Memories ....

I have a little framed picture of myself in a frock standing outside the old family house in Hong Kong. It's a sweet little frock and I am rocking some awesome frilly ankle socks. I never thought much about that picture and what I was wearing but my sister said to me one day when she saw the picture "I remember that dress. I made you it". It turns out my sister was quite good with a sewing machine and as we were not wealthy, she used to use her wages and walk down in to the village and buy some fabric and make me my dresses. I look at that picture in a new light now because my sister took the trouble to do that for me. I must have been damned cute :o)

The thing is ... I don't really remember that little dress very well at all but there are a few which do stir up some memories. There was one particular dress which I remember well. It was made from a white seersucker fabric and it had red trims (bias binding) on the short sleeves and collar and was empire line. It had a little pocket. With a red strawberry on it. It looked a little like this.

I also had a lemon version. Same design, same fabric, yellow bias binding and with a lemon on the pocket. I remember I always wanted to wear the strawberry one and not the lemon one. So do you know what I used to do? I used to crayon all over the yellow one and pretend it was dirty. I feel quite guilty now but at the time, no remorse! And yes, I now realise I was a horrid little brat!

My next memorable dress looked a bit like this.

My sister also knocked this one up and it looked like something Laura Ashley would have quite happily put her name to. In a mossy green floral fabric (it was the seventies) - this one had ties at the side to make a lovely bow detail at the back and it had a deep swooshy bottom frill. If you swished this way, it swished with you and then wrapped itself around your legs. If you swished the other way, it did it but the other way. If you went swish, swish, swish, you fell over after you got yourself all tangled up in it. And I loved the fact that it was a long dress because long dresses are special aren't they? Even now (excluding summer maxis) when do you wear a proper full length dress? For a special occasion, that's when! And I have to say that I wore that dress till it became a midi because I didn't want to give it up ... and also because I couldn't fasten it up.

I had a school skirt that my sister made for me too. A circular skirt. A navy blue polyester number  which nipped right in at the waist and flared right out again. Another swish swish swish number. It was cool ... and long. The idea was that I would grow in to it and at the start of the year it was mid calf and by the end of the year I remember it was above my knee. I even recall the teachers saying how tall I'd grown. I had a big growth spurt that year and then I stopped growing ... forever.

And last but not least when I was about 5 or 6 I had a awesome fake fur hat with furry pom pom ties.  It was so lovely and soft. I remember the teacher putting it on me and saying how cute I looked before sending me out of the door to meet my mum in the playground. I really loved that hat. Years later, I found one similar but somehow, I didn't look as good in it as I imagined I would. Not cute. Quite demented actually.

That's just some little memories of mine - related to clothing - which seem to have somehow stuck in my mind. I guess I must always have loved clothes and fashion. I know there are things like wedding dresses and celebrations where you have reasons to buy something special but do you have any fond memories of something you loved or wore from way back when or which had meaning for you?

Do tell.

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Last Note :

• I'm no Garance Dore but it was fun to doodle. I haven't done that in a long time :o)