jacquiscloset
Registered Guest
Jeannette Alexander Has Cancer (Peggy Hunt\'s Daughter)
Hi Gang,
I'm Jeannette Alexander's (Hyland) daughter, Jacqui. Some of you may know or remember me because I've bought dresses from you, or responded to questions asked about dresses designed by either my Mom, (Jeannette Alexander), or my Grandmother, Peggy Hunt.
I am not a wealthy person; as a single Mom with a teenage son, (The expenses go up as they get older), and a demanding animal rescue operation that I have been running here all by myself for the last twenty odd years, you can see that there isn't a lot left over for vintage collecting. But collect I do. I love it. I am mad for vintage clothing and having recently had my second, (yes, second, darn it) weight loss surgery, I am counting the months until I can once again fit into these clothes like I once did in college when vintage was almost all I wanted to wear and it was an usual thing to do.
In any case, that all said, my long term goal of collecting these dresses that neither my Mom nor my Granny saved (except for a select few of their faves that they had worn, weddings, etc.), has always been to put on a fashion show that my Mother could attend so that she could get all of the attention and love that I feel she deserves because through the years, and certainly before the advent of eBay and my mad passionate collecting of their dresses, NO ONE knew who they were, or how much they had each contributed in their own way to the history of fashion, particularly California fashion, which my Grandmother can be credited with starting. I was finally able to do this a couple of years ago with the help of some super dedicated and wonderful people, and The Los Angeles Conservancy, The Mod Com committee, and The Art Deco society. Mom came, and a few of her friends came and she was happy, although despite years of attention for what I consider to be her great beauty, she is actually a bit shy and reserved and it can be hard for her to take it all in. Nevertheless we finally did put together a fashion show and I was grateful. And yet... I still dream of doing this on a much wider scale. I dream of taking this to a museum or even The Fashion Institute in New York, something on an even bigger scale where we could include many more dresses and Mom would get another chance to shine.
But... time is running out. Mom, who like many women of her era smoked all of her life, contracted lung cancer and was operated on five years ago.
At eighty-six she sailed through this surgery, was told that she wouldn't need chemo and we even went to church for the first time in ages to say thanks. And up until now, despite what most people would think is an extremely advanced age, she doesn't look or act it. (You can go to my journal and look back around July 31 and see the pictures I've posted of her. No one believes she is ninety-one.) She still gets dressed up and puts on makeup ever day. She still goes to the hair salon to get her hair washed and set. She plays bridge. She has lunch with her friends. She goes to the movies. And she loves to sit at home in bed and read romance novels. She can't walk without help but she is living a good life. She even wants to take one last trip to Hong Kong.
But her cancer has come back, big time. She has more cancer in her lungs. The lymph nodes in the center of her chest are full of it. She has a large tumor the size of an orange on her ovary, and the most dangerous tumor of all is in the lower mezentery (sp?) flap of her lower bowel. All of her many oncologist's and doctors are in agreement that at ninety-one years old she should just continue to enjoy her life and that she has maybe six months to a year or longer to live.
The reason that I am writing is because I am asking everyone I can think of for a couple of simple things; one would be to send whatever spiritual energies your own particular religious practice allows, whether that's prayers, meditation, Reiki, the lighting of a candle, or a simple positive thought that she be allowed to live as happily and pain free as she has up until this point, and that when the time comes that she passes peacefully.
The second request would be that, if it moves you, to send her a card. I think she would be amazed that anyone cares about non couture designers who worked so hard and for so long and who made dresses that people are even now still treasuring and wearing. She honestly doesn't believe that her dresses, that were made so affordably -- as opposed to Granny's -- could mean anything to anyone at this point in time.
I'm going to include my PO Box Address and you are more than welcome to send any kind of note or letter if you feel moved to. And if all you can do is smile and send a positive thought while you read this I honestly think just that will do a world of good. I really believe strongly in the power of positive group mind.
Thanks for letting me post this big ol' entry here. I love my Mom very much, we're a tiny family, and other than my son, she's all I have.
Great Big Hugs,
Jacqui
http://jacqui.livejournal.com
Jeannette Hyland (Alexander)
c/o Jacqui Hyland
149 South Barrington Ave. #325
Los Angeles, CA 90049
PS: I mistyped my user name as JacquisClosey when it should read JacquisCloset -- the name I've been using for years, oh well.
