I bought a really awful wedding dress at the local charity shop for the princely sum of R50 (In South Africa R50 can buy 2 loaves of bread and 2 litres of milk). The dress was so dusty and dirty and took up so much space hanging in the cramped little charity shop for years that they joked with me that they should be paying me to take the dress away. But I felt I was helping the animals with my small donation, and I had a plan - I washed the dress a few times, and thought if I can find a local girl prepared to model for me, it will help with the role play if she can get dressed up. And that is exactly what happened. I found a young girl working as a till packer at our local Spar Supermarket during the school holidays. She liked the idea of getting some photos of herself but her poses were initially very stiff and awkward. Until I had her change into the wedding dress and when she appeared from the bedroom looking like a little princess, she had no trouble moving her body, moving her head or hands etc.
@julzmaioro@narayani@ludwigsdiana Thank you. Yes the girls did love dressing up and I will give them all the photos on a CD. They don't have phones to send the pics too, but they do have a dvd player in their home. I haven't given them the dress yet as they are coming again next week, but I have decided I will probably keep the dress for a while for future role play. I think the girls will probably be happier with getting more ice creams again next week anyway, and their home is probably too small to store bulky items like this dress.
I don’t think the dress is hideous, it's just from another time - I prefer this phrase to the usual 'old-fashioned'. It's turned a young girl from modest circumstances into a princess... and once the dress was on, she took on the role as if she had been born to it. Well done Desi.
@vignouse Thank you so much. I love your comment - it sums it up so well. And yes I do think the phrase "from another time" is so very appropriate. It makes it more romantic somehow. Thanks for that perspective on what I was trying to achieve when I saw the potential and bought the dress.
You have changed this young girl's life. You met her where she was, you've enabled her to realise a sense of self and opportunity. The moment you captured is nought but Magic. Congratulations!
January 12th, 2020
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