Homemade Clothes

 Homemade Clothes

       Mom definitely did not make all of our clothes, but the special ones she made were memorable to say the least.   I am not sure I always appreciated her labor of love as I do today.

       When I was a very little girl, my mother made my sister and me matching dresses.  They were lavender checked gingham and had solid lavender accents.  They had puffy sleeves and a full gathered skirt with a sash that tied in back.  The best part besides the great color was the little purple, embroidered piggy bank pockets stitched on the front of the skirt.  I remember wearing it so proudly. That was my favorite dress that Mom made for me.  My sister, who was younger than I was, got to wear the dress two years.  First, she wore hers, then; she got to wear mine when I outgrew it! I know she was just thrilled…

        The next special outfit that I remember her making me was for a sixth grade winter dance.  All of the girls were wearing fashionable solid light colored or bright colored dresses. (I do not think the other mothers of the girls in my class sewed.)  Mom, wanting to save money, made me a dress from an old formal of my grandmother’s.  It was beautiful for a 6o year old woman, but not for me. It was not that it was just ugly; it was just not in style. It had a black velvet top with short sleeves and a dropped-waist, full skirt made from turquoise taffeta with white stars all over it.  The turquoise taffeta was made into a Peter Pan collar, cuffs on the sleeves and a band around the hip. I even wore a turquoise-with-stars bow in my hair.  Donning my black patent leather shoes and my pink glasses, the look was complete!  I was so embarrassed, but, of course, I could not say anything, because the giver had put so much love into its making.

      

        At the dance, I stood in the corner of the room feeling very out of place.   Along came a sweet boy, who came up to me and said that he liked my dress. I am not sure what negative comment I made, but he said, “I really like those stars.”  Charlie Meng, I will always remember you and love you for saying that!  What a gentleman!

        The outfits Mom made me for seventh grade got even more memorable, because she would use the same pattern over and over to save money on patterns.  The green corduroy jumper with a matching green blouse seemed cute enough to me until I heard that the other students were calling me a Martian.  Maybe it was the matching green knee socks that clenched the look. I had a grey jumper; too, that was the identical style.  I also had a brown and blue outfit out of the same pattern as the sixth grade dance dress. Mom was thrifty. 

        I was glad when Mom started letting me start picking out my own patterns and material.  It was a great bonding time. Eventually, we even got to regularly purchase  “store-bought” clothes.  The great thing about homemade clothing, however, was that you never ever had to worry about someone showing up at school, church or an activity in the same outfit you wore. What a relief!! I was the only sixth grader around with stars all over my dress and the only seventh grader anywhere who was dressed from head to toe in green and not in a Girl Scout uniform.