Hi Gang,
I'm Jeannette Alexander's (Hyland) daughter, Jacqui. Some of you may know or remember me because I've bought dresses from you, or responded to questions asked about dresses designed by either my Mom, (Jeannette Alexander), or my Grandmother, Peggy Hunt.
I am not a wealthy person; as a single Mom with a teenage son, (The expenses go up as they get older), and a demanding animal rescue operation that I have been running here all by myself for the last twenty odd years, you can see that there isn't a lot left over for vintage collecting. But collect I do. I love it. I am mad for vintage clothing and having recently had my second, (yes, second, darn it) weight loss surgery, I am counting the months until I can once again fit into these clothes like I once did in college when vintage was almost all I wanted to wear and it was an usual thing to do.
In any case, that all said, my long term goal of collecting these dresses that neither my Mom nor my Granny saved (except for a select few of their faves that they had worn, weddings, etc.), has always been to put on a fashion show that my Mother could attend so that she could get all of the attention and love that I feel she deserves because through the years, and certainly before the advent of eBay and my mad passionate collecting of their dresses, NO ONE knew who they were, or how much they had each contributed in their own way to the history of fashion, particularly California fashion, which my Grandmother can be credited with starting. I was finally able to do this a couple of years ago with the help of some super dedicated and wonderful people, and The Los Angeles Conservancy, The Mod Com committee, and The Art Deco society. Mom came, and a few of her friends came and she was happy, although despite years of attention for what I consider to be her great beauty, she is actually a bit shy and reserved and it can be hard for her to take it all in. Nevertheless we finally did put together a fashion show and I was grateful. And yet... I still dream of doing this on a much wider scale. I dream of taking this to a museum or even The Fashion Institute in New York, something on an even bigger scale where we could include many more dresses and Mom would get another chance to shine.
But... time is running out. Mom, who like many women of her era smoked all of her life, contracted lung cancer and was operated on five years ago.
At eighty-six she sailed through this surgery, was told that she wouldn't need chemo and we even went to church for the first time in ages to say thanks. And up until now, despite what most people would think is an extremely advanced age, she doesn't look or act it. (You can go to my journal and look back around July 31 and see the pictures I've posted of her. No one believes she is ninety-one.) She still gets dressed up and puts on makeup ever day. She still goes to the hair salon to get her hair washed and set. She plays bridge. She has lunch with her friends. She goes to the movies. And she loves to sit at home in bed and read romance novels. She can't walk without help but she is living a good life. She even wants to take one last trip to Hong Kong.
But her cancer has come back, big time. She has more cancer in her lungs. The lymph nodes in the center of her chest are full of it. She has a large tumor the size of an orange on her ovary, and the most dangerous tumor of all is in the lower mezentery (sp?) flap of her lower bowel. All of her many oncologist's and doctors are in agreement that at ninety-one years old she should just continue to enjoy her life and that she has maybe six months to a year or longer to live.
The reason that I am writing is because I am asking everyone I can think of for a couple of simple things; one would be to send whatever spiritual energies your own particular religious practice allows, whether that's prayers, meditation, Reiki, the lighting of a candle, or a simple positive thought that she be allowed to live as happily and pain free as she has up until this point, and that when the time comes that she passes peacefully.
The second request would be that, if it moves you, to send her a card. I think she would be amazed that anyone cares about non couture designers who worked so hard and for so long and who made dresses that people are even now still treasuring and wearing. She honestly doesn't believe that her dresses, that were made so affordably -- as opposed to Granny's -- could mean anything to anyone at this point in time.
I'm going to include my PO Box Address and you are more than welcome to send any kind of note or letter if you feel moved to. And if all you can do is smile and send a positive thought while you read this I honestly think just that will do a world of good. I really believe strongly in the power of positive group mind.
Thanks for letting me post this big ol' entry here. I love my Mom very much, we're a tiny family, and other than my son, she's all I have.
Great Big Hugs,
Jacqui
http://jacqui.livejournal.com
Jeannette Hyland (Alexander)
c/o Jacqui Hyland
149 South Barrington Ave. #325
Los Angeles, CA 90049
PS: I mistyped my user name as JacquisClosey when it should read JacquisCloset -- the name I've been using for years, oh well.
