Have you heard the amazing story of this vintage 1950s wedding dress?  It was anonymously donated to the charity St. Gemma’s Hospice (who are based in Yorkshire, UK) with the following note pinned to it:

“I wish any lady who takes this dress to have a life with her loved one 56 years like I did. Happy years. I was a lucky man to marry a lady like mine.”

The note, and the touching story behind the dress have exploded in the media, and has appealed to so many people that the price has rocketed on eBay.  It looks like the dress is going to earn the charity a fantastic sum of money. The bid currently stands at over £8,000 with another 7 days to run on the auction.

The charity successfully tracked down the man who donated the dress, who is reportedly delighted that his wife’s dress stands to make so much money for the charity, not to mention rather overwhelmed by the amount of interest the story is getting!

It just goes to show how powerful the provenance of an item can be, doesn’t it? I’ve often wondered about the previous owners of my vintage, and how wonderful it would be to know a little more about the history of each item. Who bought it? What occasion did they wear it to? Did they have to save for months to buy it, or was it a gift?

What a pity it’s so rare to be able to find that information! I suppose unless something is passed down by family – like the multiple engagement rings of  my great grandmother – then it’s unlikely you will ever know.