Chapter 18 #2
‘I do just want to say that fashion does matter more than you think. The right clothes can make people feel good about themselves, make people feel pulled together for their job interview or their divorce hearing or their child’s first day at secondary school.
The comfort outfit can help women have all kinds of difficult conversations.
Going to the doctor’s to hear bad news, needing to find something simple to put on when you have a challenging day ahead.
These things do matter. You’re just looking at the trivial side, you’re not thinking about how clothes are so woven into our everyday lives.
Like it or not, they do matter. We are judged all the time about the wardrobe choices we’ve made.
And we judge others too. And you know that Perfect Dress makes really good decisions about material and waste.
We buy people’s dresses back, Lauren. That’s a little revolutionary. ’
Lauren did at least acknowledge this with a nod.
And then, to Annie’s surprise, it seemed to be Ed’s turn.
‘You must remember when I first met your mum,’ he began.
‘I knew literally not one single thing about fashion. Nothing. I bought most of my clothes from the mountaineering shop to be practical and quite a few of the items in my wardrobe came from the school’s lost property store. ’
This earned him a laugh from both Lauren and her mother as they thought back to the early Ed of fraying rugby shirts and waterproof trousers that rustled as he walked. ‘How did Mum ever see past those outfits?’ Lauren wondered with a smile.
‘I often ask myself,’ Ed replied. ‘And everything she says about the positive power of clothes is true. I know dressing with more care and attention worked for me – would I be married to the Annie Valentine, or be head of music at the St Vincent’s if I hadn’t discovered the power of moleskin jeans or a well-fitted tweed jacket.
’ It was Ed’s turn to laugh now because he didn’t want to let them think that he took anything about his outfits too seriously.
‘But there’s a wider social side, Lauren,’ he went on, leaning forward in his seat and warming to his theme.
‘Yes, fashion changes with society but sometimes it’s fashion that changes society, or speeds those changes up.
Think about when women first started wearing trousers, or bobbing their hair, that was an outward sign of the freedom they wanted and achieved.
Women choosing to wear miniskirts represented sexual freedom, girls in Dr Marten boots, or gym clothes – it’s an outward show of the strength and opportunities women demanded.
You’re thinking about the trivial things and you’re forgetting about the revolutionary side of fashion.
Fashion is always ahead of the curve. It’s changing things, and it’s letting us know what the world is going to look like, and where the world is going, often years ahead of time – so we can start imagining a different kind of future, or we can react and change course if we don’t like it, before it’s too late. ’
Annie looked at her husband feeling almost tearful. She loved everything he’d said and she couldn’t have put it so well herself.
‘I never thought your Ted Talk would be on the power of fashion,’ she teased. ‘That was so impressive.’
‘Thank you.’ He looked genuinely pleased with the effect he’d had on his audience.
‘So, what is this fashion show of yours all about?’ Lauren turned to ask her mother.
‘I’m working with Svetlana, and Paula from The Store – you remember her?’
Lauren nodded and said, ‘Love Paula, she’s like my bad auntie. Remember when she gave me gel nails when I was about thirteen and you completely lost it?’ Lauren giggled.
‘No…’ Annie shook her head. ‘I’ve clearly blanked that from my mind.
We have some lovely real models, and some lovely volunteer models and the aim is to put on a fabulous, exciting show for hundreds of guests.
Everything we show is for sale on the night.
And there are going to be rails and rails of lovely things to buy too. ’
‘So where do all these clothes come from?’ Lauren wondered.
‘Not just clothes,’ Annie told her, ‘bags, shoes, jewellery, scarves, belts… it’s a haul, a treasure trove.
Basically, Svetlana cleared out her unused wardrobe and then persuaded some of her friends to do the same and it has totally snowballed.
Plus, there are some very, very unique and special things I can’t even talk about yet…
We can’t even show everything on the catwalk, so we’re going to have pop-up-shops at the venue where people can browse and buy before and after the show.
It’s all for charity, we’re raising as much money as we can for Thrive Dressing.
’ Annie was trying to sound as upbeat and enthusiastic as she could because she was not fully adjusted to this new venue yet.
She hadn’t been there. She couldn’t picture or plan for it yet.
Her head was still full of the magical garden in Mayfair with the fairy-lit trees and the glowing, billowing marquee and it was hard to let go of that.
‘But, be honest, this is a show full of hand-me-downs from middle-aged socialites?’ came Lauren’s snippy question. ‘Tweedy suits, knee-length skirts, stupid wedding outfits and dumb little hats?’ she added to rub some quite unnecessary salt into the wound she’d just caused.
For a moment, Annie was tempted to do a little salt rubbing of her own, but she caught the expression on Ed’s face, which warned her with just the smallest of smiles and eyebrow raises not to escalate.
Lauren had flown across the Atlantic, was exhausted and all confused about where she was going and what she was doing next, so if she needed to do some snarling at her mother, then let it be.
‘We’re leaning into the retro,’ Annie said breezily, ‘we’re leaning into looks from the noughties, nineties and even eighties. We’re inviting film and TV wardrobe people along and hoping they will buy for upcoming productions.’
‘Huh…’ This seemed to raise a glimmer of interest on her daughter’s face.
‘Would you like to help with the show?’ Annie asked her. ‘It will be really exciting and different. It will keep you busy, so you don’t fret too much about, you know, your life…’ She shrugged. ‘Plus, I could really do with the help.’
‘Well…’ Lauren gathered herself and stood up. ‘I’m going to go upstairs and speak to some friends. Ermmm…’ She looked at Annie and give a small, noncommittal smile. ‘Yeah… maybe I could help a bit… if I have some time.’
Then she breezed airily out of the room, while Annie restrained herself from yelling or throwing something.
‘Help a bit… if I have some time?’ she whisper-hissed at Ed.
‘What is that all about? She has plenty of time. She has all the time in the world. She’s made herself unemployed, in case she hasn’t noticed! ’
Ed smiled and made his favourite palms downwards calming gesture.
‘It’s OK,’ he said gently. ‘Just give her a few days. She will be in a social whirl catching up with everyone and then, when the novelty has worn off and she’s starting to bore herself to tears, that’s when you swoop in with your exciting fashion show to organise. ’
‘You think?’
‘I don’t want to say I know, but I have a suspicion.’
‘Why are you better at working out our girl than I am?’
‘Mothers always get it in the neck from daughters. That is the law of the universe. And can I remind you’ – Ed came over to sit next to her on the sofa – ‘you were supposed to be holding a thought for me? A going to bed early and making time for ourselves kind of thought.’
She put her hands on his neck and kissed him gently on the lips. ‘Oh yes,’ she told him, ‘I’m holding it… holding the thought.’ But then a very different thought occurred. ‘Oh no, Ed…’ she began.
‘What? What is it?’
‘It’s not just us and two sleeping twins in the house any more! Just when we thought we had the night-time to ourselves again, there’s another kidult back in the house. You know what that’s like for parental sex lives!’
‘Oh yeah…’ Ed nodded sadly. ‘Once again, I need to resign myself to living like a monk.’