Today's date has held significance for me for the past 16 years. Because 16 years ago, when I was in Grade 9, a classmate of mine took his own life, presumably because he couldn't cope with the death of his mother. I had just transferred into the school that year, and we were actually only in one class together. But, even though we hadn't exchanged more than a couple of words, his death hit me really hard. I had lived a pretty isolated life up until then, so I had no idea whatsoever how to cope with the whole thing. It didn't help that my teacher pretty much made our class feel like we were to blame, and that the little sister of a now famous Canadian skipped down the hall that day in a way much too similar (in retrospect) to Bellatrix Lestrange after she killed Sirius Black. Anyway, after the five-ish years it took to realize it wasn't my fault and more than a decade on top of that, the day still makes me stop and take a breath. And, on this day, I always picture myself in the church, at the funeral, though what date that was, I can no longer remember. This March 5th though has an additional connotation, as it is the day we are getting the keys to our new place, which will, I expect, vastly improve our lives and likely be our home for as long as we live in this city. It seems almost fitting, then, that Sarah Burton's newest McQueen collection came out on this day, for it is steeped in history and echoes of the church, as well as (like all of Sarah Burton's McQueen collections) serving as a reminder that life moves on. And so it does.
(Photos via Style.com)
