036/ Silent Witnesses ft. Monica Velosa
One decade, four countries and three children later, a black silk dress has witnessed it all for the gastroenterologist and co-founder of Riand28.
Silent Witnesses is a series featuring extraordinary women, and the clothes which have borne silent witness to different events and seasons of their lives. Read our first instalment with Emmanuelle Bourlier here.
If you want to submit a photo of a meaningful piece with a short (or long) blurb of where it’s been and why it means so much to you, respond to this email or leave a comment below, and I’ll be in touch!
For gastroenterologist and co-founder of Riand28, Monica Velosa, one particular dress stands out as witnessing all of the changes in her life over the last decade — one that saw her move between four countries in eight years, and birthing three children in three of them.
Are you tired from just reading that? Because I am. As she was relating her story to me, my brain moved straight to the logistics of moving house (x4); the bureaucracy involved while navigating visa and immigration, birthing, childcare, schooling, employment issues, and doing it all in a non-native language; and, not to mention, getting re-certified professionally in every jurisdiction?
*mind blown*
I first met Monica last November in her West London home where she is currently based, but “home” for Monica is the North Atlantic island of Madeira, the Portuguese autonomous region lying 550km due west of Casablanca, and 500km due north of Spain’s Canary Islands.
At 17, she moved to Lisbon to study medicine at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, for a combined 13 years of schooling, general residency and specialist training, finally passing her board exams in 2013 to become a certified gastroenterologist.
In 2010, Monica was doing an internship in her hometown of Funchal, Madeira’s capital, when she mindlessly wandered through the local mall, Fórum Madeira, and into an Intimissimi, the ubiquitous Italian intimates brand. “Portuguese malls are open until 11pm or even midnight,” making it a convenient way to unwind after a long work day. (She notes wryly that, with three young kids, the days of aimlessly window shopping are way behind her.)
In Intimissimi, Monica spotted a long, black slip, made of silk, and trimmed with lace. For a few years, Monica used the slip as a nightie. “When I bought it, I had intended to wear the slip only as sleepwear, but as it turned out, this humble dress ended up being part of many milestones in my life.”
When Monica married her husband, João in 2014, she wore it while getting ready for the ceremony, which immortalized the slip in her wedding photos.
After getting married, the couple moved to Lisbon where their daughter Graça was in born July 2015. As João’s returned to work at an American pharmaceutical company after two weeks of paternal leave, his company suggested he apply for a position in Paris that would be well suited for him.
Two weeks post-partum, and still in a daze, Monica agreed it was a good opportunity. I mean, it’ll take a while to sort to out the details, right? Within three months, João got the job and, within 12 days of accepting the offer, the couple had to relocate from Lisbon to Paris. Twelve. Days. While four months post-partum. Send help.
Monica found herself moving house, having to quickly learn French, get certified, find work and childcare, all of which she managed to do. By January 2016, she was working casually, and then at Paris’ famed Hôpital Saint-Louis while building her private practice. Within a year, she was finally settling into the routine of her new Parisian life, working, momming, and getting ready to do further coursework in hypnotherapy for chronic pain management.
Until one day in 2017, João came home saying another opportunity had come up, this time in Tel-Aviv. She laughs, “I thought he was joking!” But he wasn’t! João moved to Tel-Aviv first, and Monica and Graça followed in March 2018.
It was in arid Tel-Aviv that the Intimissimi nightgown found new life as a dress. And what a trusty dress it was — “airy enough to handle the desert heat, yet detailed enough to feel special as a ‘one and done’ piece, even with flip flops.”
“At the same time,” Monica continues, “the pleats along the front of the dress gave me enough room to wear this gorgeous dress at the height of my second pregnancy, during the excruciatingly hot Tel-Aviv summer. In September 2019, during Yom Kippur, her son Gaspar was born.
“Prior to living there, I didn’t have any connection with Israel, but we loved our experience. My son was born there, and I made good friends, so it holds a very special place in my heart.”
Which, reader, means another move is coming.
And this time it’s to London, in fall 2020, at the height of the second wave of the COVID pandemic. And in Monica’s life, another move means another baby: her son Matias was born in June 2022. TLDR: three babies in three different countries, and — AND — three different labours: induced vaginal, C-section, and home birth.
Monica currently practices as a locum gastro consultant with Barts Health Trust, but somehow during all of the moves and job changes, she also found inspiration to co-found Riand 28 with Keda Rich, a fashion buyer and fellow mum she bonded with at the gates of their children’s school.
As for the dress, she’s still reaching for it. “The versatility of the dress has stood the test of time,” says Monica, and nowadays she’s styling it for the much milder and damper London weather, throwing it on with Riand28’s Isabel utility jacket and Alaia’s fishnet flat of the moment.
These days, Monica says her style choices are inspired by her younger self. “I’ve been revisiting my teen and early 20s self, and she’s the one I have in mind when I get dressed. Back then, there were so many things I wanted but, one, couldn’t find, two, didn’t even know existed, three, couldn’t afford.”
“That’s the Monica I’m honouring now; the Monica that dreamt about a tuxedo after seeing Helmut Newton’s “Le Smoking” for the first time; the teen Monica looking for the perfect cargo trousers and accepting a “so-so” option that I didn’t love; the Monica craving a man’s oversized shirt (my dad died when I was nine, so I’ve always been captivated by masculine pieces); the Monica that wished she had a wardrobe filled of blazers (it’s my Achilles heel). So many images pop up in my mind as I think of that time in my life. ”
While it’s evident that her approach to styling the dress has evolved with her, she “see[s] the consistency and need that is underneath all the labels and styles that I tried throughout the years.”
With all that is inspiring her, Monica is excited about styling the dress for (London) summer, and I, for one, will be watching!
If you want to submit a photo of a meaningful piece with a short (or long) blurb of where it’s been and why it means so much to you, respond to this email or leave a comment below, and I’ll be in touch!
Love and gratitude,
Irene
My dear friend Monica is one of the most fearless and captivating humans that I know.
What an amazing journey and a great wardrobe piece. Love ❤️it!