In February last year I wrote about an extraordinary vintage costume jacket I found. It was labeled Ice Capades Costume Studio, Hollywood, California. The name, written in pen, was KONRAD, referring to Alan Konrad, a star of the Ice Capades from the late 1940s through 1964.
It was very well made and much used, with some damage and staining. The more I looked at it though, the less I felt it my right to attempt to clean it, with the honest signs of use by a brilliant performer. I polled my Instagram followers who wrote:
It’s awesome, a real treasure, honour it as it is 💛
Yes! Let this incredible piece honor the grit and toil of this magnificent performer!
In this case those stains are a fundamental part of the history of the jacket. It makes this incredibly special piece even more interesting!
And there were many more people who just wrote WOW in one way or another. I became convinced that the jacket needed to go somewhere special—and I tried to find that special place. When my approaches didn’t reach the right people, I just treasured the jacket and waited.
Then, recently, that special connection came to me. A comment was made on my blog by someone named Nancy Sapir:
Alan Konrad is my uncle, and he was indeed a brilliant skater with a wit as sharp as his blades.
That same day, Nancy’s son Steven contacted me to ask if he could purchase the jacket for his mother. They had been discussing Alan and it took Nancy down memory lane via Google search to my blog. Steven said,
My mom never had a father. Alan was there for her … It would be the only thing she would have from her uncle.
I had the privilege of sending the jacket home, to the family of Alan Konrad. They seem like the warmest people.