I was honoured to have received a beautiful crisp white shirt with purple embroidery adorning it, and a large panel design on the back. At the time that I received it, I was broke and a friend of mine gifted it to me as her father had been given it and it wasn’t his style.
This shirt was made by Diesel and at the time that I was given it, they had not yet been released in the shops… It was the most special item of clothing I had ever owned. The thing is, is that clothes are like sponges, they take in the environment that they have been worn in and the emotions attached to them. To many, the grey suit hanging in my wardrobe is just a suit that doesn’t fit me anymore. But to me that selfsame suit is the suit that I got married in, the suit that has an emotional teardrop on the shoulder & the suit that clashed with my Gothic black hair! Items can become special to us for many reasons.
Clothes are emotionally charged items. We see on TV that spurned wives cut holes in their husbands suits or throw their clothes out of the windows, kids cling to their blankies, and Miss Havisham sits waiting in her wedding dress. By being chosen to be worn, they start to be filled with memories, moments and love.
Catastrophe struck. One day my wife and I realised that in with our white wash had been a misplaced pair of turquoise boxer shorts, and the victim of this vicious attack was my memory filled shirt. For some this would have been a happy accident, but to me this was not. The murky blue and green colour made this shirt virtually unwearable. And yet I could not bring myself to throw it away.
And so a few years on, on the eve before a friend’s birthday party I decided I would try to rescue it. Some Asda smart price bleach (29p), a bucket and some warm water were my weapons!
The bottle recommended 50ml of bleach in some water (not one for following instructions I used 100ml) and then I filled the bucket with warm water. I placed the shirt in the mixture and stirred with a disposable chopstick (careful not to get any on my favourite hoody). 10 minutes later and my shirt was as white as snow! What’s more is, the cotton used for the embroidery stayed purple… Score!
This was a last resort and I went into it knowing that:
A) It might not work.
B) It may destroy the item.
On this occasion though I was very lucky and the shirt has come out looking like new!
I wore this shirt to my pals birthday and was so happy that it had been given a new lease of life. Every time that I wear it, it will be in memory of a great man, and I know that within the weave of the fabric are some treasured memories, even if all that the world sees is a white shirt.
ThatIsBeyond 