Suzanne Carillo

My husband and I looked at some old photos of ourselves last night.

I'll admit it, it might have made me feel like crying just a bit. It's depressing to see the aging process taking over.

About the dress…my Grandma made me this dress when I was in my early twenties. She was an excellent seamstress. I only wish I'd inherited a bit of her magic with fabric. As it was I barely passed my Home Ec class where I had to sew my own wrap skirt. I still remember how frantic I was about it, asking my Mom to help me finish it.

This is me wearing the famous dress in our apartment in Nice the evening before I had to return to Canada. I would have been 24. You can see how tanned I used to be all the time and now how I've paid the price with loads of freckles and sun spots galore. At the time I didn't believe I'd live past the ripe old age of 40 so I didn't care how much sun I got.

Ah yes…I was a bit naive and stupid but that's what youth is all about.

At bit of a back story as to why I was in France… I was studying French in Montpellier on my own when I went to visit girlfriends in Nice. We went out partying and ended up meeting my husband-to-be at a bar. Ah the early 90's …what a brilliant time!

And this is me 23 years later wearing the same dress…not because I'm going out in it, but I tried it on for fun to see if it still fit. It is a lycra/cotton mix so it's kind of a cheat saying it still fits but whatever. I could never get rid of this dress because it was the last thing my Grandma ever sewed for me.