There is a shrine in my closet...

At least that is what DH is calling my memorabilia that I've hung up on the wall in my closet...and I must say that he is right!  {write this down honey ;}  Months ago, when I was completing The {21} Purge, I pulled out a small basket from underneath my bed on Day 13 and talked about how "some day" I was going to get around to displaying my clothes from when I was a child in Africa and Taiwan.  Well this weekend I decided was the time...since we had so much rain...to tackle this long, awaited project.  As Toni says...one project at a time!

 

Tucked away under my bed was my bowling shirt and memorabilia from Taipei, Taiwan from when we lived there in the early 70's.  I was 10 and this shirt is so darn tiny but it is full of such precious details.  That's because it was hand-made at Mr. Loos Tailors with inverted pink pleats, pink collar and cuffs and pink embroidery ;) 

Next is my flannel lined pea jacket from Asmara, Ethiopia, East Africa.  Now I was born in Africa and my mom tells me that we all had these jackets and for some reason, I'm the only one who still has theirs in my family.  When my boys were toddlers they wore this jacket and I have a lovely photo (somewhere ;) of my oldest son, Mitchell, wearing this jacket as he rode to work one day with his Bumpa...ahh!

And last, but not least, is my dress from Africa.  Again, this dress was hand-made for me and it is the most delicate of fabrics.  There is an under-layer of silk with a top layer of the softest, gauzy fabric on top which matches the sari type scarf.

Previously I have hung these two items on a special, wooden curtain rod to display them...usually it was hung up in my office area where I could see them on a daily basis ;)  In the following photo you can get a glimpse of them as they were hung in my old house over two years ago...look way over to the right of the desk...

Well the other day when I was in our storage shed...I got a glimpse of the wooden rod and it got me ta-thinkin'....hmmmm!   Thinking about the wall in my closet...hmmm...and how the mirror over the shoe bin is just reflecting our CPI security panel...

So down and out came the mirror and up went my wooden rod {after DH shorten it for me with a hack saw ;}  Next I picked up a large shadowbox (with a 50% off coupon at Michael's) to hold my bowling shirt and memorabilia to hang beneath the rod.

Seeing as this is my closet I thought that it was the perfect place to display my vintage clothing...or as DH says...to hang my shrine ;)

Here's a closer look at the shadowbox...

 

It holds my original score-sheet from the season of 1970-71...my first year of bowling.  If you look closely you can see that the scores for my first games were a bit ole "4" and a "17"...oh my...no wonder I received a trophy {long, lost ;} and patch for the "most improved average".  My highest games were a "116" and a "112" for which I also received a "I Beat My Coach" patch/award for.

 

When you look at the photo in the case above my score-sheet you see a photo of me and my brother, Ray Ray as we are modeling our new outfits that my Dad had just brought back from Hawaii.  You see my Dad was a Pro-Bowler for the Army and he often went on trips for bowling tournaments {leaving my Mom home with us four kids...not always a good time for her ;}  Dad would often bring us back gifts...I still have that Moo-Moo somewhere?  Anyhow...this photo was taken of us in our home in Tien Mou standing in front of Dad's trophy wall.

Back in the day...when you were on a bowling league you always wore team shirts and then you sewed all of your patches onto your shirt...the red and blue patches in the shadowbox were the last ones that I received at my last awards banquet so they never got attached.  The name of our team was The Three Stars MAAGPIES...which had something to do with my father's duty station...not sure what...cause even when I google it the way it is spelled I only get stuff about birds?  The taylor spelled my name "Bobbi" incorrectly as "Bobbie" but they got the "PHILBRICK" correct and that's all that mattered.

So directly above the shadowbox I hung my newly washed, and pressed, jacket from Africa.

Then next to jacket I hung the dress because I had chosen to hang the wooden rod so that the long length of the dress would not cover too much of the shadowbox.

I just love how well it shows off the white gauze and bright border.

Now I can enjoy them everyday as I pass them in my closet...I'm so tempted to put some incense and a burner in here to really freak my DH out...shrine indeed!

Next I'm off to find the photos of my boys when they were little and wearing the jacket so that I can place the photos here as well.  I know that I have them somewhere...just have to keep looking ;)   Tucked away in storage are a few more things...my boys baby clothes and linens...

As well as this bright blue "balboa shirt" that was my brothers from Panama.

Perhaps one day I'll dig that out, along with my Moo-Moo from Hawaii, and swap out the clothing on the rod.  Change it out with the seasons...since I've got limited space here at the Love Shack, I have to find ways to creatively enjoy my things.

How about you...how do you display your vintage clothing and memorabilia?

Please share and if you have blogged about be sure to leave your blog link in the comments...cause we all love the inspiration.  Linking up with Jen's Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party.                            Fondly, Roberta

Comments

[CDM]

This has been an ongoing dilemma for me, because I have some beautiful things (red silk jacket embroidered with butterflies, brought for me from China by my husband, kimonos and obis we collected when living in Japan, a beautiful but huge quilt I bought from a hill tribeswoman in Thailand in the 1980s, etc.) but hardly any hanging space. I love your solution, but I don't have a closet that's anywhere near as big as yours. Still, it's great that you found a way you can look at those special things that call up so many memories. I think I need to look at a rotating solution, but I'm lazy about changing my displays.

[sonyamacdesigns]

Congratulations are in order ... I too wish I still had many of my fave. things.

[Cortney Lyon]

I love that display. I often forget that Bumpa was a bowler too and that's where we all get it from. I have some old vintage things that I should display too, thanks for the inspiration.

[Bonnie]

Cute idea. I don't display clothes as such, but I will have little things around the house of special significance to me, like cards, gifts I have been given etc. Mostly in my study, some on my dressing table and some on my dresser.
The shadow box is a great idea though!

[[email protected]]

Very cute!!! Great way to preserve memories.

[Lucy]

You are so so creative!!! I love that shadow box! How difficult was that? I would love for you to put up instructions for that...I can so see myself making one of those for Sophia's first skating dress and memorabilia (skates too!!) Roberta, you've got to show me:) Great post!!

[Deb]

sure wish I had some of my things...my Sweet Sugar Swan shirt etc....memories! Ah!