Origin Story

1980s. Somewhere in the Midwest…

To avoid grocery shopping with our mother, my little sister drags me into our very first thrift store. We are amazed and delighted at the treasure that can be found for the cost of our allowance.

Fast forward: Sister is a fashion archivist, I am a clothing designer. One day sister comes over with a women’s robe circa 1935. It is neither shlumpy spa robe nor siren’s robe. I am confused. What is this garment? Layers of quilted cotton, cut with a fitted bodice and a semi-circular long skirt. I put it on. It was one of those transformative user experiences that made me want to design clothing: I am pretty at home! I might be in a fairy tale! I can manage my domestic life! Instantly I get elevated from drudge to goddess.

Quilted cotton robes were once a mainstay of the women’s homewear industry. Hundreds of thousands were produced annually, but when I put on that 1935 robe, I had never seen anything like it. So much time had passed that the collective memory of robes like this had mostly been forgotten.

This robe transformed my feelings about what I wear at home. I never wore robes much until I had a baby. When you have to get up fast in the middle of the night, you need one garment you can quickly throw on. There is no time to pull on sweatpants -if you can even find a leg in the dark. I found myself grabbing a robe. It was reasonably nice. I bought it at Target. It was a pique cotton knit spa robe. It was unisex and came in 2 sizes. It seemed adequate to keep me comfortable while nursing, stopping bloody noses, cleaning up pet messes, groggily making breakfast. Adequate. It was adequate. But when I put on the vintage robe it felt like a light hug as the fabric conformed to my body giving me a figure. The skirt swooped and swayed like a ball gown making me a princess. The printed material was cheerful and happy. And I was too! I could juggle handily all the screaming babies and dog vomit you could throw at me…and I would laugh…and maybe dance.

I hope you have the same experience!

gayle