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| You know how Facebook goes on these random kicks once in a while where everyone changes their profile picture to their favorite cartoon character, or the celebrity they look like most? It's too bad I didn't know about Anna May Wong when the latter rolled around, since if I had to say, I probably look more like her than Lucy Liu*, the only other well-known Chinese-American actress out there. |
I know that I was very fortunate to grow up in San Francisco, which boasts a huge percentage of Chinese-Americans. I experienced very little racism and never felt conflicted about who I was or which culture I identify with, because so many of my peers were just like me, with a foot in both worlds and somehow managing to balance those. It wasn't until high school that it even occurred to me that not every city was like mine! All those YA novels about Asian-Americans growing up in hostile environments and the struggles they had felt thankfully far removed from my own life. The more I grow up and the more people I meet, of course, the more I realize how difficult the Asian-American identity is for some. Still, living in California, I mostly don't notice my minority...but it does pop up every now and then in the strangest ways!
I was reading up on vintage sewing machines and ended up perusing the comment section over on Peter's blog regarding hand-crank sewing machines, and suddenly had a fit of jealousy over all those lucky people who had sewing machines sitting in their grandmothers' attics. Being the child of immigrants, our house doesn't have an attic (that is unrelated to the immigrating, actually) and our garage only has boxes of our old Chinese school homework and math workbooks (not even lying!). No vintage sewing notions, and certainly no beautiful old treadle machines! And even though my mom sewed prolifically as a young lady, none of those clothes have made it to me, since it's impractical to cart a handmade wardrobe over the Pacific ocean to a tiny apartment in SF. And since my grandparents grew up extremely poor, I certainly don't have any heirloom Edwardian wedding gowns!
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| The closest thing I have: my mom's 1970s qipao. |
So even though I love being Asian-American, and am proud of my heritage, sometimes, a very tiny part of me wishes that I were white, if only so that I could inherit all these treasures from generations past. I also wish this a tiny bit when I think about dressing up in historic clothing, as I'm pretty sure that my great-great-great-whatever didn't wear gorgeously embellished 18th century frock coats or huge swishing hoopskirts. I also don't know too many other APA bloggers who are into vintage sewing or historic fashion, and I definitely don't know any in real life, so sometimes I feel a little bit like an anomaly.
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| Not quite a robe l'anglaise: my mom took me on a trip to China as a high school graduation present, where I got to wear a |
Then I remember that I make geeky dresses from thrifted sheets, and I think that there are probably bigger reasons for feeling like an anomaly, and I like it that way.
But oh! for a gorgeous vintage Featherweight!
*I came across this interview with Lucy Liu, and it's kind of sad how similar things are, even after 80+ years. It's still just as difficult now for an APA to get a leading role as it was when Anna May Wong was a star in the 1930s. And then there are projects like this one that reveal just how little people know about "others" even in this day and age.
[And hey, on a totally different note, if you haven't added your knit stashbusting project to the May link party yet, go do it. You've got til Sunday to get in on
Everything is relative... Heh heh. I learned to sew on my Mom's (original owner) Featherweight. Which she later gave to Goodwill *without even asking me*! So I bought my own FW of the same vintage.
ReplyDeleteAaahhh!!! It hurts my heart to hear of an original Featherweight being donated with nary a question about interested parties! I love that you bought the same one, though!
DeleteBeing a white immigrant is just as strange! People expect me to have shared cultural history with them, because I look like I should, and then are surprised when I really don't. We also have so few antiques or vintage things that came with us. When we moved here, we were allowed 2 bags per person, and while some sentimental items came over (like my grandma's old tea set, or the silly elephant), most didn't. My grand and great-grandparents grew up quite poor, as well, and lost a lot of what they had when they had to evacuate during WWII. And I remember when we went from not having a telephone in the house to having one! So yeah, I totally hear you. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, perhaps I should have titled this #secondgenimmigrantproblems, as I think we've had many conversations about our families' similarities! I think it's so cool, though, that you passed on your grandma's ruby earrings to Rachel!
