Wardrobe Full of Stories: The Dress that Made it onto a Movie Set
By Nona Dimitrova published 05/09/2024
We’re kicking off our wardrobe story series where we learn about the tales of different wardrobes, emphasising the importance of seeing our clothes as parts of ourselves and our lives, not just physical and disposable objects.
Our Content & Community Specialist, Nona, shares the stories of some of her favourite pieces.
Okay, we're done with the 3rd person perspective now, hi! It's me, Nona. I'm 100% the kind of person who assigns a lot of meaning to clothes, and believes they can carry so many memories and so much energy. I am also the kind of girl who never forgets about anything, ever. I remember what I've worn on every single anniversary I've had. Every single first day of school. Every single birthday. You name it, I can remember it. So when you read through these and you think to yourself: "how does she remember all of this?" I have never gotten over anything in my life!
1. Little black dress
I got this dress during my wild ZARA phase in my first year of university. As much as I probably wouldn’t go looking for something in Zara anymore, it’s served me so well over the years. It has such an easy silhouette, and is my absolute go-to ‘little black dress’. I've worn it to birthdays, dinners, parties, work, anniversaries, all of it! Most recently, I wore it as my costume for a horror film I was in, so I love that it now has this story and milestone embedded in it. I’ll probably think of that experience every time I put it on.
2. Essentials Hoodie
This may seem like just a hoodie, to the untrained eye, but to me it is the most perfect oversized hoodie I have ever owned. Its story goes as follows: my brother recently started attending boarding school just outside of London. Apparently, boarding schools are the hottest thrift shops around. Every time I’d see him, he’d have a whole new outfit. Where’d you get this? I swapped with someone at school. One of those weekends, he came back with this hoodie. I was immediately obsessed. Every time he’d come round, I always asked if he brought it and if I could wear it. On one of these visits, I *accidentally* (yes, really, accidentally) shrunk it in the wash. He may be 15, but he’s a tall boi, and the sleeves no longer fit him. So I got myself the perfect hoodie :) It’s a nice reminder that he’s not so far anymore, and it brings me a lot of comfort.
3. Long Knitted Dress
Let’s all take a little walk down memory lane to September 2022. Whering was partnering with Lone Design Club on a Secondhand September pop-up filled with some of the most incredible independent designers I’ve ever seen. Taking myself back to working in customer service was exhausting, but hey, at least I got to play dress up. Enter this dress. I fell in love with it the moment I tried it on. I was in a 2-week one-sided argument with my bank account over it. The dress won. But so did I! It was kind of my first big-girl purchase and my first venturing into ethical/independent brand territory. It’s become such a staple in my wardrobe, and it’s 100% mum-approved (she even wore it on her most recent birthday) which makes it all the sweeter. I grew up stealing clothes from my mum’s wardrobe, so finally being able to return the favour put the biggest smile on my face.
4. My 22nd Birthday Dress
This one is slightly cheating, because I don’t actually own this dress, it was rented for my 22nd birthday from Rotaro. I loved, loved, loved this dress, and was so obsessed every time they’d post a photo of somebody wearing it, I knew that at some point it would finally be my turn. When my birthday finally came around, and I had planned on taking my friends to the cutest David Bowie-inspired restaurant, I knew it was time. Fast forward to a couple weeks later. I posted a TikTok on Whering in the dress which went viral, so we started running it as an ad on both TikTok and Instagram. The TikTok comments were lovely… the Instagram ones… not so much. The reason why I picked this dress is because (I can’t believe it either) the comments didn’t bother me one bit, and I’m usually no stranger to falling victim to others’ opinions of me. Nothing anybody said under that video made me feel any worse for wearing this dress, and I still love it so much to this day. It was such a happy day, and I feel the dress encapsulated that so well.
5. Orange top
(which looks suspiciously like the previous dress, but in top form)
Would you believe me if I told you orange isn’t even my favourite colour? I saw a friend of mine wearing this Zara top during lock down and I thought the shape and everything about it was so cute. Over a year later, I found it on Depop! Can I get a cheer from the girls who never forget about anything, ever? Cut to summer 2021. Lockdown restrictions are up, summer is summering, everyone’s getting vaccinated… I got Covid. For the first time. It was hell. It was some of the worst two weeks of my life. Finally, about 10 negative lateral flows later, I’m free to go. I had a night out planned with some of my friends, and we were maybeee going to join the guy I was seeing at the time, and his friends later. After feeling like literal hell for so long, I just wanted to feel good, happy, bright, all the wonderful things. You guessed it, I wore the top. I even have this phenomenal photo to prove it. This was also the night that I started falling in love with that same guy. Three years later, we’re no longer together, but I still think back on that night (and top) with a little smile on my face.
6. Aaaanother Black Dress
According to Whering, my most worn colour is black and I don’t think anybody is particularly surprised. I’m not exaggerating when I say this: this is the perfect dress. It’s a 100% linen backless dress from & Other Stories, which I bought some 3-4 years ago. I’ve worn it on some of the best days of my life: parties, brunches, holidays, dates, dinners. You name it, I’ve worn it. It’s also the most borrowed item in my closet. It’s been to Italy, Greece, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain and the Canary Islands (both with me, and without me). I hope every person who’s borrowed it has had the best times in it too, because I definitely have. Maybe it’s time to wear it again?
Want to share your wardrobe story? Get in touch with us team@whering.co.uk and tell us for your chance to be featured in our series.
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