Day Seventeen 2016

My second post for today requires the way back machine. 

This picture was taken the first year my Mom and Dad were married.  They were still students at California Baptist College and the occasion was the winter social or some such.  The way I remember my Dad telling it is that as the event approached my Mom was disappointed that she didn’t have a new dress to wear to the event, or maybe it was that she didn’t have a dress that fit?  The reason is fuzzy, but the dress was the issue.  So my Dad went out and picked this fabric, that he thought was lovely, and somehow conspired with his new mother-in-law to get this dress made for my Mom.  As the story goes, my Granny Horton ran a dry goods store and the local seamstress kept a dressmakers dummy set to my mom’s measurements so the task was accomplished much easier than expected.  So, when the time came for the winter formal, ho ho ho, my Mom had a brand new dress that my Dad had surprised her with.  And they posed, like everyone else I assume, with Santa that night.

I love this picture even without the cute story, because my parents look so young, and so happy together.

Then there is the flip side of this story.  In 1991, the first year that Kathleen and I were married, we had a similar situation with the big Hanging of the Green at OBU.  We were newlyweds, formal dresses weren’t exactly a budget item.  However, Kathleen did have a blue bridesmaid dress that she had worn to Hope Snow’s wedding the year before.  The problem was that it looked like a bridesmaid dress.  Sure, everyone says you will wear them again… But really, bright blue taffeta, puffy sleeves, drop waist with a giant bow offset on the hip.

First off all, Kathleen was never going to wear anything with a giant bow (again), even though the dress came with a matching hair bow.  So I took the dress to Ardell, the seamstress who made it, (and Kat’s wedding dress) to see if there was a way to cinderella the dress into something wearable.  I don’t know why we didn’t take pictures, or if we did, I don’t know where they are.  I think ultimately what happened was the sleeves came off and the bow.  A black lace sash was added and then pinned with a vintage brooch where the bow had been.  She wore it with her black gloves and vintage hat that was mostly netting and ribbons.  Best part? No one knew it was a bridesmaid dress.

Well. Best part was probably that Kathleen was happy.