Took this out today for a moment in memory of Jana Starr, who died a year ago this past weekend. Jana restored antique wedding dresses and was a very kind, special person–it was a magical thing to visit her studio near the Met. Sixteen years ago, she told me that she salvaged this turn-of-the century dress from a junk pile. I recall that she had to take off the sleeves and combined French, Irish and Belgium lace to restore it. What really struck me about the visits to her studio was that it was truly about the love and reverence for these old dresses. It was the opposite experience of customizing a dress to the bride and tailoring–it was about the dress. Jana took great care to make sure the dress was right for the person and recommended this one especially to me because I wanted to move freely in it. (My wedding was jazz-age style and I felt most comfortable in more relaxed glamour like the Halston dress Lauren Hutton wore to the 1975 Oscars.) As much as I loved this dress at the time, I don’t think I fully appreciated all the lace detailing when I wore it or Jana’s remarkable gift. More reflections to come on Jana and this dress. You can read a little about her here in the meantime. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/jana-starr-obituary?id=52523269