DeleteThanks for sharing such deep thoughts on a Friday night. Also, if you are an anomaly, there are certainly a bunch of us who admire your uniqueness! :)
ReplyDeleteAwww, thanks, Diane!
DeleteI have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower, so some of my family has been here awhile. But we've always been poor, so no fancy antique gowns or treasures in the attic for me either. :( The best I've got is some costume jewelry that belonged to my great-grandmother. One of which is a dragonfly brooch - that started my love affair with dragonflies.
ReplyDeleteAnd I *wish* Lucy Liu got more acting roles - she's always been one of my all-time favorites. Love her in Elementary! I was so very pleased with that casting decision.
Oh wow, the Mayflower! That's so sweet that you have that brooch...I've always wondered about your blog/site name! And I, too, love that Lucy Liu's in Elementary!
DeleteI live in a country where most people seem to have at least one foreigner in their family tree, and it makes for interesting family histories! My own great-grandfather was from Barcelona, he came to Antwerp as a refugee from the Spanish civil war and married a Belgian woman. My boyfriend's great-grandfather was a Greek opera singer who opened a barbershop in the port and shaved sailors or transvestites (no joke).
ReplyDeleteThe more recent generations in my family are a sort of mix of Belgian and French people, but I'm sad to say I don't have that many heirlooms from my family either, or nothing really personal. My grandmothers threw out their old clothing before I got interested in vintage, and they never sewed... I have a few old stuffed toys, hairpins and jewelry, and one white cotton dress that's too small for me (but I'll never throw it away!)
It's funny, I don't normally think of Europeans as having very varied family histories, but that just goes to show I have so much to learn! Thanks for sharing about your family's fascinating make-up, and I'm with you on never throwing that dress away no matter how small it is!
DeleteI am a Belgian girl too, but with no foreign ancestors whatso-ever on either side of the family. (although my mothers side stems from the Menapi and my fathers side stems from Eburones, so I guess if I go back far enough I do have mixed ancestry in my blood... http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Gallia_Tribes_Towns.png) I guess my grandchildren will be of mixed origin (if my son doesn't decide to go back to Belgium or finds himself a Belgian girl here) either Belgian/Spanish or Belgian/Danish (it is his big dream to work for Lego in Denmark...). We'll see what happens...
ReplyDeleteAs to heirlooms in the attic, nothing to be found there - just my mother's wedding dress and our old school books (yes, we kept those too). My mom doesn't sew so no vintage machine coming my way...
And as an immigrant, I don't think that it is where we come from that defines us (I don't have a strong cultural bond with my country, I actually don't know very much about it), or that makes us an 'anomaly', it is what we do now and in the future that is the most important thing. You won't be remembered by your friends because of your Asian background, but because you made beautiful things (like a wedding gown) and loved history and historical costumes (those are only the things I know about you), that is what makes you unique, not an anomaly (I think that is just such a negative word, like it is bad to be different...). Just as I hope to be remembered by my Spanish friends not for being the Belgian girl, but because of the fun we have.
But I did like your post, it is always nice to read about someone's feelings and thoughts about a certain subject, one to which I can relate to a bit.
(Working for Lego used to be my dream too!)
DeleteI think it's different for every immigrant, how much where one is "originally" from gets incorporated into one's identity...some may identify strongly with their heritage, while some may embrace the current country without looking back. For me, my Asian background is a huge part of who I am, and anomalies aren't welcomed in most collectivist cultures. Thankfully, both my parents are pretty strongly individualist for being first gen, so I actually don't view being an anomaly as a negative thing!
Never regret your origins. You never know how things could have turned out. I'm white and there's nothing left from my grandmothers heritage. I started sewing and knitting time after they passed away, so I never knew if they left something behind. And if they left, it's for sure gone now.
