The cover of this Seventeen has effervescent colors and a darling imaginary tree. It is dated 1956, a time when Christmas meant formals and ballgowns. I especially like the soft cream colored one on the left with the pretty green bow. The dress reminds me of Anne Shirley's Christmas dress with her beloved puffed sleeves - the one that Matthew gave her. However, wearing shorter sleeves and sweetheart necklines were part of the charm of a formal dress in the 50's.
I attended a small party last Saturday night and typically, the attire was informal. I noticed that the women did add a little panache to their leggings and tunics with fanciful shoes and sparkly necklaces. The clothing was merely a backdrop for ornamental accessories. But I think some of the fun in going to a large dance or formal is the chance to fret over and then select the perfect dress to wear. A high school boyfriend called the girls' formal dresses "whoopee dresses". I never realized how important a dress was to a man's imagination until then. Somehow, it makes me long for those fussy important dresses and the events to wear them to.
Recently I was flipping through dress images on Pinterest when a friend stopped me at a sapphire blue silk number. "Stop..stop", he said. "The blue one?", I asked. "Yes", he replied, "My mother had a dress that color". And then softly, "I never forgot that dress. She wore it to a Christmas party". I asked him how old he was at the time and he replied, "Maybe five".
Nearly sixty years later, he was still able to recall his mother in a sapphire blue Christmas dress...
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