Remember?

 

When the grandgirls were little and came for a visit I remember singing to them.  I tucked them in at night to Mr. Sandman, recorded in 1954 by the Chordettes.  And there was the popular song from the 50’s sung by Doris Day,  A Bushel and a Peck, a happy piece from my own youth.  My best friend Kit and I actually made a recording of us singing, “I love you, a bushel and a peck, You bet your purdy neck I do!” They used to have booths in the old days where for a quarter you could have your picture taken and even make a recording!  The little record we made disappeared over the years, but the song still makes me smile.

Then all of a sudden I was a Grandmother who loved to make her grandgirls laugh.  They knew and I knew Grammy really could not carry a tune so there was always a lot of giggling going on.

My grandgirls are all grown up now and the tucking in days are over.  But last year for my birthday they came bearing a special gift – a pillow!

But it is not just any old pillow.

This one is a pillow full of memories!

And it has a home in the “kids’ room” where we sang those happy songs.  I love the memories of the laughter and the love, and I am so glad my grandgirls remember too.

And Kit, if you are reading this, “Thanks for the memories”!

Published in 2016 by Okmusix

 

 

 

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Dressing Yesterday

My friend, Sheryl, of A Hundred Years Ago shares her Grandma’s own words (from her diary 100 years ago) a about shopping for new clothes and finding a gray suit.  Her Grandma’s young-girl excitement in 1913 over the new additions to her wardrobe got me thinking about yesterday’s  fashion trends.

1950 Cover of Vogue

It doesn’t seem so long ago I was looking for my first job and hats were still in.  It was the 1950’s and we wore gloves too, “for special” (even in Florida).  We wore short gloves for daytime and long gloves for formal occasions.  A matching purse and shoes were required to complete the picture.

At the junior prom I actually wore long white gloves and they went all the way to the elbows.  They were slightly difficult to peel on and off.  Note: The fella in the pic was a boyfriend named Bobby.  My to-be, long-term husband, Bill, showed up  later.

Dor at Junior Prom
Note Long Gloves

From the Prom to the Beach

And what about Bathing Suits?   The most popular bathing suit in my teen years was always a semi modest one piece!  There were two piece versions for the slimmer girls and I suppose  there were bikinis but I don’t remember seeing any.  Maybe “foreign women” wore them.  Very short shorts were risqué enough, even in the Florida sun.

Dor in 1-piece Bathing Suit
Back Steps 1956

A Vogue Magazine Model 1950s

And I rolled my jeans up.  Did you?  Ooops… the hairdo needs some help from modern day beauticians!

Dor in Rolled Up Jeans

And Before That?

Are you watching Downton Abbey?  Aren’t the styles delicious?

And Before That?

What about the long bouffant skirts ladies wore in the Civil War era?  Did you know that  false hems were loosely attached with big stitches?

Those delightfully swinging skirts would swoop along the ground picking up dirt and mud.  The dirty (false) hem could be removed, washed, and basted on again.  Voila!  Now you would not have to wash the whole dress every time – just the hem!

Looking back at fashion trends is fun, no matter how far back you go.  I tend to dress for comfort now, but  keep a pair of short white gloves tucked away in case I ever need them.

I don’t much like the skinny jeans and other unflattering looks today, but who knows what we will think a hundred years from now?

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