Growing up, we didn’t have much. My mom was a seamstress and made most of our clothes from the fabric scraps that the sweatshop where she worked, would give her. My brothers & sisters and I didn’t know better – we just thought we had the MOST FAB clothes in town. I remember this tunic she once made me. She never had enough fabric to make an entire item, so she would sew all the fabric scraps together to make a larger piece of fabric, and then from the larger piece of material, she made my tunic. It was a like a patchwork HEAVEN. To this day, I LOVE LOVE LOVE patchwork quilts, as it reminds me of the beautiful patchwork clothes my mom made us! Perhaps that is where our love of fashion comes from – having to be creative with the little we had.
Here’s an old family picture, before the others were born: (My dress & my sister’s dress were made by mom from pictures out of the Sear’s catalog! The cherry cabinet in the back was actually made by my dad from left over plywood – we stained it cherry to make it “fancier.” The doors never quite lined up, but behind those doors were loads of books that we all cherished to death!)
Here’s a picture of my rock band, The BURNING STARS! at the age of 16. I’m the one in the middle with the big 80′s hair. My outfit is fashioned with safety pins. My mom designed and made the one-of-a-kind outfit for me. We had no money for fancy accessories, so she used safety pins and made a white star out of sequins and felt! TOTALLY BADASS. I wished I still had this outfit!
That’s my Rags to Riches Story, it didn’t happen overnight, but we’ve come a long way. My parents worked hard, and as each of us hit adulthood, we all worked hard. My entire family, all 7 kids, have all come a long way. We’re all adults now, we can afford to buy clothes instead of piecing them together from left over scraps of fabric, and mom no longer has to sew our clothes, but she’s always tinkering around and saving this or making that or collecting something, “for my daughter!” or “for my son!” or “for my grandbabies!”
Last week, she must have had me on the brain, as I received a box of jewels! How’d she know I had JEWELRY on my brain?
Want to see what was in the box? We’ve come a long way from safety pins and glued on sequins!
1st off – St. John bauble necklace. OMG. It’s heavy, there’s a TON of it, it makes a statement – SHABAM! All the individual baubles have great details. And, extremely well made – none of these charms or rhinestones are going to crack or fall off any time soon. All the things I LOVE in jewelry!
2nd – another GREAT St. John necklace. LOVE LOVE this. It’s got a HUGE faceted crystal. AND the crystal comes with it’s very own crochet pouched to prevent it from getting scratched up while in transit or in storage. Talk about quality! I LOVE pearls – with a modern twist, when they’re mixed with rhinestones, Swarovski’s, crystals, and even some ribbon!
3rd – Speaking of pearls & crystals, looks like mom happened to have some of these extra giant St. John faceted crystals lying around, so she decided to add them to a vintage faux-pearl necklace. BAM. So classic yet with a modern twist. Soooo Lanvin. SOOO perfect! I’m TOTALLY in LOVE!
Also in my box of goodies were some other misc GREAT pieces, including (clockwise, starting from upper left) Vintage rhinestone cuff bracelet, Vintage Monet charm bracelet, St. John rhinestone encrusted CHUNKY chain bracelet, St. John bangles, and a small vintage chunky chain bracelet.
After receiving this box of goodies, it brings back all those childhood memories of the patchwork clothes and the patchwork blankets, the millions of hugs & kisses and living in tight quarters, and the TONS of LOVE we had. Even when we were poor – we were RICH. Rich with love, rich with experience, rich because we had each other. I’m really missing my mom, my brothers & my sisters. I’m so glad that we’ll all have the opportunity to be together next week for one of my brother’s wedding! I’ll get a chance to wear some of these new baubles!
Tell your family you love them – today!
-xoxo
Daisy Nguyen
fashion blogger in Minneapolis
PS – I’m TOTALLY BANANAS, over the MOON and GRATEFUL to have the best mom in the world!
Hi D,
I just read your blog about the treasures that your mom sent. It brought back some very vivid memories of spending time at your home when we were kids. Every time I eat Ramen, I think of you
April, there’s so many things that remind me of you! Summers, Sailboats, Bon Jovi, Tall skinny blondes, armloads of jelly bracelets, sometimes, just hearing the giggles of a bunch of teenagers will make me think of all the summers me, you, Jennifer spent together! I miss you girl!