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't regret my heritage at all! But I think everyone has moments, however fleeting, of wishing to be someone else, and I was just amused to find myself wishing to be white so that I could potentially inherit an Edwardian lace gown :) I realize, of course, that race poses no guarantees of cool attics!
DeleteSeconding Elana's comment- I'm white and both of my grandmothers are still living, but no vintage sewing machines around. My one grandmother who sews uses a modern sewing machine, and the only hand-me-down vintage clothes I got were some jackets that my mom had made for herself in the 70s, all of which I wore to death in high school. (I do still have one 70s leather jacket of hers, which I still wear in the autumns.) I come from a family of periodic declutterers, so I'm amazed that even that much made it to me! So I like to think that I'm the one making the unique things that someone in my family will treasure someday. (And the occasional Lord of the Rings/Doctor Who geeky fun thing.)
ReplyDeleteOh, how cool were you, wearing 70s jackets in high school! I think that's so awesome that you still wear your mother's clothes. And that's an excellent way of thinking about it -- we are the ones making cool things to pass to our kids!
DeleteMy comment will go pretty much in the same direction as the others. Although my family has been living in the same country for 3 generations, I have absolutely no family heirlooms. My mom got married in a suit that she threw away years ago (and anyway, it would absolutely not fit me), and neither my mom nor my grand-mother knew how to sew... See, you don't have to regret anything, just to be proud of your uniqueness!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, and your encouragement! I'm definitely proud of being weird, but I think I can also have secret wishes for cool inheritances ;)
DeleteI'm of Taiwanese descent, but grew up in a very white suburban Dallas... kids can be cruel. What I really crave are those old photographs that so many families have, I've only about 5 total from when my mother was a child, and exactly 1 of my great grandmother. I suppose it makes me treasure them much more. Thanks for posting about Anna May Wong, I'd never heard of her and its always nice to have historical asian rolemodels!
ReplyDeleteOh, I totally know what you mean about the photos! When I was in elementary school, there were difficulties when it came time for projects like "bring in a picture of your parents when they were your age!" I don't even have any pictures of my great-grands, so that's awesome that you have one. And I hadn't heard of AMW either, until doing more research for my Gatsby dress!
Deletei loved reading this. i am half chinese, and it has taken me some time to fully accept who i am. i too am from california (orange county to be exact) so i never felt odd or out of place... until i started visiting other places around the country. people were never cruel, but the fact that they asked about or mentioned my ethnicity would really bother me. my biggest "issue" with my ethnicity is that i reenact... i strive to be as accurate as possible in my dress and behavior, so it sometimes annoys me that i can't be accurate in what i physically look like (because the chance of a half chinese girl in 1770s colonial virginia is pretty slim...). my chinese mother was also adopted, so i have no idea what her family's history is to begin with.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, you're right next door to me! I had no idea, and I've been such a fan of your work for a long time, so to see you comment on my blog is such a pleasant surprise. I actually thought of you when I wrote about the historical likelihood of my ancestors wearing hoops.
DeleteAnd like you, I never felt out of place until I traveled away from the Bay Area...it gets really tiring to always hear "No, but really, what *are* you? Where are you *really* from?"
hurray for socal! and thank you! i've really enjoyed reading about your sewing adventures too! i think you will like this image. it looks like /someone's/ ancestor was wearing hoops! i don't have any info on it, but from the URL it looks like it might be in the book "dressed for the photographer", which is a collection of 19th century photographs.
Deletehttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/quincy134/1860s%20black%20day%20dress/dressedforthephotographer.jpg
Oh my goodness, I love that picture! And she's wearing glasses, too! Thanks for sharing the link!
DeleteThere's the funny aspect of how things look from the outside, from far away... When I first read about the casting of Lucy Liu into the role of Watson in Elementary, my reaction was not really "What, a woman? A Chinese woman?", but rather "Waitaminute, Lucy Liu? Isn't she a big time Hollywood actress for such a job?" (Which goes to show that Hollywood really is overlooking something here.)
