THE ESSAY
Great Garment Expectations?
I am a Baby Boomer. Wow, that was hard to write, but it's true. Perhaps we “boomers” are the last generation to “personify” our belongings. I was raised by my Mother, and though her income was modest, she somehow managed to purchase quality clothing for herself and my siblings and me. In my distant childhood memories, I can still hear my Mother refer to and jokingly greet her coats by name when she pulled them from her closet. “Ralph” was the endearing name she gave to her long, hunter-green wool coat with a natural raccoon collar. Even though I did not understand it at the time, my Mom was teaching me not only to be fashionable but also about the fashion business. I chuckle, in tribute to her, when I give my couture designs titles.
My grandparents and my parents were extremely fashion-conscious to a fault. My Father even named me after a pair of his favorite shoes. Well, I suppose that Stacy (he, him, his) is better than “Chico,” which was a second name choice. Still, the point is that my parents and the generations that lived through the big wars dressed to impress.
As I recall, one of my Mother’s favorite labels was…
As I recall, one of my Mother’s favorite labels was…
The full essay — including the label, what it meant, and what we lost when quality stopped being expected — is published in Atelier Quarterly Vol. I: La Belle Époque Redux.
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Atelier Quarterly is a menswear couture magazine written and designed by Stacy Stewart Smith. Published from New York.
Stacy Stewart Smith (he, him)