Romancing The Dress Part 1: Dainty

Though I was only five when this photo was taken, I remember standing on the porch of the rental house in Lansing Michigan posing for it. I remember telling my mother that I "...looked dainty". And I remember her laughing at me and asking me where I had learned that word.

We're not a 'dainty' family. We're midwestern stock - large and robust, arty, and folksy. But I can recall just how delightfully feminine and romantic this much beruffled dress made me feel. Despite her somewhat sarcastic response to my words, my mother had absolutely filled the pale blue bodice with those ruffles when she sewed it for me. And despite the black and white-ness of the photo, I remembered the exact soft shade of blue of the dress, when I was photoshopping the old snapshot.

Whenever I've sewn a dress, I've been just a little bit influenced by the memory of that dainty blue frock.