Robert Frost is and will probably forever be one of my favorite poets of all time. His poetry has popped up at very key moments in my life; I even used one of his works in the frontispiece of my PhD. Needles to say, Frosty and I are old friends. One of his iconic works “Nothing Gold Can Stay” speaks to how fleeting everything is, particularly the most perfect and meaningful things in our lives.
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost
The essence of the poem is really telling us that, try as we might to hold onto things – relationships, places, things, moments – the reality is that nothing truly can last forever. Although a lot of people find this poem to be a bit dark and morbid (who likes to think about endings?), I’ve always been inspired by all that is cyclical – though flowers may die, they rebloom again in the spring. And although we won’t live forever, we will live on in the memories we leave behind.
This amazing hand-painted vintage Mexican skirt sat in the closet of a lovely new friend of mine, Jessica from Pinup Persuasion, for ages – during a wardrobe purge, she decided it was time to pass it on to someone who would have new adventures in it. I asked Jessica whether it was hard to let go of something so beautiful and she said not to think of it as letting go, but simply rehoming it to the next woman who will cherish her.
When I opened the parcel and saw the gold sequins winking at me from inside their border print, I heard Frost’s poem, both in the colors and in the gesture. We can get so attached to “things,” but there really does come a time where you just know your window has passed. Where you can appreciate the joy it brought you, but realize that fighting to hold onto something that has already let go of you will actually be much more detrimental in the long run. It’s true of a relationship that has ended, a place you perhaps don’t belong anymore, or a garment hanging in your closet, unworn. And I think there may have to be a part of all of us that makes peace with that (or else we live stewing in regret and burdened with a whole lot of unnecessary baggage).
Once I started to recognize how fleeting and precious certain moments are, I saw they are much more poignant when we let them simply be of that moment. It can be so freeing to unclench the fist and realize those moments no longer belong to you. When you do, you almost start to appreciate them even more. And are able to let go.
I‘ve been thinking a lot about change lately. About letting go of things and feeling the impending next stage of our lives coming on. About appreciating what we have and knowing, however good something is, nothing lasts forever.
As I’ve been hinting at, I have been embarking on a rather terrifying journey: The Great Closet Cleanout. It’s taking a lot longer and is much more difficult than I thought it would be. However, I am forcing myself to stay on course, as my closet is literally bulging at the seams and I worry one day I’ll wake to find Mr. Dressed and our furry critters declared deceased in an avalanche, buried under clothes and shoes.
To answer the question many of you have been asking, I will be selling through the Instagram page ShopDressedappsCloset. If you’re interested in what will be for sale and don’t have an IG account, now might be a good time to get one! I’ll also be posting links to various items here on the blog – though to purchase you will need to claim on their IG listing.
Letting go of things always feels like losing a piece of me for some reason. I’ve really never been very good with goodbyes. I think it’s normal to become attached to things that inevitably hold memories from the last time we’ve worn them, the moments they are attached to. But, as Jessica told me when she passed this beautiful skirt onto me – to not think of it as letting go. To think of it as helping them find their next home.
So I guess thats sort of makes me the real estate broker for my closet?
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Vintage Skirt: Pinup Persuasion (similar here, here & here)
Top: Express (similar here & here)
Bracelet: Swarovski (similar here & here)
Headband: Forever New (similar)
Handbag: Unique Vintage (similar here & here)
Shoes: Farylrobin, via Anthropologie (very similar here)
Eyeshadow Palette: Too Faced Stardust palette (a few still available here)
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