It's a little hard to believe, but this is my fifth time attempting to write this post- and I don't know why.
By all means it shouldn't be this difficult, but it is.
It's one of those (rare) posts where I have no idea what exactly I should talk about or where even I should start.
Like, should I begin with the dress that Miss Brown is wearing?
Or should I begin with the Tower that stands behind her?
Should I begin by discussing the connection between her dress and the Tower?
Or should I begin talking about the meaning behind both...
It's been quite a dilemma.
And unresolved a one it is too.
All things considered, however, the Tower does hold greater weight in terms of meaning and connection.
It is, after all, the reason why Miss Brown was there.
Singaporeans familiar with this tower will know where in Singapore it is, and in which reservoir park it stands.
Today we refer to it as the (Upper) Seletar Reservoir Park.
But it was just Seletar Reservoir Park back then.
The (Lower) part hadn't been built yet.
Google states that the tower behind Miss Brown is the Rocket Tower, and that it was officially opened on 10 August 1969 together with the Seletar Reservoir.
That date in another context might not be (very) significant.
But, with this picture, it is.
Because what makes this date interesting, and relevant, is the dress that Miss Brown is wearing.
Now, I'm no expert on fashion.
Neither am I very good at it.
But I do have a slight inkling about fashion in the 60s, and Miss Brown- being in her early thirties at this point in time, plus having trained in hairstyling and makeup- would also have been acutely aware of them.
Her dress in this picture reminds me of the shirt dresses that would become popular about a decade after, but there's a slight trace of the mini skirt style in the length of her skirt's hem, and a slight trace of the shift dress in the cut of her bodice.
It's all very fascinating, because if the Tower was open in 1969 and if there are traces of prevailing 60's fashion styles in Miss Brown's (carefully selected) dress, then we can surmise that this picture was taken in either 1969 itself, or at most, 1970.
Unlikely it is any later than that.
It is the juxtaposition of these two factors that makes this picture so meaningful.
Because it becomes possible that this reservoir was only just newly opened when she made her way up north from the east where she then called her home.
We can imagine the stir of excitement the opening of this reservoir must have caused.
Especially since this was no small one, and the country back then was a very young one at just four years old.
This must have been a place that Miss Brown wanted to go.
And it was an excursion which had, obviously, been planned.
Funnily enough now I'm wondering if she might have gone there on her birthday.
It's actually possible- the dates fit.
It's a nice thought, actually.
A pleasant excursion it would have been, and a pleasant memory (for her and for us) it really did make.