ReplyDeleteYet the same sort of thing must be going on here with the Vietnamese community...
I relate to your envy of cool vintage/antique finds. For most of my life so far, those things were hidden from my sight, because we were also those who had moved out - even if it was not to a different continent, moving always means leaving something behind. It's popping up now, because I'm practically the only grandchild, niece, or even friend that systematically sews and shows interest in old clothes.
And I still have quite a bit of vintage pattern envy, because our long-time centrally-run economy did not exactly lead to lots of sewing patterns from various companies... It did lead to sewing being passed on, though.
Hah! How funny that that was your thought! My reaction was "oh, finally, she got cast for something big!" because I haven't seen her in anything much recently. And yes, moving a lot does tend to mean leaving things behind...for that, I'm glad that my parents are still living in the house I grew up in. At least you inherited sewing skills, though!
DeleteYes; skills are, in a way, much better! And now I do not have much of an envy anymore, because I really got so much in recent years, including German sewing magazines from the 30s and 40s... It's more of a general national envy than mine personal now. :D
DeleteI did not know it was Asian American Heritage Month either. But each month has so many themes... how do you even keep track of them all? Haha.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience growing up. I lived in predominately Asian neighborhoods, so never experienced much overt racism. The university I go to is also predominately Asian (I swear, it's not self segregation! It *is* a great college), but less so than my high school. Nevertheless, discrimination was never really an issue. My parents were never the "typical Asian parents" (except for making me take piano for too long), as I never got much pressure (if at all) to do the best in school. I was pretty self-determined on that front. This makes me realize how lucky I have it...
Interesting how a small part of you wants to be white. I think many minorities have that feeling, but for totally different reasons, lol.
I know, every month seems to be some food (Ice Cream Month! Sausage Month!), some idea (Education Month! Book Month!), and some ethnic focus...like I said, I didn't even know until one of my former students, who is hugely into APA activism, posted about it on his FB.
DeleteMaybe you can identify with this feeling -- sometimes I feel slightly guilty that I didn't experience more racism growing up, since that's such a common experience for most APAs. It's like survivor's guilt, or something. Anyway, I don't usually wish I were white (usually I'm pretty thrilled about being APA), but I just though it was funny that what made me wish it, albeit briefly, was antique sewing machines, not say, a double eyelid ;)
As a first gen, I understand your feelings of envy. When friends who don't sew talk about the beautiful Bernina they inherited from one great aunt that sits on the floor next to the cat's water bowl and the lace dress stuck in a box from the grandmother and the first edition signed by Lawrence and their great grandfather's violin and their great grandmother's handcarved knitting needles with a wooden case, I just want to shout "GIVE IT TO ME THEN?!". I always restrain myself but still...
ReplyDeleteHowever, I can't be too bitter. The reason I have almost nothing from my Spanish side is that it was all eaten by termites...so I guess that could happen to anyone. I've always admired that though my other side left Cuba with a grand total of four suitcases, my grandmother made sure to bring things she made and loved so I'm lucky enough to have a great aunt's honeymoon dress, certain pieces of jewelry, and a few pieces of intricate crochet. It's not the bountiful amounts of my more American friends but I think they're all the more precious for being so few and to have traveled. Since both my sister and I live in different places maybe we'll leave behind some ridiculously well traveled items to that number.
Hahahahaha I would totally have shouted GIVE IT TO ME! That's so sweet that your grandmother knew to bring such lovely pieces!
DeleteThanks for sharing this! I don't understand what it's like to be second (or third or fourth) generation because my family's been here for awhile, but I come from nomads, so someone is always up and moving. My relatives are spread way out so I don't have anything to rummage through and even if I did, it wouldn't be anything nice since no one has any money. I've always been envious of that aspect of others as well, though in other ways, I'm weird and unique and stand out anyway so this is just something else. Er, not that it really matters. (And weird sidenote: the bf has a family that never leaves so I DID manage to rummage through some old stuff in an attic... and it was really disappointing because there were no great finds. Oh well!)
