Graduation Dress , 1985
118.5 x 35.5 cm (h x w)
[H2002.51.5a-b ]

This lace dress is made of panels and lace trim with long, narrow sleeves. The slip is low at the front with elasticized underarms and thin shoulder straps. The dress belonged to Linda Tzang, a first-generation Chinese Canadian who immigrated to Canada from Taiwan at five. Linda wore it for her senior graduation at Windermere Secondary School in 1985. The dress is a reproduction of the 1920s fashion that was popular in the mid-1980s. Growing up as a teenager in the 1980s, Linda fell in love with the New Romantic Style. This style was inspired by glam rock music and period costumes, featuring flamboyant and eccentric clothing that evoke theatricality and attract attention. Linda does not use clothes and self-fashioning as an emotional outlet or rebuild connections with Chinese culture; instead, she uses it as an extension of her personality and a desire to look different from everyone else.

Exhibited by:

Violet Wolfe

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