It's all Mom's fault--and we love her for it.

A quick post today--because I'm spending the weekend with my mother, of course! Get off the computer now and send your mother a card!

For now, let's think about what mother's are.

Mothers are always thinking about our future. Character development anyone?

"Me, circa 1973. Young, carefree, content to look like the lead in an After School Special. (My mom forced me to dress that way; it built character.)" (via)

Mothers look out for our personal safety, here and abroad.

"The only thing more embarrassing than the pink striped dress was the fact that my sister and I were dressed alike. We were traveling along and my mom wanted to make sure we wouldn't get lost. Not a chance dressed like that!!!" (via)

And of course, our mothers value our education.

"girl scouts? wait...no...I was never in girl scouts. Oh, that's right! It's the first day of school and my mom dressed me to match the couch. 'Preciate that Mom:) I'm just wondering at what point you decided to tie a ribbon around my neck. As if the socks weren't enough you were like "hey, I know what would make this outfit even more awesome...a bow...tied around her neck!" (via)

Mom, thanks for all you do, and to everyone, enjoy your mother's day!

I'm Seeing RED!

"The twins? Our mother delighted in dressing us alike, even thought we are 18 months apart." (via)

Mom apparently also delighted in Candy Stripers and Clown collars.

Where can I get a cardboard mantel?

"Twins Part 2. No wonder I hate wearing red." (via)

"There is that damn red again...and my sister laughing at me." (via)

Here's a Poem I found, by a young writer, which I think speaks volumes about the color red. It's called "Red."

Red is a symbol of love with the heart
Like a married couple, until death do us part

Strawberries and cherries are red
Eat them with whipped cream when you're sick in bed

Red beans and rice at Popeye's
Oh chicken with red meat inside

Black and red; colors of the devil
Oh believe me I'll never be on that level

Strawberry juice is good to me
Well I guess red is the color for me"

By Cherry Roy
(and I am not lying about the child's name--I swear!)

They're crazy and they're kooky

They're positively spooky.

"Our parents had weird taste in clothes...The reason we both looked so glum was because I had just bullied my sister into swapping her socks with me as I thought the red ones were nices. I argued that our parents had given her the red ones (better ones) to her instead of to me because they liked her better, which I thought was mortally unfair." (via)

Alas, no poetry this morning. But running through my head is the Addams Family theme song because of how morose and Wednesday-like these two look. Turn those dresses black, add some pigtails, and the black stripy socks would be the ones they'd fight over.

By the way, TOTALLY agree that the red ones are better. Hope she worked that out in therapy later because clearly, her parents hated her.

Some photos feel like a present for me

My feeling is that it is always the right time for some holiday cheer.

"Matching Christmas outfits. Endlessly humiliating." (via)

I think the girl on the rocker feels fancy and fabulous. Her sister, on the other hand, has a slightly demonic look on her face. Is she rubbing her hands together like a villain, thinking of her next evil deed and laughing mischeviously?

This photo feels like a little gift to me.

"Me as a kid with my parents in our matching outfits." (via)

Much to say. Thoughts coming faster than I can type. Almost can't control myself!

Bandanna fabric--always one of my faves. I love it with the matching afghan on the back of the sofa. My grandmother made those, and why were they always in pastel colors? Perhaps acrylic yarn only comes in those colors.

Next-is Dad high in this photo? Note that both he and mom are wearing t-shirts under their bandana shirts. I assume that this is so he can remove the shirts as soon as possible, once the picture taking is over and his damn mother-in-law gets off his case for once. He's looking for a job, damnit! And if he smokes a little weed, who does it hurt?

I am also in love with Mom's barrettes. I went through a phase of holding back my bangs like that, with little kid barrettes worn when I was in my grudge, living in the pacific northwest and wearing gas station attendant jackets phase. Why couldn't I have had a bandanna shirt too???

Finally, what's up with the date on this photo? Did she take a photo of her photo? I like the low tech approach. No scanners necessary.

Matchy Matchy

Some families make torture an annual tradition. And look at what lovely photos result!

"So when I was a kid, every year we had to do these annual photo thingies for my mother. She would wake us up too early in the morning and made us into perfect little angels. I won't ever understand why she used to dress us up in the same dress in different sizes, as if we triplets or something...

Well I had my full if it that day, thank you very much...Nor did I want to wear the shinny new mary janes she bought for me, because, well, it hurt my feet..." (via)

Do you think this photo was framed and on the wall of their home? Do you think there was an entire wall, filled with year after year of these? Dresses matching each year in a visual cacophony of light and color, frowns and shiny shoes. It sounds almost wonderful and a part of me envies Mom.

This woman hopes she and her sister were not alone.

"I assume we're not the only sisters forced to wear awful matching dresses..." (via)

Oh no, not at all. For at least today, she can share the comfort of strangers also forced into fashion disasters.