ReplyDeleteAnd actually, I saw that Lucy Liu interview the other day and it made me so sad! I used to watch Lucy Liu on The View and I hated how she seemed to disappear for so many years. Glad she's back!
Um...I think you mean Lisa Ling. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Ling
DeleteFunny how we always find something to envy about other people, isn't it? And being nomadic is kind of like immigrating, I guess!
DeleteWe're all our own anomalies, really. I'm a white woman from the midwest whose ancestors originated in so many countries that I can't actually remember them all, and I'm married to a Chinese American woman (yep, woman) who also grew up in the bay area. I sew, and I'm a super nerdy wanna-be librarian (I actually will be once I finish grad school). I'd be willing to bet that I'm the only person in the world who actually fits into all those categories, although if someone else does, I'd love to meet her! We'd have a lot to talk about! :)
ReplyDeleteI got very lucky and inherited some of my paternal grandmother's sewing stuff, but that "stuff" was mostly thread, pins, and old bias binding. I did get a couple of point turners and her sewing machine, but the machine is a table machine that takes up a lot of space and doesn't actually work because there's something wrong with the cord. I'm pretty jelous of the sewists out there who score beautiful fabric stashes and pristine old machines too, and I think it's less a white thing and more just blind good luck!
I think once we get down to it, nobody in the world shares our set of unique characteristics! Thanks for sharing your experience, and hey, you can always get that cord replaced!
DeleteI totally know what you mean! My parents immigrated with me to the US when I was little and I grew up in California. Last year, my mother-in-law (Caucasian from Virginia) gave one of her granddaughters a ring that had belonged to her mother, and I thought "wow what a precious gift!" and that made me think about my family and I realized that I wouldn't have anything to pass down. My parents came from China with just what the airline luggage limit allowed, but even before that we didn't really have any heirlooms. I think part of the reason for that is that most Chinese people are very pragmatic and so unless you're really well-off you don't have room in your lifestyle for non-functional things. Another part of it is that, during the Cultural Revolution, a lot of things that would have been heirlooms were confiscated by the government or thugs using the banner of the government. A lot of Chinese families experienced a sort of "family history reset" during the second half of the 20th century, I think, and heirlooms don't tend to survive those kinds of big upheavals.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, the airline luggage limits! I guess I should be thrilled that my mom was able to bring what she did. I didn't even think about the Cultural Revolution and how that might have impacted things...my grandparents "escaped" that because they fled China during the Japanese occupation, but that still had the same end result, which is no belongings to inherit :|
Deletehuh! I am learning about Anna May Wong for the first time (since I am a #firstgenaznimmagrant I am not that well versed in american culture yet). How every inspirational!!!
ReplyDeleteI am lucky because i do have a ring from the era of my grand grandpa. so glad that survived all the moves my grandma & my mom did. it sure is nice holding onto something that makes you imagine how it is living in the old old china. another thing that got passed onto me is a skirt my dad made for my mom. I keep it even though I never wear it because it just reminds me of how awesome my dad is and how fashionable my mom is. two things i call family heirlooms!
It's funny how we don't learn much about historic APAs in school, as I didn't know about her either until very recently. I love that your dad sewed for your mom, and you're right, that's definitely an heirloom to hold on to! It'll be so sweet when your daughter can wear it one day!
DeleteMy mother taught me to sew on a foot-cranked Singer. It sure trained my eye-hand-and-FOOT coordination. To this day, my mother sews prolifically, but alas, I can't wear any of it unless God decides to miraculously give me the slim and delicate Asian shape. I avoided the whole qipao thing when I got married because...well, I have merciless relatives. BUT, since I do kind of sew, it hasn't stopped me from figuring out a way to eventually making my own set of Hanfu.
