Perhaps, with a little bit more context

So, despite my initial hesitation to do so, I finally broke down and read the story that went along with Vicki's dress.

The story unfolded much like I was expecting. Based on my initial investigation of the dress I had surmised that it had been homemade and based on the zipper pull, was constructed somewhere between the mid 1950's and late 1960's.  My assumptions gained some validity after having read the dresses story. I found out that it was indeed made at home, by Vicki’s mother, and that it was sewn for a Christmas dance Vicki attended during her junior year of high school.

In respect to the age of the dress, I was able to use the story to approximate the time of the dresses construction. I cannot say for certain Vicki’s age, but she seems to be in her mid to late fifties or perhaps even early sixties. Regardless of her precise age, any age within that range would still place the year when the dress was made within the years I had first assigned to the dress (mid 1950’s – late 1960’s).

As for the ownership of the dress, other then for a short stint in college when the dress was likely not to have been taken to school with her, it appears to have stayed in Vicki’s possession. In order to provide the dress for the exhibit Vicki said she had removed it from storage in a trunk. She described the dress as being a “wrinkled mess” at first and had to carefully iron it in order to bring it to the story circle. This makes me think that it may have been in that trunk for a long time. The first time I went to look at the dress, Vicki mentioned that the dark marks on the capes white fur were probably from being in storage.

The dresses being in storage until it appeared for this exhibit makes me think that at some point it may have been stored somewhere other then in Vicki’s care. It’s possible that when Vicki out grew the dress, her mother may have stored it away until Vicki had a place of her own to put it. Many people use their parent homes as storage. If this were the case with Vicki, then the dress would have belonged to her but was in the possession of someone else for a period of time.

Since Vicki has grown up and no long fits into the dress, its original use has turned from that of a practical nature (formal attire/clothing), to one of more sentimental value. Its use today is emotional rather then physical. While it is possible for the dress to still be worn, it seems more likely that it will serve as an emotional reminder and valued memory for Vicki of her mother rather then as a fashion statement.