I don't think the next family is Mennonite, but it is hard to tell.

"Our mom dressed us girls in matching outfits only once, thank god! There she is, peeking out the window in the background...looking mighty pleased with herself." (via)

And why shouldn't she be? To get your girls to wear not just the dresses, but the head scarves too? That's a family joke of epic proportions, fodder for years of laughter to come. Mom should be proud!

This Mom made these dresses. And check out the matching shoes! Doesn't baby girl look happy?? (via)

And there is more to this photo than is shown here. In later comments, baby girl says "...shot me in the foot with a bb gun when I was wearing those shoes. They had a permanent dark colored indentation in the toe area."

What was going on at their family parties? Of course, I too knew a bb gun victim--"Gabe"--who, as far as I know, still has the bb that went up his nose. Ouch!

"My grandmother made matching mother-daughter dresses for my mother and I. Here we are standing outside the entrance to my mother's dance studio. I think this is a *very* early 1970s sort of outfit and fabric." (via)

Does this then count as my parent's parent made me wear this? All in all, I'd say Mom looks quite spiffy in her cute dress and red shoes. Kind of a hot ticket, outside her dance studio.

In fact, a few of today's entries seem to share an appreciation for Mom.

"Mama and Me. Popular then, the matching dresses. Still and all, Mama was a classy lady." (via)

"Dad, me, and Mom.

Yes, my mom sewed us matching shirts! It was about 1974." (via)

I like that the shirts look like bandanna material. And that shiny materials is also so figure flattering!

I suspect that the bows in her hair were made out of that old-school ribbon I don't think exists anymore. It was thick, and puffy, and tended to fray when tied around your ponytails all day. Kind of like cotton balls stretched into twisted ribbon. I loved when I got packages tied with it because it meant hair adornment galore!

Have any matching outfits of your own? Send them along!

Pleated skirts, knee socks, a velveteen suit and a broken leg

It's good to know that a sibling's love can help one overcome the trauma of a bad outfit. Thank goodness this woman had a brother.

"There are no words to describe how much I hated the outdated hand me downs I was forced to wear. Pleated skirts were my nemesis, it was fruitless to argue with my feisty mother. My knee socks bought on dollar forty nine day either slipped to my ankles, or were splashed with mud on the five mile trek to school, causing my constant childhood distress. The only thing that brought me happiness during those years of being teased was that little guy standing right next to me!" (via)

And at least they could share in the pain-which is not actually a joke about her brother's leg. 

"Everyone thought I was sixteen, but I was only eleven. Another ugly outfit outdated by seven years, rolled up at the waist, an attempt to fit in. Desperately trying to mirror the current style, a calico cotton mini skirt, worn by most of the other girls. My school photo from that year I looked like the teacher." (via)

I am puzzled by her brother's outfit as it seem to be a velveteen suit, with a zipper. Personally, I think that breaks the formal nature of the velveteen, which certainly calls for some kind of shiny buttons. Then again, anything goes with a leg cast. 

This next lucky winner has fallen victim to the inevitable matching-sibling outfits. I am completely intrigued by their purses, and also curious about the funky gloves, which look like something I might wear to ride my bike. 

"When I was seven years old I remember standing in a dressing room in a Broadway department store with my mother and sister. Mom wanted to buy us new dresses for Easter. Becky and I were posed in front of the mirror, silently gazing at ourselves in identical outfits. We might as well have been staring into one of those crazy, distorted amusement park mirrors. We were so different in so many ways that just seeing ourselves dressed like twins looked bizarre.

I could tell that Mom really wanted to buy those dresses. She was pleased with everything---the matching two-tone gloves, the little white drawstring purses, and more importantly the price. But she kept standing over me with the Ameritone color samples fanned-out above my shoulder and shaking her head. 'I just don't like this navy blue on you,' she said. 'It's too dark for your olive skin...

I remember being a little hopeful about the prospect of getting a new dress, but any excitement was dulled by the fact that my sister was getting the exact same outfit too. After all, I wore her hand-me-downs. I would be wearing this dress for a long, long time, no matter how fast I grew.

Finally, Mom came to a reluctant compromise. 'The trim on this dress is a true winter white,' she declared, 'And because the collar is white and it is near your face, I think it will be okay for you to wear it." (via)

"I did wear that navy blue dress for a long time. Not just for Easter, but for birthday parties and even at the LA County Fair. And after I grew out of it, I inherited the same navy blue dress from my sister, which I wore to school for many more months. 

But I don't think there was one time that I put that dress on that I didn't think about my skin color. I never wore that dress without worrying that maybe not everyone else would notice that the color white was near my face. On those days I secretly hoped that my complexion didn't look quite as olive and that my dress didn't look quite as navy blue as I knew they really were."(via)