thing in the late 80’s, this style was a little different, or like the pattern says “Individualist”. I was used to following fashion with my own take on it, having sewn for years, and more importantly, having been sewn for by my Mom while I was growing up. She would make things that she didn’t really like when I picked them, and say that they turned out OK when they were done. My Mom is a master at sewing, as was her Mom before her, but that is another story. We come from a long line of makers and it pleases me to no end that Elise sews too.
I wore the skirt tied to the back as shown in the photo, tied up in front as shown on the pattern, or not tied at all. We didn’t go a lot of places where dressing up was really required, but I know I wore it to church and to concerts. I think there may have been an event at a professor’s house. I felt on top of my game wearing this outfit and knew there wasn’t a chance that anyone else would show up wearing the same thing.