They say that fashion is cyclical and what was once trendy can come back in style again. But there are some styles that never go out of fashion, and if you have a timeless sense of fashion, your clothes will survive generations to come!
@maddy_bill Reply to @alixtate12 #grandmasclothes #grandmascloset #vintage #vintagesclothes #honeymoon #tryonhaul #vintagetie #grandpasclothes ♬ New York, New York – Frank Sinatra (Tribute) – Studio Sunset
That’s exactly what happened with one grandmother’s honeymoon closet. Marie D’Alessandro Donato, now 91 years old, had preserved all the outfits she wore on her honeymoon to New York in 1952 in a suitcase. And seventy years later, her granddaughter Maddy Bill discovered the suitcase and tried on her grandmother’s clothes, which fit her perfectly and looked just as fashionable as they did in 1952.
Maddy Bill, a 27-year-old from Ambler, Pennsylvania, made a video for her TikTok account to show people the suitcase she had received from her maternal grandmother. The suitcase’s contents were very interesting: it contained all the outfits her grandmother wore on her honeymoon, including dresses, jackets, skirts, and accessories.
In the video, Maddy explains that this is the first time in seventy years someone else has opened the suitcase. Her grandmother, who had gone on her honeymoon with her late husband Anthony James Donato, had cleaned everything she wore and packed it away like a time capsule for her children and grandchildren. And it worked: 70 years later, thousands of people on the internet are enjoying her efforts.
Maddy says she has always known about the suitcase since she was a little girl. Her mother had discovered it when she was a little older and had saved it for Maddy and her sister for when they were of age. When Maddy opened the suitcase, she was thrilled to see her grandmother’s clothes and accessories. She says it brought back memories of her grandparents in that time in their life, which was just really cool.
Her grandparents, the Donatos, got married in 1952, and in May of the same year, they went on their honeymoon to New York, which included spots in Manhattan such as The New Yorker Hotel. Marie D’Alessandro Donato had just a wonderful time being with her husband and really taking it all in. She wore her favorite outfits on her honeymoon, and they have been preserved perfectly in the suitcase for seventy years.
When Maddy posted a video of the suitcase, she had hundreds of comments prompting her to try on the dresses, which she complied with. Everything fit her perfectly, and she noted how well-preserved the clothes have been. “It’s pretty cool how they’ve been so intact to this day, like it was 70 years ago [and] there’s elastic on some of the pieces and [they’re] still springy,” Madeline said.
Maddy tried on a black dress cinched at the waist with short sleeves that had fascinated her since she was a child. She had always seen a picture of her grandmother in that dress while she was at the New Yorker hotel in her grandparent’s living room, and it always caught her eye. She also tried on a smart gray jacket and matching skirt with a sleeveless striped top that her grandmother had worn on the train to the big city. Maddy says her grandmother clearly had great fashion sense!
Maddy is happy to share a part of her grandmother with the world and show her what kind of a woman she is. She has told her grandmother how popular she has gotten and that people all over the world are admiring her style. “I definitely want to save it for someone. Maybe my future kid or someone special in my life that’s younger than me, because I mean, I don’t want it to just be a current piece that is being worn, I want it to be savored for someone in my future too, like my