The Time-Traveling Fashionista (22 page)
L
ADY
L
UCY
D
UFF
-G
ORDON AND
S
IR
C
OSMO
D
UFF
-G
ORDON BOARDED THE
T
ITANIC
AT
C
HERBOURG
, F
RANCE
,
UNDER THE ASSUMED NAMES
M
R
.
AND
M
RS
. M
ORGAN
,
SO AS NOT TO ATTRACT UNWANTED MEDIA ATTENTION UPON ARRIVAL IN
N
EW
Y
ORK
C
ITY
. O
N THE EVE OF THE DISASTER
,
THEY ESCAPED IN
L
IFEBOAT
1,
NOW INFA
MOUSLY DUBBED
“T
HE
M
ILLIONAIRE
’s B
OAT
,”
WITH THEIR SECRETARY
, L
AURA
M
ABEL
F
RANCATELLI
,
AND NINE OTHERS
,
MOST OF THEM CREWMEN
. T
HE BOAT WAS DESIGNED TO HOLD FORTY PASSENGERS
.T
HERE HAS BEEN MUCH SPECULATION AS TO WHETHER
S
IR
C
OSMO BRIBED THE CREW NOT TO TURN BACK AND RESCUE THE OTHERS
,
IN FEAR THAT THE BOAT WOULD BE MOBBED
. I
N FACT
,
IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED THAT HE DID WRITE CHECKS TO ALL OF THE CREW WITH HIM
,
BUT HE CLAIMS IT WAS A GOODWILL GESTURE TO HELP TIDE THEM OVER UNTIL THEIR NEXT ASSIGNMENT
. A
DISGUSTED CREW MEMBER ALSO ON BOARD
L
IFEBOAT
1
RECALLS
L
ADY
D
UFF
-G
ORDON
,
IN THE MIDST OF THE MOST DEADLY AND HORRIFIC SEA DISASTER IN RECENT HISTORY
,
COMMENTED TO HER SECRETARY
, “T
HERE IS YOUR BEAUTIFUL NIGHTDRESS
,
GONE
.”
Louise clicked on the next link with a dread-filled anticipation.
M
ANY PASSENGERS ON BOARD THE
T
ITANIC
REFUSED TO TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES
. I
T WASN
’
T UNTIL MANY YEARS LATER
,
SOME NOT UNTIL THEY WERE ON THEIR DEATHBEDS
,
THAT THEIR STORIES CAME TO
LIGHT
. B
UT ALTHOUGH THE
T
ITANIC
IS ONE OF HISTORY
’
S MOST INFAMOUS SEA TRAGEDIES
,
IT ALSO HELD MANY STORIES OF GREAT HEROISM AND BROUGHT FORTH SOME TERRIFIC TALES SHOWCASING THE BRAVE AND ALTRUISTIC NATURE
OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT
.
