Mrs. Shortcake, Vancouver
Age and Occupation: 24, Marketing Manager/Children's Lit Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Master's Student/Personal Trainer
Engagement Date: August 7, 2007
Wedding Date: October 2008
Blogging Since:
Venue: Ceremony in a historic church, tented lawn reception at a golf and country club
About Me: 1950's housewife sent to the future, reborn as crafting-obsessed, jill of all trades. I enjoy decorating, writing, baking sweet things, singing show tunes/dancing in public, wearing pearls, and knitting sweaters for my furbaby, Harvey, to chew upon. I heart pink, and believe that sparkles are the new black.
An Old-Fashioned Friendship
June 4th, 2008 @ 5:38 pm by Mrs. Shortcake
Remember my shoes? And those beautiful 1930s silver and crystal shoe clips my friend lent me?
oh yeah….sparkle sparkle… (sparkling not pictured)
They were the first, and I thought, the only act of premarital kindness I would receive from her, but I was wrong - delightfully so!
My senior citizen friend is the last of a literally vanishing breed of well-bred and well-behaved ladies. Ladies who lunch, and wear kid-leather gloves, and have impossibly perfect handwriting all the time - not just when they concentrate, furrow their brow, and stick out their (collective) tongue.
Maybe it was because I wore skirts all the time, or maybe it was because I wore pearls instead of multiple piercings, but for whatever reason, when my friend and I met, we stuck together like pressed flowers. Two of a kind - “bosom friends” as Anne Gilbert née Shirley would have called it.
I don’t really know why she decided to make me, a co-worker, the recipient of such old-school generosity.
Maybe it was because I didn’t laugh at her addiction to Sex and the City (any other Charlottes out there? 
), and made a date to go see the movie with her.
Maybe it was because I listened with wide-eyed rapture to her recalling her own wedding, her EIGHT showers (hello? I need a crystal shower, people!), and adventures as a social butterfly, a bride, then as the leading society matron on the Canadian Prairies.
Or maybe it was because I listened, period.
Behold my something borrowed….
1910 linen handkerchief, hand-tatted (is that the word?) by her grandmother, and used by her mother at her wedding:
Isn’t that UNBELIEVABLE? Look at those details, those tiny little knots and loops:
And so I wouldn’t have to carry the handkerchief down the aisle in my bouquet-clutching hands, she lent me something even more spectacular….
Loosely wrapped in yellowing tissue, nestled in a weathered blue box with a barely discernably crest stamped on its top was this:
A tiny wristlet, covered in real crystals, worn by my friend’s grandmother on her wedding day in 1908, along with a fan/bouquet “made of real ostrich feathers.”
My friend’s mother also wore it on her wrist during her wedding in 1930, with the same fan of ostrich feathers, dyed blue, and to continue the family tradition, my friend wore it on her wrist during her wedding in the 1960s.
But because she never had daughters, I will proudly carry her handkerchief in this beautiful, gorgeous, lipstick and tear-stained purse on my wedding day…
….along with all of the happy hopes of the three beautiful brides who wore it in the hundred years before me.
Thank you for making me a part of that, Barbara.
27 Responses to “An Old-Fashioned Friendship”
WOW that is incredibly special What a wonderful friend.
What an amazing lady!
Your friend sounds wonderful. I hope I’m as fabulous when I’m her age!
Oh, and yes to skirts, pearls, and Charlotte:)
That’s so cool! I’m glad to know there are still ladies out there like that. My boss did something similar and I carried her hankerchief too. The only thing was that in all of the hustle and bustle of the day…I lost it. Thank goodness it wasn’t an heirloom, but I felt terrible. Just make sure you have someone helping you keep an eye on these fabulous items.
So many beautiful things - I love the shoes.
That lady was amazing.
Wow what a special person and even more beautiful pieces! That purse is amazing!
oh, my. you are blessed! and, giggle, you said “Anne Gilbert.” Shouldn’t it be “Anne Blythe”? then again, it might as well be Gilbert, as his is the name we school girls all sighed over…
Very cool! My grandmother gave me a handkerchief with a blue, embroidered E on it. It was her mom’s, who happened to have an “E” name too! We’re also using her cute pin cushion pillow as the ring pillow. It’s so nice to have these meaningful touches!
Oh Gilbert. Truly, my first love. My husband always says that if I must insist on swooning over another man, it may as well be someone like the dashing Mr. Blythe. Sigh.
What a wonderful legacy to have with you on your wedding day! How amazing it must feel knowing that you’ll carry items that three women before you clutched as they made life commitments to the men they loved. So impossibly romantic.
Kindred souls! : )
Oh that gave me chills to read, what a wonderful friend and so beautiful you’re able to carry on her families traditions.
sooo sweet. loved reading this post. and yes, it’s tatted and it’s a dying art. my grandmother tatted a crimson square that i wrapped around my bridal bouquet on my wedding day as well.
oh wait, and i had a vintage purse too. hand beaded with a sterling silver handle. it was my cousin’s and she used it at her prom in the 50s. i used it as my money holder for the money dance at our reception. didn’t want to put pins in my dress you’ve been bestowed such wonderful items! very lucky indeed!
this post made me tear up!
oh wow….this is soo special…you must be so incredibly humbled by her generousity and thankful…
wow…..
What a lovely friendship. I’m sure it means the world to her to have you incorporate her family heirlooms into your wedding.
What an amazing, amazing story. Thank you so much for sharing! One of my life’s goals is to become a lady just like your friend Barbara. (The other was to find my Gilbert… Check!). 
Like Lauracare, I got a little teary when I read your post. I’m a little emotional these days, and this is exactly the kind of intergenerational friendship I love to hear about. These women are in all of our lives and it means so much to them when they can share our special moments as FRIENDS, not just family! They are able to listen without judging (cuz hey, we aren’t their kid right?) and it’s such a mutually beneficial relationship. We get to experience their wisdom and quiet love, and we keep them vital. Everyone stay open to our Red Hat friends, they are so special! Congrats on your lovely treasures.
How wonderful! That tatting is amazing. I don’t have the patience to do it, but my mom and grandmother are taking a class right now. We’re in the process of having my dress made, and if my grandmother can find it (cross your fingers!!!) we’re going to include some lace tatted by my great-grandmother.
Man, I wanna be your friend so I can share some of your wonderful friends!
Wow. A beautiful post for a beautiful handkerchief, a beautiful purse and a beautiful friendship. Wow.
Lovely, & touching! The best in life consists of these shared moments. I encourage all bees to look for these special opportunities in their lives to share real moments with others, their time, stories, real caring outside their own families. Wow!
You are lucky to have a relationship like that My grandma gave me my great-grandma’s hand-stitched handkerchief that looks almost exactly like yours and I am so happy to use it as my “something old.” And I totally agree- the stitching is unbelievable!
