The Return of the Gunne Sax Dress
Blog written by Grace Jennings
When my mom and I were packing for our trip, my grandma gave us one last bag of donated dresses, which she collected from her attic. One of these dresses was the dress that my mom wore as a bridesmaid to her mom's (my grandma's) wedding in 1989. It was a frilly, pink Gunne Sax dress, fit for a princess. Gunne Sax by Jessica McClintock was a very popular dress brand in the 80's and 90's. My mom told me stories of the wedding as we packed the dress into our bags with the other donations.
Today we had an amazing afternoon getting the girls ready for the quinceanera. It made the team member smile to see girls from the orphanage try on familiar dresses that had been donated. When one girl in particular saw my mom's old bridesmaid dress among the hundreds of others, her face lit up. She beamed as she hurried to try on the dress. Multiple people around her started to fit her into the gown. At first it appeared that it would be too small, but then a team member miraculously zipped her into the dress. She turned around to look at herself in the mirror and commanded the attention of the entire room. She was truly a princess in God's eyes and in ours. It was a unique and unforgettable experience for my mom and me to see the vintage dress recycled and transformed in such a beautiful way.