Memory Lane

Hailey and her daddy are going to the Father Daughter Dance at school on Friday night.  To say that she is excited is an understatement.  She wakes up every morning and asks me how many more days until the dance. 

 

We have her dress, shoes, tights and even a real tiara for her to wear.  (The theme of the dance this year is Princess Ball.)  The only thing she was lacking was a sweater or something to wear with the dress - it's sleeveless and the weather isn't supposed to be much warmer this weekend.

 

But alas, a sweater isn't very princess like...why not make her a little fur stole to wear?  Oh, me and my big ideas...

 

First I had to make myself a pattern with a little help from my princess/pin girl.

 

 

 

Once I got the pattern figured out it was really very easy.  It turned out super cute and I am thrilled with it.   Plus for the first time I got to sew snaps on to something.

 



Of course, since I never have any confidence in my sewing abilities I always go overboard on my fabric.  I figure if I mess up I will have extra instead of having to go back to the store.  So I have enough left over fake fur to make at least two, maybe three more stoles.  I am thinking I should just make them and sell them on Etsy or something. 

I have to admit that I am pretty excited about the dance as well.  It brings back memories of the Father and Daughter banquets that my dad took my sister and I to at the Elks Lodge.   I remember hardly being able to concentrate in school because I was so excited to get home and take a bath and put on my fancy dress.  My mom would put my hair in hot rollers so it would have pretty curl instead of the pin straight hang down look that I usually wore.

My nostalgia got the better of me and I went through my old scrapbooks and found some photos.  The quality is really bad due to how old these gems are and the fact that I can't figure out how to scan so I just took a picture of a picture. 

I don't know which one of these is older.  It appears I am wearing the same dress.  I think in the first one my look of unhappiness may be due to those hideous shoes I am wearing.  They look like white loafers.

This one is my favorite.  We are wearing cute sandals, we are carrying purses, we are wearing ribbon barrettes and my dad looks like he just came from a mafia hit.  You gotta love the eighties!

I still don't know what is up with my grouchy face!

I remember I loved that pink dress.   I think I got it at The Cradle Shop which was the most expensive kids store in town back in the day.

Same dresses different year.  I told you I loved that thing.  I think this was the first banquet where I had my ears pierced.  I don't know about my dad's suit.  I really like the sport coat and wish Trent had one like it to wear, but with the pants it may be a little too much.

The year of the afro.  Apparently we had discovered the power of the permanent.  Sister gets to wear the pink dress and I get a new pink polka dotted number.

Oh those awkward teenage years!  Mouths full of braces and a hideous green bubble dress that I LOVED at the time.  The balance just seems off.  Sister looks like she is going to the one room school house and I look like I am going to prom.  In all honesty, sister's dress was probably more appropriate.   Look at those hair bows.  I will tell you what though, I would kill for my collarbone to stick out like that now!  I wish I had that sportcoat of my dad's and shirt and tie - it would match Hailey's ensemble perfectly.  Can you tell I have no idea what Trent is going to wear?

Just think, twenty years from now, Hailey will be looking back at her pictures from the Father Daughter dances and laughing at her hair and dresses (or her dad's clothes) and remembering with fondness how special those nights were.