Comments on: Joy Harris, Dressmaker

By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 18:06:29 +0000

The most poignant WHAT IF? of this lovely story was Joy missing her ‘big break’ apprenticeship and not hopping off to Christian Dior in Paris as it would have been a big outlay for her family.

And then l saw their photo up the Welsh mountain at 17 and could understand why Larry might have been a much stronger yearning than unknown Paris.

A couple of photos later and l sigh with relief to see a devoted married couple still together who appear contented and with shared, solid, life-long memories.

Her devotion to high standards could have eventually meant living the high life with own Paris design studio, a fab Parisienne apartment but ….. no Larry, no soulmate.

Joy made the right choices in life.

By: Lynne Perrella

Lynne Perrella — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 14:42:03 +0000

I know I speak for so many of your readers — this story sent ripples through my memory. Grace notes too numerous to mention here, but they will enrich me all day long. (and I learned a new-to-me word: “sewist”!). I will forward this to a wonderful friend who was my colleague in the 70s as we both began our careers, creating the original Vogue Sewing Book. We were tasked with creating
a “bible” for sewing/tailoring — and just happened to make lifelong friendships in the bargain.
What is that Chinese phrase? – “There is an invisible red thread that connects like-minded people.”
Thank you, GA for the continuous red thread. And thank YOU Joy for your kindred story.
Onward.

By: Helen Breen

Helen Breen — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 12:21:39 +0000

Greetings from Boston,

GA, what a nice story about Joy Harris returning to Spitalfields to relive her youth in the dressmaking trades. It brought back memories of the late 50s when my dear mother made so many outfits for me in my college days, including evening gowns. One was a lovely cranberry color with a large “cabbage rose” at the waist she had learned to make in millinery school. Of course, my mother was a perfectionist and I had to endure many fittings, but the garments all looked great in the end.

In those days there were so many fabric stores around here. I used to love to leaf through those huge pattern books. A few years back I went looking for some buttons for a jacket I had. I thought, “Well, I can go to the Windsor Button Shop at the Mall.” Wrong – it had closed decades ago.

By: stuart goodman

stuart goodman — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 11:25:16 +0000

wonderful living history.

By: Margaret Stebbing

Margaret Stebbing — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 10:22:24 +0000

This is a lovely story that encapsulates a lot of Spitalfields history. I am interested in this as it informs me of the patterns of life in this part of London over time. I would like to get in touch with Joyce as I believe we may be family. Margaret Harris Stebbing (Australia).

By: aubrey

aubrey — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 10:19:09 +0000

I remember that my father worked as a machiner in various sweatshops throughout my formative years. They were just dreadful places to work with little or no security of work. The ‘labour’ (Labour Exchange) was often mentioned in family conversation as often as not in the search for work during a slack season.

By: Jamie S

Jamie S — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 08:18:16 +0000

Absolutely charming story – thank you to Joy and TGA for sharing…

By: Jane Jones

Jane Jones — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 08:12:28 +0000

What a lovely lady and such an interesting life. I am always inspired by hearing about dressmakers and fashion as it was such an integral part of my life and that of my family. If you didn’t sew, you didn’t have clothes.

By: SJ Kurtz

SJ Kurtz — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 08:02:01 +0000

As a sewist and a fan of your stories, I must thank you from the bottom of my heart for this. I’m glad that her story has gone well, and not up in flames in some factory fire. Linking to this story.