Sunday, 20 March 2016

Sunshine On Her Shoulders...


...makes model/actress Shelley Hack happy in her vibrant floral jacket.  I also love the rays of sun that illuminate her hair and pretty face in this picture, which I recently found in one of my vintage Seventeen magazines.  

Trotting out bright floral-fresh new clothes was always a rite of spring passage.  It began with the Easter outfit which included black patent Marjane's, white lace-trimmed socks, a smocked dress, pastel spring coat, white gloves, and a beribboned straw hat with a too-tight under-the-chin elastic strap. But Easter sometimes came with frigid temperatures and it was back to ski jackets and knit hats the next day. 

April is a changeable month in the Northeast.  A co-worker once vowed that on May 1st, no matter what the forecast, she would begin wearing her spring clothes (turnip!).  I know that longing and since I've never been good at transitional dressing, selecting things to wear in early spring is always a challenge.  I wish dressing now were as easy as pulling on a tropic-colored summer dress over my head.

My daughter and I went shopping yesterday and she couldn't decide if a tangerine sweater was "too bright".  I explained that once the sun shows itself again in earnest, the tangerine will feel just right. She bought the sweater.  I bought nude pumps to lighten up my work pants and sweaters.  

As I yearn for lovely sunshine on my own shoulders, I look back at some of my most memorable and favorite spring clothes:

mint-green "baseball jacket" with rainbow cuffs my grandmother made me

red, white and green striped dirndl skirt my mother bought me when I was in Jr. High School

white piqu dress trimmed with daisy rick-rack for 6th grade dance

shiny vinyl egg yolk-yellow raincoat with "fireman" hardware closures worn over bell bottoms on rainy school days

double-knit rose-colored date dress with short sleeves, Peter Pan collar, and three matching pearl buttons 

red dotted-swiss dress with white lace trim and back tie worn under graduation gown

(Graduation Day)

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