Wide-eyed, Louise scanned the page, stopping suddenly at her friend’s name:
A
NNA
H
ARD
,
THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD MAID OF FIRST-CLASS PASSENGER
M
ISS
A
LICE
B
AXTER
,
WAS SOMEONE WHO TURNED INTO THE DEFINITION OF A TRUE HEROINE
,
RISKING HER OWN LIFE TO SAVE THE LIVES OF OTHERS
. I
N AN INTERVIEW SHE GAVE TO THE
H
ERALD
T
RIBUNE SHORTLY AFTER RETURNING HOME TO
E
NGLAND FOLLOWING THE DISASTER
, M
ISS
H
ARD
,
WHO WOULD LATER BECOME
M
RS
. B
RADY
,
AS SHE LATER MARRIED
M
R
. C
HRISTOPHER
B
RADY OF THE
T
ITANIC
CREW
,
SAID THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO KEEP CALM AND TAKE CHARGE WHILE EVERYONE ELSE WAS PANICKING BECAUSE SHE HAD A PREMONITION THAT SUCH
A DISASTER WOULD TAKE PLACE
. S
HE WAS ABLE TO ASSIST THE MEN IN FILLING SEVERAL LIFEBOATS TO CAPACITY WITH WOMEN AND CHILDREN
,
WHILE ELSEWHERE ON THE SHIP
,
HALF-FILLED BOATS WERE BEING LOWERED BY
TERRIFIED CREW MEMBERS WHO FAILED TO REALIZE THEIR FATAL ERROR
. T
HEY DIDN
’
T FULLY COMPREHEND THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION
,
THAT THE
“
UNSINKABLE
”
SHIP WAS
,
IN FACT
,
SINKING
,
THAT EACH EMPTY SEAT ON THE LIFEBOAT SIGNIFIED ONE PERSON WHO WOULD BE LEFT TO GO DOWN WITH THE
RMS
T
ITANIC
. M
ISS
H
ARD RELUCTANTLY GOT ONTO ONE OF THE LAST LIFEBOATS ALONG WITH
M
ISS
B
AXTER BUT LAMENTS THAT SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO TAKE MORE PEOPLE WITH HER
,
EVEN THOUGH
,
ACCORDING TO HER WORDS
,
SHE
“
FELT
INEVITABLY THIS WAS COMING
.”
Teary-eyed, Louise smiled proudly at the account of Anna’s bravery. Anna wasn’t going to become an old maid after all! She
typed in “Anna Hard, Christopher Brady wedding,” and an announcement from the
London Times
popped up on her screen.
M
ISS
A
NNA
H
ARD
, 17,
AND
M
R
. C
HRISTOPHER
B
RADY
, 19,
WERE MARRIED THIS
S
UNDAY AT
G
RACE
C
OURT
C
HURCH
. T
HE COUPLE MET UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN THEY WERE WORKING ON BOARD THE
T
ITANIC
ON ITS ILL-FATED MAIDEN VOYAGE
. S
HE WAS THE PERSONAL MAID OF ACTRESS
M
ISS
A
LICE
B
AXTER
,
AND HE SERVED AS A QUARTERMASTER UNDER
C
APTAIN
S
MITH
. I
T WAS REPORTED THAT THEY BOTH SAVED MANY LIVES THAT EVENING
,
HELPING OTHERS INTO THE SAFETY OF THE LIFEBOATS
. M
R
. B
RADY TOOK CHARGE OF ONE OF THE FINAL LIFEBOATS
,
WITH
M
ISS
H
ARD AND
M
ISS
B
AXTER ON BOARD
,
ROWING IT TO SAFETY
,
DEFTLY AVOIDING THE DEADLY WHIRLPOOL THAT WAS CREATED WHEN THE BROKEN SHIP FINALLY SUNK
. “S
HE WAS CONVINCED THE
T
ITANIC
WAS DOOMED ALL ALONG
,” M
R
. B
RADY TOLD OUR REPORTER
. “T
HE NEXT TIME MY WIFE HAS A PREMONITION
,
YOU BET
I’
M GOING TO LISTEN
!”
What if she, Louise, had somehow affected the past? Maybe she
had
been able to make a little bit of difference after all!
Louise began clicking through various pictures, now all oddly familiar to her: drawings and sketches of the exterior of the
ship, the Grand Staircase, the gymnasium with its mechanical camels, a few stills of the Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio
movie, and finally she came to a black-and-white newspaper photograph. The grainy photo was a group shot of some fancily dressed
people holding raised champagne glasses and standing in front of enormous smokestacks with White Star Line painted in block
lettering on the funnels. Louise zoomed in. It was Mr. and Mrs. Astor, and Ida and Isidor
Straus! And, could it be? She clicked the magnifying glass again, focusing in on the girl who was third from the left. She
let out a cry of surprise—this girl in the photograph was most definitely
her
!
