image of person or book cover 8142391234831291770.jpg
Cover image courtesy of publisher.
Issue Details: First known date: 2014... 2014 Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'As we grow older, how do we know what to let go of and what to keep?

'Lorelei started collecting dresses in her twenties and found that every time she wore one it became more significant to her. From falling in love for the first time to playing in a band, from starting a career to moving overseas, every dress soon had a memory stitched into it, and she became as attached to each one as if they were the events and people themselves.

'But what happens when the wardrobe gets full? Should you let go of the dresses you've outgrown, or try to hold on to them forever?

'Dress, Memory is about a decade in dresses. Perceptive and poignant, humorous and heartwarming, it's the story of growing up and growing into yourself. It's about trying things on until you find the perfect fit.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2014 .
      image of person or book cover 8142391234831291770.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 272p.
      Note/s:
      • Published September 2014
      ISBN: 9781743311011

Other Formats

Works about this Work

Bold Walks in the Inner North : Melbourne Women’s Memoir after Jill Meagher Amy Mead , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: M/C Journal , vol. 20 no. 6 2017;

The author investigates 'how texts written by women writers based in Melbourne’s inner north can latently serve as counter narratives to this discourse, demonstrating how urban public space can be benign, even joyful, rather than foreboding for women. Cultural narratives that promote the vulnerability of women oppress urban freedoms; this paper will use these narratives solely as a catalyst to explore literary texts by women that enact contrary narratives that map a city not by vicarious trauma, but instead by the rich complexity of women’s lives in their twenties and thirties.'

The paper examines 'two memoirs set primarily in Melbourne’s inner north: Michele Lee’s Banana Girl (2013) and Lorelai Vashti’s Dress, Memory: A memoir of my twenties in dresses (2014). In these texts, the inner north serves as ‘true north’, a magnetic destination for this stage of life, an opening into an experiential, exciting adult world, rather than a place haunted. Indeed, while Lee and Vashti occupy the same geographical space that Meagher did, these texts do not speak to the crime.'

Source: Author's introduction.

[Review] Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Helene Sobolewski , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 11 October 2014; (p. 27)

— Review of Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Lorelei Vashti-Waite , 2014 single work autobiography
Lorelei Vashti : Dress Memory Kylie Mason , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , October 2014;

— Review of Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Lorelei Vashti-Waite , 2014 single work autobiography
A Hymn to Hems Michelle Collins , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 23 August 2014; (p. 18)

— Review of Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Lorelei Vashti-Waite , 2014 single work autobiography
'Debut writer Lorelei Vashti combines her two loves, writing and clothes, in her novel reflecting on moments in life through her dresses...'
Review : Dress Memory Portia Lindsay , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , vol. 94 no. 1 2014; (p. 24)

— Review of Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Lorelei Vashti-Waite , 2014 single work autobiography
Review : Dress Memory Portia Lindsay , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , vol. 94 no. 1 2014; (p. 24)

— Review of Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Lorelei Vashti-Waite , 2014 single work autobiography
Lorelei Vashti : Dress Memory Kylie Mason , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , October 2014;

— Review of Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Lorelei Vashti-Waite , 2014 single work autobiography
[Review] Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Helene Sobolewski , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 11 October 2014; (p. 27)

— Review of Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Lorelei Vashti-Waite , 2014 single work autobiography
A Hymn to Hems Michelle Collins , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 23 August 2014; (p. 18)

— Review of Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Lorelei Vashti-Waite , 2014 single work autobiography
'Debut writer Lorelei Vashti combines her two loves, writing and clothes, in her novel reflecting on moments in life through her dresses...'
Dress, Memory Laura James , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , Septembe 2014;

— Review of Dress, Memory : A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses Lorelei Vashti-Waite , 2014 single work autobiography

'An endearing, though occasionally frustrating, coming-of-age story from a woman who gradually grows into herself.'

Bold Walks in the Inner North : Melbourne Women’s Memoir after Jill Meagher Amy Mead , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: M/C Journal , vol. 20 no. 6 2017;

The author investigates 'how texts written by women writers based in Melbourne’s inner north can latently serve as counter narratives to this discourse, demonstrating how urban public space can be benign, even joyful, rather than foreboding for women. Cultural narratives that promote the vulnerability of women oppress urban freedoms; this paper will use these narratives solely as a catalyst to explore literary texts by women that enact contrary narratives that map a city not by vicarious trauma, but instead by the rich complexity of women’s lives in their twenties and thirties.'

The paper examines 'two memoirs set primarily in Melbourne’s inner north: Michele Lee’s Banana Girl (2013) and Lorelai Vashti’s Dress, Memory: A memoir of my twenties in dresses (2014). In these texts, the inner north serves as ‘true north’, a magnetic destination for this stage of life, an opening into an experiential, exciting adult world, rather than a place haunted. Indeed, while Lee and Vashti occupy the same geographical space that Meagher did, these texts do not speak to the crime.'

Source: Author's introduction.

Last amended 27 Feb 2020 11:59:41
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