Archive for December, 2008

It took some time for me to decide on ‘my favourite dress’ – there were many!

But the one that meant the most to me was the one that I found at Creeds for my daughter’s wedding. It was a two-piece self-patterned knee-length light silk dress in a champagne colour.

The wedding and the reception were held in our garden on a very hot and humid day in June 1983. I felt so elegant and was so comfortable that I wore that dress on many special occasions thereafter.  

Mary Mingie, Toronto, Ontario

Mid-holiday in St. Tropez, France, when I was 22, I bought a petal-like layered chiffon evening dress at a tiny little boutique. Each large petal had its own colour which ranged from a muted but lovely yellow through a soft peach to a watermelon pink. The dress was neither long nor short because of the uneven petal shapes. It floated when I walked and danced because of its light weight. And it felt as if I had nothing on!

The bodice was simple and curved up towards the shoulders. It had a bias seam binding in one of the contrasting colours which split in two at the shoulders and became two ropes of chiffon which crisscrossed over my back and tied in two little bows at the sides.

I unearthed this dreamy dress for a party a few years ago and felt so wonderful in it again. It was every bit as much in fashion as it had been so long ago. It reminded me once again of that gorgeous holiday I had with a great friend from Montreal visiting a French family with a lovely house high up in the hills overlooking St. Tropez. Oh, to be 22 again!

Cathy Fauquier, Toronto, Ontario

My favourite dress isn’t a dress, but it is very much a favourite. I bought it before I met Graham while on assignment in New York. It cost me US$100, a great deal by my standards, but I loved it then and I love it still.

The assignment I covered was an exhibition by Canadian rainwear designers in the Big Apple. They were hoping to crack the U.S. market and some branch or other of the Canadian government helped finance the show. It was, of course in the garment district, a story all by itself, but I digress.

The item I bought is technically rainwear, but it is much more than that. It is a black velvet, hooded cloak. It’s perfect over evening wear, it was perfectly elegant when I was pregnant, and it still is perfect. I wear it as my dress coat, anytime I need a dress coat, still. My kids have both borrowed it, and the hem has gone (temporarily) up or down to suit their needs. It has been to press gallery dinners, to Government House, to weddings, to royal occasions, and, from time to time, to Halloween outings. It is indestructible, elegant, and I love how it looks and feels. The best US$100 that I have ever spent.

Gail Scott, Toronto, Ontario

As I contemplated my favourite dress, I was taken back to Barsuda Drive where we both lived in the late 60s. You were making a green velvet gown which was amazingly beautiful. I learned a lot about sewing with velvet during those weeks and have never forgotten “the nap lesson” – all in the same direction! I made green velvet dresses for my two granddaughters two years ago and I thought of you.

The two dresses I remember as favourites are also from the 60s, before I met my husband Howie, for two student nurse formals at Casa Loma. The first was red taffeta, strapless with sparkles across the bodice, and long, as was the style. The skirt was full but not overdone. I felt wonderful.

The second one was short, white, and sleeveless, with a beaded top and a filmy, swishy skirt of organza. My Mom bought it for me at Liptons because she knew I liked it. It was probably more than she wanted to spend but she also realized how very important it was to me. It is still around, now in the girls’ dress-up box. Julianna claims it belonged to a princess! I guess that’s what it was all about!

Karen Goodfellow, Cobourg, Ontario