The Lost Dresses by M.A. McLaughlin

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 Anything or anyone who leaves us forever never leaves without leaving something or someone behind.   In this instance, it is three dresses. These dresses belong to the genius Christina Rossetti. A lady from Boston, Marianne,  has traveled to Italy to research these garments. They were found in a small hidden room. So delicate you must wear gloves to touch them. From the Nineteenth Century to the Twentieth Century  the dresses have traveled. From Boston to Italy, there is a life of unknowns to uncover and to discover.

 Time is in motion. It moves without us. It is in control of us. When my mother died, I rushed home. My sister and I went straight to my Mother's bedroom. to talk, catch up. Sitting in my Mother's rocker, my eyes landed on the closet door. Her daily house dresses hung there. I felt a chill. She was in the bedroom. She was over at the closet choosing that day's dress At that moment, I did not feel her death. I felt her life again. Pieces of clothing are sewn into quilts: prom dresses, ties, cumberbunds, jeans,aprons, a nurse's cap  a Sunday go to meeting dress or a baby's christening dress. None of these are old rags. They are our lives. They tell our secrets.

I am dying for Marianne, M.A. Mclaughlin to tell Christina Rossetti's private and public life. I only have read  a few pages and my skin is tingling to travel back to the Victorian Age. I will travel back home more cautious. Caring about what is thought of as throwaway. Because some where a woman or man is not fully gone. They are in a locket, a watch, in a pair of shoes, in a peacock pin. I would love to read more books like The Lost Dresses. I am humbly and blissfully in Italy. By the way, did Christina Rossetti  have a small waist or one that showed her love for Italian food? Where did her thoughts wander? Where are those dresses now?


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