Louise scanned down to read the caption. April 12, 1912, RMS
Titanic,
A Deck. From Left: Jacob and Madeleine Astor, unidentified first-class female passenger, Ida and Isidor Straus…
Ohmigod
. Louise zoomed in even more until the image began to get pixilated. It was undeniably her—same eyes, same nose, same frizzy
hair, and tight-lipped smile. She was the unidentified female passenger. She was really there! And now she had proof.
Louise picked up the pink dress gingerly, with a newfound respect for its history. She hung it at the front of the closeted
clothing rack. It was by far the oldest piece in her vintage collection.
She suddenly remembered the lavender envelope she had hidden in her nightstand. It was still under her leather-bound diary,
just where she had left it. With a fluttery excitement tickling her stomach, she broke open the wax seal and extracted the
thick stationery.
She eagerly pulled out a handwritten note in a flowery red script.
Dearest Louise,
Darling, you looked absolutely fabulous in your pink dress!
Louise could almost hear Glenda’s raspy voice speak through the pages. Squinting, she held the letter up to the light and
started reading.
We hope you will continue to be part of our small, select group of very important clients. We want to pass on a bit of our
wisdom about the importance of vintage clothing to you, our newest Fashionista. It takes a special kind of person to realize
that when you wear vintage you are carrying a bit of the past on your body, and the possibility that vintage can have an impact
on your modern life. But there’s also the
responsibility that comes with this privilege of owning a piece of the past
.
When someone has a strong spirit, their energy never disappears. It takes another form and gets scattered throughout the atmosphere
and embedded in the things and places that were most intimate and important to them. And it takes a certain type of sensitivity
to pick it up. It is no wonder that women have clothing that carries a bit of their spirits with them. This is especially
true if a very traumatic or wonderful event happened while she was wearing that garment. Someone’s soul can’t die; it simply
gets transformed and transmuted
.
That’s why vintage clothing is so powerful. You’ve felt it before, we know.
Unfortunately, my dear, we are now living in a time where we want fast and cheap and modern. True Fashionistas do not shop
at the mall!
Don’t forget your history, Louise. If we do, we are destined to repeat the past, as though for the first time, without benefiting
from any of the knowledge that can be gained from those who have come before us.
In the words of the inimitable French designer Coco Chanel, “Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
Welcome to the club, my darling. Remember, you are already a star. Now it’s time to dress like one!
Marla and Glenda
Louise put down the letter, trying to take it all in. “Are you a stylist or a philosopher?” she whispered into her empty bedroom.
“What’s the difference?” She could have sworn she heard Glenda rasp from the ether.
Louise reached back into the envelope and pulled out a smaller card.
She smiled, exposing a mouthful of metal. Brooke’s thirteenth birthday was only three weeks away, and Louise knew exactly
where she would find the perfect party dress.
My deepest gratitude to my parents, whose lifelong encouragement and love has made this book (and everything else) possible.
To the brilliant and understated Robert Josovitz for sparking the conversation when I showed up for brunch one morning in
Mrs. Baxter’s white wool coat; that was the day when everything shifted for me. To Julian Schnabel for teaching a girl from
Connecticut a thing or two about art, life, and generosity, and for showing through his inimitable example that other worlds
are possible. Thanks to Alex Fuller Braden for his pro bono expertise. Two tickets to the premiere are in the mail. Thank
you to Nancy Shea and Todd Lyon at the New Haven Fashionista store for inspiring the imaginations and inner divas of so many
lucky customers. This book, and my personal vintage collection, would not be the same without you. A big thank-you to Patricia Escalona at Roca Editorial and all of the other international fashionistas who are helping to bring my book to a wider global audience.
My most sincere thanks to the honorary Traveling Fashionistas: my fabulous agent, Elisabeth Weed, and editor extraordinaire,
Cindy Eagan. Elisabeth, I will always be grateful for your early support. Your humor and blind optimism made this long journey
a blast, and thank you for connecting me with Cindy, my soul mate of editors. I feel unbelievably lucky to have you two on
my side. Thank you.
