Mom’s Clothes Make Memories

Written by Mary Welch Sunday, March 28 2010

Snapshot: Jeannette Montgomery Barron
Atlanta-born Jeannette Montgomery Barron studied at the International Center of Photography in New York. She became known for her portraits of the New York art world in the 1980s. She then did a collection of still life photographs entitled Photographs and Poems (1998), and a collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jorie Graham. Her following series of work, Mirrors (2004), was published by Holzwarth Publications together with a text by the author Edmund White.

Barron has put together a new series entitled My Mothers Clothes, color photographs of her mother’s vintage clothing spanning from the late 1950s through the mid-1980s. On sale in May, My Mother’s Clothes creates an inspiring and true story about the connection between fashion and memory.

Through her photos and narrative, in My Mother’s Clothes Barron chronicles the important role of her mother’s devotion to designer fashion in preserving a link to her memories even as she descended into the confusion of Alzheimer’s. The book honors the life of Eleanor Morgan Montgomery Atuk and her love of fashion.

Eleanor moved to Atlanta in 1942 after she married Arthur Lowndes Montgomery. Exceedingly active in Atlanta’s civic community, Eleanor received The Phoenix Award from the Atlanta Beautification Commission. In addition to that award, The Garden Club of America presented her with the Amy Angell Collier Montague Medal for outstanding civic achievement, which included her services to The Garden for The Blind, The Junior League, Atlanta Speech School, Community Services to the Blind, and Egleston Hospital. She also was active in the Forwards Arts Foundation, The Cherokee Garden Club, and The American Cancer Society.

Womenetics: Tell us about your mother.
Jeannette Montgomery Barron: My mother was a woman who was always involved in civic duties in the places she lived – Atlanta and Charlottesville, Va. She was not a "socialite;" she was a woman who used her influence to get things done. And she dressed for the part in beautiful designer dresses, suits, and gowns.

But my mother had many other interests beyond beautiful clothing. Underneath all that glamour she remained a small-town girl who found great joy in nature; a flower, tree or landscape could move her enormously. She loved diners, long drives in the countryside, and Snickers bars. She was an adoring grandmother to my two children. They adored her back.

Womenetics: How would you describe her fashion sense?
Barron: Theatrical at times. Other times, very ladylike and refined.

Womenetics: Did you inherit her love of fashion?
Barron:I do love clothes but I go for the classics. I admire women who can pull off a complicated look, seemingly without effort. That's not me.

Womenetics: What do you remember when you heard about your mother and Alzheimer’s?
Barron: It was no surprise to me when she was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I had noticed signs of her memory loss many years before.

Womenetics: How did she react?
Barron: As is typical with many people in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's, she tried to cover up her memory loss.

Womenetics: How did it come to you to use fashion as a way to reach her?
Barron: Her clothes were so central to her life that it was a natural way to try to enter into her past.

Womenetics: What is your favorite outfit of hers?
Barron: I think it must be that Bill Blass tiger print jacket. Maybe it’s because she always wanted me to wear it – and I do!

Womenetics: Why is fashion so important?
Barron: It’s a way of expressing to the world who you are or who you want to be that day.

Womenetics: Why did you write the book?
Barron: I wanted to try to help my mother retrieve her memories. Then, I wanted to celebrate her life and share her with others.

Womenetics: You are a published photographer. Do you believe that newspapers and magazines are outdated? What does that mean for photographers?
Barron: I do think that newspapers and magazines will be outdated one day very soon. It’s very sad in a way, but just think of how much paper we are wasting. Photographers and writers have a whole other life on the web.

Womenetics: How would you describe your fashion sense?
Barron: I’m a minimalist. My work uniform is jeans, boots, t-shirts, skirts, sandals. I have some beautiful rings and bracelets my husband has given me over the years (he has great taste), which I wear every day. I would say my style icons come from the 1970s: Jackie O., Lauren Hutton, Audrey Hepburn, and Charlotte Rampling are some I can name.

Womenetics: What advice would you give to children of Alzheimer’s patients?
Barron: There is really no advice I could give because every case is so different. A lot of patience is required, obviously. I always tried not to correct my mother but go with the flow. I hugged her a lot and told her I loved her, that she was a wonderful mother.

Womenetics: What’s your favorite memory involving your mother and clothes?
Barron: It would probably have to be that plaid jacket she wore when we drove around to deliver Christmas gifts.

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Mary Welch is Atlanta city editor of Womenetics: and a freelance writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dawson Times, Plan Your Meeting magazine, and Atlanta Business magazine. She was editor-in-chief of Atlanta Woman magazine and editor of Business to Business and Catalyst magazines.