ReplyDeleteOoof, I can't even imagine learning to coordinate all of that as a kid! It's so cool that your mom still sews; mine stopped a long time ago. If you do make your hanfu, let me know! I'm hoping to make a set this year, so if you have any insights, that'd be awesome!
DeleteI moved so much as a kid that I didn't really end up keeping a lot of things and my mom certainly didn't hang on to a lot of her cool clothes. I did luck out that my mom's mom had a vintage Featherweight tucked away in storage and I was the only one in the family who really sews.
ReplyDeleteI've often wished I could get away with wearing some of the traditional Asian dresses because I'm built very much like an Asian, but I'm too white to pull it off without looking like I'm in costume. And I love the historic kimonos! I think everyone wishes a little bit for the things they are not.
Speaking of being Asian, here's a great video that does a wonderfully funny job of pointing out the absurdity of race questions by being absurd.
~ Brooke
Aww, too bad about your mom's clothes, but a vintage Featherweight is no small consolation prize! I think depending on the fabric you chose (none of that super-shiny brocade with embroidered dragons!), you could make a qipao work as regular clothing. Something along these lines: http://www.cozyladywear.com/wool-long-sleeve-qipao-cheongsam-chinese-dress-p-505.html or this one: http://www.cozyladywear.com/wool-qipao-cheongsam-chinese-evening-dress-for-winter-p-497.html
DeleteYep, I've gotten the what are you question quite a bit :)
Oh those are really pretty dresses! I love the simple clean lines! I have a couple of Vogue high-fashion suit patterns that are rather Asian looking but they are not nearly as everyday wearable as those in your links. =)
Delete~ Brooke
Everyone's heritage is unique and comes with no guarantees. I cherish all of the little things of my parents' and grandparents' that have made their way to me, and even though I'm sure so much more was thrown out or given away (like all those vintage patterns I know my beautiful, stylish grandma sewed from!), it's all gone now and in the end it doesn't matter at all. More than anything, I'm just so thankful that I come from a family of wonderful people and am able to have positive feelings around these objects in the first place. Not everyone has that.
ReplyDeleteOh, how sad, thinking of thrown-away vintage patterns! But you're right, putting everything into perspective by remembering the strong intangible inheritance that I got is great.
DeleteI am Caucasian and live in Virginia - all my ancestors I believe came from England and all of them were sewers!!!!!! Just about everyone in my family sewed clothes -it seemed to be a very "high brow" thing to do. My grandmother sewed beautiful vintage (around 1911) era. It was so beautiful. I love your heritage - I think you and your mother are very beautiful and your mother's dress is very beautiful. I am very happy you share American heritage now. I so enjoy your site and how talented you are and how tuck in the expressions - and of course your husband is a cutie and those kitties - you must include them more in your pics- they are so cute. Keep smiling and showing us your great art. Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, Nancy! It's so neat that your family has such a strong sewing history...hopefully that gets passed on. I will do my best to keep including cat photos, although you know how they can be when it comes to cooperating with pictures!
DeleteI got 2 things passed down to me.
ReplyDelete1. a quilt that is NOT handmade but was my Grandma's so its still pretty cool
2. awesome genes
I guess 3
3. best family ever!
this makes me think though, what kind of things am I going to save around for MY kids? (assuming I have children other than dogs, hahaha)
Haha nice! And yes, if it were up to Walnut, he would inherit all those nice crinkly patterns to sit on :)
DeleteI enjoyed reading about Anna May Wong and learning more American history. Even though we have come a long way there is so much further to go when you consider what women of all colors have gone through. Regarding the heirlooms, I think it is more an immigrant and wealth issue rather than a race issue. I am white, I came to the US with my mother and Father as a young child. Even though my grandmother sewed a lot, none of her sewing things made it here. My father is from the US but as number 6 of 7 children there was barely enough money for food let alone anything extra to be passed down to anyone.
