A few years ago, when my daughter was getting married, I looked everywhere for a dress but couldn’t find one. Finally I went to Zoe, a Toronto dress designer who had made dresses for me before. She brought out a long dress that I thought it was too fancy. The wedding was going to be simple, and I didn’t want to be too dressy. I could tell that my husband, Burle, liked the way it looked on me but I didn’t have the nerve to get it.

At the time, I walked regularly with a friend. Dorothy was about the same height as me but a far more flamboyant dresser. She wore the most fantastic clothes with bracelets up to her elbows. She told me once that she thought of dressing as theatre, wearing a costume, and how much she loved doing that.

I said to myself, “If I were Dorothy, I’d get that dress.” So I did.

It had a square neckline and a drop waist. The material was semi-transparent, like a chiffon with a tight, striped bodice and polka-dot sleeves and skirt. It was simple and elegant.

After the ceremony, everyone gathered at our house for dinner in the garden. We had a tent and food stations and speeches. In the midst of it all, it rained. Everyone took cover, but some of the children ran out into the rain and danced until the sun broke through and shone again.

My brother said it looked like The Great Gatsby. Everything was beautiful. Especially my dress.

All because of Dorothy.

Louise Yolles, Toronto, Ontario