so, british gas have knocked up this twee little infographic to represent how home heating has changed over the years. exciting, huh? [i promise this post won't be as lame as it seems at first. you'll have to take my word for it and stay with me on this one - it's a bit of a stretch, even for me] to support the release of this fine infographic, they have launched a competition where they want to see your favourite piece of nostalgia in your home. history of home, get it? yes, very clever british gas, very clever. now we all know i love a good competition (especially when i win them), and the main prize on this one is £500 to spend at john lewis. yeah, i could definitely use that. so, please accept this as my entry. although...
because i have just moved into my current home, and really, only have four years worth of 'stuff' here with me in london, i was really stumped about what i could possibly submit as my favourite piece of nostalgia in the home. i looked around my room, and came up with nothing. all my 'things that are old' are new-to-me via boot sales or charity shops or some other such means; none of it is originally mine.
except this dress. this is my 21st dress. i bought this to wear out to dinner with my best friends, at some (probably not, knowing us) posh restaurant in adelaide almost ten years ago. it didn't make it over here until i was home last year and was torn between giving it to charity, or holding on to a dress that's basically... never really been worn, and probably won't ever be worn again.
this dress holds a lot of sentiment for me, and for that, i won't ever throw it away. it's the oldest thing in my wardrobe, and i am so glad i held on to it. until i tried it on to photograph it, it hadn't been worn since the night of that 21st. why? it fitted like a glove back then, and is a little loose in places now (this makes me incredibly happy), and i remember wearing it with red patent corked heels (ew, why?) and a red skinny belt, and i had a fifties updo, and i was rocking the look so hard. in adelaide though, that sort of get up will only garner the wrong kind of attention, and all i remember is people looking at me in the restaurant like i was some sort of time warped idiot.i was never really a "cookie cutter" girl, my style was always a bit different to normal, and i have always had an affinity with retro looks and patterns and stuff. about this age i was buying a lot of vintage frocks and altering them and never wearing them in fear of being ridiculed. because this dress was so perfectly retro, but from a modern shop, i figured that was safer and so splashed out and spent the $50 or whatever it was on it, only to still feel very self conscious in it, and hate every minute i was in it. because of that, i never wore it again. it's never been washed, and looking at it, has a slight stain where i clearly spilled my classy pre-mixed vodka beverage all over myself. but yet, i can't bear to throw it away.
why? because it reminds me of how far i've come. it might seem a bit silly that it's a dress that has that sort of power, and i suppose it is. unfortunately, that doesn't make that memory any less real, or this dress any less of a catalyst for changing my surroundings. i've been making power moves since that birthday, and here i am - almost ten years later, on the other side of the world, sharing this dress on the internet where everyone can see it. and i can guarantee you that the response is going to be the exact opposite of what it was back then.
that's because you lot are wonderful, and i am one confidant human now.
*if you enter the comp, let me know, i love to snoop*
