Promenade Dress
In celebration of the Digital Storytelling Festival 2022 led by Europeana and The Heritage Lab, I created a story called Promenade Dress based on the famous painting The Travelling Companions by Augustus Leopold Egg.
Preface
In Margaret and Elizabeth’s story, we learn about their lifestyle, so the trip to New York City does not seem tedious and boring at all. In addition, both girls are seniors in high school, and their parents have agreed to allow them to spend a month in the U.S. during their summer vacation.
That’s where it all starts…
Chapter I — Getting to NYC
Oh, Elizabeth, I am exhausted (fell asleep immediately).
Don’t worry, my darling… I have a lot to do with this book, “City of Girls”. You may know that I am Elizabeth, but the author calls me Angela. I like it. Angela is a trendy name for a girl traveling from the United Kingdom to New York. In a way, I feel this book is so special because it walks me through my life up to now and prepares me for the next chapter…
Chapter II — The Youth’s Excitement
Yeah… The next chapter of my life… What have I just said? Do I sound so silently excited?
Yes! Yes! I do! As for my “journey” in the U.S., I am aware of what it will entail…
Chapter III — Leather Hat with Wisdom
I know that I am explicitly revealing that I am still a virgin girl with my leather hat and orange leaf that I am keeping my chastity for a special person. Well, what else can I do… This is what my ancestors did and it is a sacred tradition I cannot deny.
“There is someone special waiting for you out there” — This is what they have always been teaching us back in Buckingham. Although, whenever I can (not in every place though) like in this cabin, I can remove it and rest a little from my daily lifestyle. I would like to be wild and forget about the teachings of being a wise woman and act appropriately all times. But unfortunately, it is in my blood and so it be.
Chapter IV — The Origins of a Lifestyle
If I am strolling around a park with my friends or in our school or dormitory, I should wear a “wisdom and chastity” hat.
Moreover, a hat is a must in almost every place and especially, the styles that represent your aristocratic descendants. Every day, my hat and dress speak of my class and legacy that will never leave me alone, no matter what I may wish for.
Chapter V — The 1860s Fashion
Oh, yeah… Dresses, dresses… These are another part of our tradition and lifestyle, another limitation of our lives. Tied up until the neck ends and no air for us to breathe in.
I love some of my dresses, though. Especially the ones that are made by my mom — Dolores Smith, who has one of the best senses of fashion I have encountered among women.
Whenever I wear them to church, my mom’s fashion sense is always a topic of discussion among the ladies… They are always praised and at the end of mass, we are always receiving many compliments and I am usually blushing and feeling happy about it.
Since we are traveling today, we are wearing our Promenade Dress, which is also a part of our “communication” without words… Obviously, because our parents could afford to have the dresses shipped from the U.S. to the U.K. so we could wear them when appropriate. And so, we are wearing them today.
When we arrive in the U.S. with our American style Promenade Dress with laces, we will be looking like American girls and not less and not more (shyly smiling).
Chapter VI — In the Summer Cabin
The corset inside this gigantic dress is keeping me awake, so I decided to read a book.
Freshly picked roses (which were delivered to our cabin by a crew) surround us with a scent that evokes the feeling of summer outdoors and inside.
As for this bucket, I love every part of it, because I am making a herbarium and I keep these to add to my collection as memories of this travelling day if my sister lets me do so (chuckling).
Chapter VII —Love at First Sight
Let me tell you what happened earlier. My sister Margaret is a charming girl. Before we entered the cabin, I overheard a boy on the cabin crew discussing her with a colleague. He said that she’s a beautiful girl and he wanted to say that he was interested in her. He sent a bucket of roses through a friend and he (mistakenly) gave them to me. He thought it was me “the girl” and was completely confused what to do. But he decided to put them on my seat as my sister was sleeping and he did not want to bother her to ask about her name (actually he knew her name from the list of the passengers). Though as you can see my sister had not stayed without any present and she got a basket of oranges and apples so we could have a flowery and fruity atmosphere in here.
Chapter VIII — Margaret
Speaking of Margaret, she voluntarily works at school’s bookshop and even at the end of yesterday she could not leave the workplace earlier than 8pm cause she was arranging all the recently received new books on the shelves before the summer holidays.
In fact, it was she who chose this book — “City of Girls” and blue gloves for me as my birthday gift. Here they are…
Chapter IX — Celebration
July 17th…
Today is my birthday, and I am enjoying my present, while the one who gave it to me is sleeping like a baby girl, and who knows if she is dreaming of this stunning summery landscape we could see from our window — with a sea, mountains, and sunny weather.
In the meantime, I am so impressed with this book and had missed all the landscapes up until now, but this one is special because I am reading the exact same part of my book that New York City was one of the seven wonders of nature in the 1860s, and seeing this landscape made the whole story even more believable and live.
Chapter X — Up to Our Arrival
It is such a pleasant coincidence that everyone is celebrating my birthday with me — nature, cabin crew, and my sister who I am afraid won’t wake up until we get there…
P.S. Below are illustrations I created for the Digital Storytelling Festival 2022 #DIGISTORYFEST, which I had already posted on my Instagram account.
