To talk about the dresses I have had the pleasure of wearing is inherently to talk about my mother, her sense of style and her influence in my life. The most beautiful dresses I have worn have all been made by my mother’s talented hands. No boning or design has ever been too challenging for her to tackle.

Other special dresses that were bought have always been chosen with my mother’s help. I remember trying on a floor-length blue strapless dress and my mother sending me out of the dressing room into the main section of the store to see what the “wow” factor was. Based on the responses people gave, she bought me that dress!

Once, when I was living in Paris and received an invitation to a dinner party through the Canadian Embassy, a carefully packaged black wool fitted dress arrived from across the Atlantic so that I would have something lovely to wear. My mother has often said that it’s important to have a good dress hanging in the closet for when an invitation arrives.

I can hardly think of a time when she has not been involved in helping me to get ready for a special occasion. Although at times I have been a typical, rebellious daughter, in truth I have learned much from my mother about the art of dress. I have been honoured by her advice and loving guidance.

There is one particular dress that stands out to me: a fuchsia taffeta floor-length gown with a diagonal bodice that was gathered and ended in a bow at one shoulder and another at the opposite waist. My mother made this dress for me when she lived in Washington, D.C., and sent it to me in Montreal where I wore it to my undergraduate formal in my final year at McGill.

I have a group photograph from that night and I look quite confident striking a pose in that stunning dress! Eighteen years later, I still have the dress. It is one of many that I keep as I could not imagine parting with the creations that my mother has made with such love, expressed through the time she took to sew each of them and the stamina she has always shown as my guide in all things feminine.

Dr. Alison J. McQueen, Hamilton, Ontario