Author Topic: A deceased person's clothing: very powerful  (Read 10980 times)

Offline shortfiction

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A deceased person's clothing: very powerful
« on: July 04, 2007, 11:57:04 pm »
     I was walking tonight with a friend who lost her brother last fall. She said she still could not bring herself to look through any of his things, even though she might like to have one of his sweatshirts as a reminder.
     I myself have some of my late dad's Joe Boxers and a nightshirt, which I wear sometimes. 
     Of course, you know what I'm getting at:   that scene with the shirts.     My friend S started weeping during that scene, because her younger brother had been killed when they were teens, and she remembered how significant it was to hold one of his favorite jackets later. 
      The fact that Jack had held onto those shirts for so many years gives them even more significance.
    Have you had experiences like this with the clothing which had been worn by the deceased?
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Offline Shasta542

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Re: A deceased person's clothing: very powerful
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2007, 04:33:43 am »
My godson (my best friend's son) was killed in a car accident when he was 18 years old. We took vacations together and on one of them, he and I shopped together. After he died, she gave me the shirt that he and I had picked out for him that day. It hangs in my closet, and on his birthdays, I put it on while I think of him. He died 6 years ago, but it still hurts me---and I know his mother is hurting all the more. I still miss him so much, but having his shirt has truly helped as a comfort.

I also have one item of clothing from each of my beloved grandparents. I keep those in a cedar chest, and it's just nice to know I have those. Like--secure, I guess.

Some people like to get rid of everything like that which is fine, but I know having clothes of my deceased loved ones is comforting to me. I can see why Ennis kept Jack's shirt (and his own) so close.
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Offline shortfiction

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Re: A deceased person's clothing: very powerful
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2007, 11:55:13 am »
      I am sorry to hear of your young godson's passing.       
We gave a lot of my dad's stuff to the veterans organizations since he was a vet, but we kept some of it.  My brother has a few articles, I have a few, and Mom has a few.  Being able to wear it is a comfort as well.
     
"This is the most uncomfortable coffin I've ever been in!"

Offline malina

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Re: A deceased person's clothing: very powerful
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2007, 08:55:14 pm »
This takes me down memory lane...

After my husband passed away, which was almost 14 years ago now, I wore something of his every single day for a while.. often a shirt, sometimes some cutoffs with a belt... sometimes even... okay this is going to sound odd, but it's not like I haven't way overshared many times on IMDB, I might as well start doing it here too.... sometimes underwear. Cotton briefs, not boxers ... those ones that are called tightie whities I think ... [blushing]...

But I liked the shirts the best, because, for a while at least, they smelled like him... I liked that... eventually I had to wash them..

I don't know for how long I did that. Maybe only the first couple of weeks... but I do remember that for the first little while I wore something of his every single day. And then one day I was going through a trunk of his stuff... letters and photos and things... and I found a necklace I'd never seen before. It was a stained glass 'Greenpeace' symbol on a leather thong. So then I wore that every single day for about a year, and then, one day, it just disappeared. I guess the thong broke or something? It was just gone... as suddenly as it appeared. And I figured that was because I didn't need to have it anymore.

I still have a few t-shirts and things, but I don't wear them. My daughter does, occasionally. They are really much more hers than mine, now.

I do think that a dead person's clothing has something of their energy. Oh, and I have a ton of my grandmother's clothing. Some beautiful coats that were made for her by a dressmaker in the '50s, and a ton of cotton nightgowns. I love that they were hers, and I love the things themselves..


Offline shortfiction

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Re: A deceased person's clothing: very powerful
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2007, 11:58:06 pm »
Hello, malina--I remember you from the IMDB.   What a beautiful post you have written here.
I agree that clothing does retain some essence of the person who had worn it.  It's so very personal and intimate.
"This is the most uncomfortable coffin I've ever been in!"