Appreciating my grandma's closet

From Christian Dior silk nightgowns, "Poison" concert tees, kitten heels, Italian silk scarves and one-of-a-kind handbags, my grandma seems to have it all. My grandmother prides herself on the fact that she has not gotten rid of an article of clothing since the ’80s. After all these years, I was lucky enough to be the one my grandma let sort through her clothes and see what was worth holding on to all these years. The biggest thing I learned from this?

My grandma has style.

My family has told my grandma for more years than she can count to just donate all the clothes she has held onto, telling her that these clothes will never go back into style, she hasn’t fit into them in years and that it’s simply a waste of space. Being a huge advocate for thrifting, my grandma knew I’d be the one to appreciate everything she has held on to all these years.

Since I could remember, my grandma has always told me to invest in my clothes. She taught me to take good care of them. If I invest in nice clothes and take care of them properly, they will last a lifetime, and she was right. No matter how old each piece was, every single one was still in perfect condition.

I spent most of my summer with her just going through her boxes of clothes, shoes and accessories, all of which happen to be my size. While being able to pick out so many pieces that I was lucky enough to keep for myself, the best part of it was the time I got to spend with her. Being able to hear the history behind every article of clothing she owned, whether it was about where she got it or the memories she made while wearing it, I heard them all.

Clothes are timeless. Just because it's "grandma clothing" doesn’t mean it’s ugly. I was lucky enough to keep a lot of the pieces she had insisted on keeping all these years. The ones I kept are now the clothes I get the most compliments on. Instead of buying fast fashion, I was able to find almost everything I would find on those websites and more, just in her closet. Each piece I now own has a story. I got to hear all those stories, and now I get to make my own.