We all have in our wardrobes some clothes or accessories - either carefully preserved or simply hidden away and stashed in a forgotten corner - that we can't bear to throw out because we have attached to them a special memory.
The truth is that, even in our consumerist society and with all the pressures of fast fashion trends luring us into changing our entire wardrobes every six months, we still keep a few pieces - a heirloom passed down for generations through family members, or a top, a dress or a small accessory that assumed an important place in our lives - that conjure up in our minds and hearts strong emotions and feelings. It is often fascinating just to sit down and wonder what would happen if such clothes could talk and recount their experiences. The volume Worn Stories by Brooklyn-based artist, writer, and editor Emily Spivack (Princeton Architectural Press) does exactly that from the perspective of the wearer. The book features over sixty clothing-inspired narratives from all sorts of contributors - artists, writers, academics, journalists, musicians, performers, restaurateurs and people leading historical family businesses. Some of these stories were told to Spivack, others were written down by the wearers themselves (contributors include Greta Gerwig, Heidi Julavits, John Hodgman, Brandi Chastain, Marcus Samuelsson, Piper Kerman, Maira Kalman, Sasha Frere-Jones, Simon Doonan, Dapper Dan, Albert Maysles, Susan Orlean, Andy Spade, Paola Antonelli, David Carr and Andrew Kuo, just to mention a few...).
Handmade ties by a grandmother survive Hurricane Sandy; lucky tops lose their magic touch but not the memories connected with them; deeply set stains and frayed cuffs turn into badges of honour, and a shirt given by someone in India becomes the physical representation of an epic adventure.
Marina Abramović's battered boots she wore to walk the Great Wall of China, the purple shirt of Rosanne Cash's father and fashion designer Cynthia Rowley's Girl Scout sash all make an appearance, but, the more you read the stories, the more you realise the tales aren't about a piece of fabric or a battered accessory, but they often hint at finding one's own identity and one's place in our vast world through clothes. In a nutshell, these stories become delicate portraits of the wearers (or their parents and grandparents...) as young men and women.
A piece of fabric from her parents' department store is transformed into a skirt suit after the war and becomes a vivid memory of her tragic story for Holocaust survivor Dorothy Finger; a pair of shoes given as a thank you note from a stranger to Davy Rothbart turn into a symbol of the path the receiver will have to follow to find his destination and himself, while a surprising free dress in a thrift shop heals a soul with a broken heart.
Worn Tales could be considered as a hybrid book: it could be filed under literature, since it features a selection of intriguing short stories (their length makes them ideal to read as you commute to work, in between underground or bus stops and during short breaks), but it's also a visual art book as each tale is accompanied by an image of the garment or accessory described. Besides, it is also aimed at different types of readers, from fashionistas who love their labels (Debbie Millman's yellow Hermès coat hilariously becomes a "Danger Ahead" warning sign for Woody Allen) to anthropologists (could you ever believe that a pair of woolen legwarmers, companions in lifelong performances, can become a ritual for a dancer?) and people with an interest in psychology and medicine and in discovering the strong connection to the memories that accompany clothing.
The creator and writer of Threaded, the Smithsonian's only fashion history blog, Spivack has collected stories about clothing and memory from eBay posts for the website Sentimental Value, has hosted creative writing workshops at Philadelphia's Institute of Contemporary Art and The First Person Arts Festival using clothing as a trigger for personal narratives, and also manages the Worn Stories site (where you can read further intriguing memories and stories or add your own), but this volume is the first she produces of this kind and it won't hopefully be the last.
Worn Stories is indeed the sort of book that will have you rushing to your wardrobe and look a bit better at the clothes in your possession, while making you think about fashion, memories and storytelling in a poetic way. Last but not least, it is also a terrific idea for a Christmas present, so remember to get some extra copies for your friends and relatives while you're book shopping.
Worn Stories by Emily Spivack is out now on Princeton Architectural Press.
All images in this post Courtesy Princeton Architectural Press
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