If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve been ready for spooky season since June. That’s right June! My summer reading included a book on America’s most haunted places and my long time love for haunted history actually inspired this shoot! But, let’s start from the beginning shall we?
At the start of quarantine, I missed out on a rare vintage dress by 15 seconds, a rare vintage Gunne Sax dress to be exact. Normally when I miss out on a dress I’m a little bummed and eventually I get over it, but I knew right away there would be no getting over this dress. I had to find another one. Instead of waiting for the dress to find me find me, I went looking for it. I can’t remember how many hours I spent reaching out to vintage dealers and combing the internet, but it was A LOT. Before missing out on this particular dress, I had no idea this color and style of Gunne Sax even existed. As a vintage lover, I’d heard of Gunne Sax but I’d only ever seen the prairie style which wasn’t my vibe so I never really followed them. In my search for THE dress, I began learning about the world of “Gunnes” and all the rare prints and styles. It was truly fascinating. Prior to finding the black Gunne I had been searching for, I came upon a similar style first. Although it wasn’t the dress I was looking for, I had to have it because I knew it was something special, another needle in a haystack. A month or two later, I was given the opportunity to purchase the black dress I had been searching for and just like that, my Gunne Sax dream dresses became a reality.
The minute I hung these two Victorian style beauties up side by side, they quickly earned the nickname “The Sisters” after the Borden Sisters (of course) and the concept for this shoot came to be. If you’re not familiar with the events of August 4, 1892 in Fall River, MA spooky season is the perfect time to brush up on your history, haunted history that is.
Happy Haunting, everyone….
Special thanks to @michaelahphotography for bringing my spooky vision to life!
Burgundy Gunne Sax dress from The Glass Cabin Vintage.