ReplyDeleteWhen we talked about race in my AP Psych class, it was so interesting looking at charts showing the percentage of people who would feel uncomfortable with sending their kids to a diverse school...it's down to 3% at last survey, if I remember correctly, but that's still quite a lot of people who don't believe in integration.
DeleteAnyway, you're right that a family's financial history can greatly affect what there is to inherit, regardless of race!
People make so many assumptions about others and are almost always wrong! I didn't even know I was part German until a couple of years ago and I'm 56 years old. My mother never cared about her heritage so never talked about it. I am Caucasian and grew up in a sewing family but alas, I have no sewing treasures except for my grandmothers old embroidery hoop. I don't do embroidery but I will save it forever. I am salivating over my ex-mother-in-laws treadle sewing machine but what are the chances of me inheriting it??! Slim to none.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting side note about my family: my uncle married a Japanese "war bride" and my grandpa was furious. They were married over 50 years and she is the sweetest member of my whole family! My uncle passed away two years ago but my aunt is still living.
Thanks for sharing your family's experiences, Brenda! It's always good to learn more about other people's experiences and get past assumptions. Here's to hoping that treadle machine somehow makes it to you!
DeleteArgh! My phone just ate my entire long comment. Sigh. You get the shorter version this time.
ReplyDeleteWithout wanting to take away from your experience, I've also experienced heirloom envy despite being a squillionth generation kiwi! In fact, when I saw your post about your qi pao and the photos of your mum and your deisre to recreate her outfits I had a pang of envy as there are so few photos of my mum from before I was born and she has so little from then to pass on to me. It's part of why I am looking forward so much to seeing your recreations and more photos of her!
Having said that I have the odd treasure - a sewing box of my great grandmother's (although not a very pretty one) and a book of sewing patterns from the 1950s of my grandmother's, so I treasure and love those and in some ways they are more special because of their rarity.
Awww, boo on the phone's comment consumption! I guess I'm pretty lucky that my dad was a keen amateur photographer and took so many pictures of my mom early on. That sewing book and box sounds really incredible -- definitely treasures!
DeleteA few years ago my mom and I visited the UK and spent a few days with my mom's second cousin. That cousin has some family heirloom books from the 1700s! THOSE heirlooms didn't make it across the sea, either.
ReplyDeleteI feel a little bad now---my grandmother has quite a stash of heirloom things, vases and artwork and the like, that are Asian; her aunt was a nurse and, later in life, became the "travelling companion to a lady of means" and travelled the Orient, and either sent these back or passed them on to her relatives since she didn't have children of her own. Mind you, the fact that my Grandma married a farmer and has a whole farm to store stuff in helps with keeping these things around (my great-grandma's treadle, for example, is sitting in a house no one's lived in since the early sixties.) If they had to keep everything in one house, or apartment, that stuff would be long gone.
Thanks for sharing about your experiences growing up Asian in America... race (and racism) is such a strange, slippery thing, and it's always good to have our eyes opened a bit.
(So... will you be making any fabulous Chinese historical costumes? ;) )
Good golly, heirlooms from 300 years ago! I imagine that a huge farm does help for stashing stuff, although I'm not sure why you need to feel bad!
Delete(I just might be...I've got grand plans, but the research is going so slowly because Chinese historical clothing is so much less well-documented than Western stuff. Presumably if I were in China, it would be easier, but even then, I don't know!)
What an interesting post! I don't have much handed down from my family as my parents are both from large, working-class families, so there just wasn't much to hand down! My grandmother is really practical and unsentimental, so she tossed anything nonessential years ago. My mom used to make clothes for my brothers, sisters, and I, but similarly, she's really practical and we grew up living in small apartments and houses with no room to keep things. I like to think that I (and you) are creating future family heirlooms. Maybe 100 years from now everything we made will be out of style and uncool, but there will be a geeky kid that will get excited by our French seams!
ReplyDelete