- Related: Vintage bridal gowns on exhibition
Teresa Jones was “flabbergasted” this week to discover her wedding dress in the window of her local shoe shop.
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It has been more than 25 years since Teresa donated her dress to the Wingham branch of Vinnies.
“You keep things for so many years and then think ‘why keep it?”
But it was a decision that Teresa would later regret and a choice that would also upset her daughter Alysha Latham.
The pair never expected to see the dress again, and certainly not in a shoe shop.
However the dress was being displayed in the window of Top of the Town Shoes to promote the upcoming Manning Valley Historical Society vintage bridal exhibition Tying the Knot – Manning Style.
After getting over the initial shock Teresa went to the Wingham Museum to fill them in on the history of her dress – something that until that point had been a mystery for the historical society.
Teresa had her “dream dress” made for her October 1977 wedding to husband Leigh in Penrith after seeing the design in a magazine.
She had taken a clipping from the magazine to a local dressmaker.
“In those days you didn’t really have shops where you could buy your wedding dress,” she explained.
Teresa was just 18 when she got married and had loved the contemporary style dress with a delicate daisy trim.
She also had a matching veil made but that doesn’t appear to have made its way to the historical society archives.
And while Teresa suggests the style of her dress is coming back into fashion she admits to feeling a little odd about the whole thing.
“It makes me feel old to think it’s vintage!” She laughs.
Teresa is delighted her dress has been re-discovered and preserved so well.
“It was just amazing to see it,” she said. “I’ll have to go to the exhibition now.”
Tying the Knot – Manning Style opens on Saturday April 1 at Tellers Restaurant, Wingham and the Manning Valley Historical Society Museum.
The exhibition will run until Friday April 7.