What I Wore

It's been a long time since I've done a post about my personal history. I'm hoping to start up again and to be a little more consistent. (Can't make any promises about that, but I'm going to try!) The next question on my list is "What did you wear?"

I could write a lot about this topic! One thing I do wish is that I had more pictures of the clothes I wore when I was growing up, but I will try to include as many as I can. I have particularly fond thoughts about the clothes I wore as a child because my mom made almost all of my clothes. She is a very talented seamstress! I've always been amazed that she found the time to sew most of the clothes worn by her eight children. How did she do that?!

I was always proud of the fact that my mom made my clothes, Besides that, it was fun! It was always exciting to see a new dress or shirt take shape. My mom planned our clothes when we were little (and she always picked out the cutest patterns and fabrics) but when I got older I sometimes got to help pick out fabric and patterns for my clothes. The clothes my mom made were beautiful! Besides that, they were one of a kind. I always got a new dress for Christmas and for Easter and I still remember the other little girls at church, in their "cookie cutter" store bought dresses, gazing longingly at the gorgeous dresses I got to wear.

Because my mom made my clothes, there are parts of my childhood that were just standard procedure. Long trips to the fabric store were a common occurrence! When I was very young, I found these trips excruciatingly boring, but as I got older I came to enjoy flipping through the pattern books and browsing through all the fabric choices. I still love to go to fabric stores and I always think of my mom when I do. Other events that all of us endured regularly were being measured, having patterns fitted to us, and trying on clothes in various stages of construction. I did not enjoy the measuring and fitting because I was quite ticklish and Mom always managed to hit "tickle spots" in her attempts to make sure the pattern would fit. (I'm sure it wasn't very fun for her either. I can remember her entreating me to hold still for just a second!) We always knew we needed to leave Mom alone when she was sewing. Fewer interruptions meant our clothes would get done sooner, and I was always so impatient for that newest item to get done! After all of that, though, there was that thrilling moment when I would come home from school and find a new outfit, just completed, spread out on my bed. Then I could try on the finished product for the first time...so exciting!

Looking at pattern books always brings back memories of my childhood. My mom had boxes full of patterns and when I got older, I liked to look through them. Now you can buy "vintage" patterns on places like Etsy and Ebay. I found images of a lot of patterns on those websites. I've included a few in this post, just for fun. All of these patterns looked somewhat familiar to me, although I'm not sure whether or not my mom actually used any of these patterns. She probably used some of them, though, and in other cases I had clothes very similar to the ones shown in the pattern.

I remember that I also liked "hand me downs" A lot of the time, I liked the clothes my older sister Shellie wore and would look forward to the day when I knew she would grow out of them and Amy and I would "inherit" them.

Amy and I were not always dressed exactly alike. We did have a few matching outfits, like these:

Blessing dresses, September 1968

Here's a close up of my blessing dress (Mom did the embroidery on the collar as well):

And these:

This photo was taken in Mesa, Arizona in spring 1969. Here I am in the same dress; you can see it better in these photos:

This photo was taken in 1972, when Amy and I were 4. I believe these were our Easter dresses that year:

This family photo was taken in 1976, when I was 8:

We couldn't keep all the dresses my mom made of course, but she did keep a few and gave them to me when I was an adult. I have the dress I'm wearing in the photo above. Here are a few photos of it:

Often, my mom would make us dresses using the same pattern but make them different colors, like these:

I'm in the blue dress and Amy is in pink. (Easter 1971) Shellie would sometimes have a "matching" dress in another color, as you can see below:

Other examples of dresses that were the same except for color:

I'm in blue again, Amy is in yellow. This photo was taken in Glendora, California on Easter in 1970. I also have the dress I'm wearing in this photo. Here's how it looks close up:

In the photos below (taken at Easter 1973 in Denver Colorado), Amy is in yellow. Shellie and I can be seen in the background of the second picture--Shellie in pink and I am in blue. (Not all my dresses were blue!) Incidentally, my mom made the little sailor outfit that Ben is wearing as well.

This family photo was taken in August 1974 in Mesa, Arizona. I'm in blue again! I remember I thought this dress was pretty but I didn't like to wear it because the lace around the neck and sleeves was scratchy. Most of our clothes were very comfortable, though.

This family photo was taken in May 1978 at a reception we had to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my Grandpa & Grandma Johnson. Mom also made Shellie's dress, her dress, and Dad's suit. I'm in green this time, and Amy is in yellow. I received this dress for Christmas 1977.

When I was a teenager, Mom showed me some quilt blocks she had made as a teenager which used fabric from clothes she had worn. She had never finished the quilt, but I loved the idea of preserving fabric from favorite clothes in this way. I decided to make a quilt of my own. It was an ambitious project, and like Mom, I never finished my quilt. (Maybe someday, though--I'm not dead yet!) I did make all the quilt blocks, though, and I feel like it certainly wasn't a waste of time because it did indeed preserve fabric from several outfits I had growing up. Besides that--bless my obsessive record keeping heart!--I made a card to go with each block describing the outfits that went with the fabric, including sketches, as well as many details about where I wore the outfits and so on, that I'm sure I would have forgotten by now. The fabric from the dress above is one of the fabrics I used on a quilt block. Below is a close up of the quilt block and a copy of the card that went with it:

Sorry it's hard to read. Who knows why I used pink cards?! Here is what it says: "This green lacy cloth made my Christmas dress in 1977. I wore this dress in a program held to celebrate my Grandpa & Grandma Johnson's 50th Wedding Anniversary in May, 1978. The green solid is a scrap, not originally used with this dress." (The green fabric underneath the lacy fabric in the dress was a lighter green.)

Another thing Mom would do is make dresses out of the same pattern but different fabrics (not just a different color). Here are a few examples:

These are our 1st Grade school photos. I am on the left and Amy is on the right. See how our dresses are made from the same pattern, but they are totally different colors / fabrics? There's a story behind these photos (or two stories, actually) which I need to tell. I am wearing Amy's dress and she is wearing mine! I usually loved the fabrics Mom picked out, but in this case I didn't really like the gold / orange / brown color scheme of my dress and I didn't want to wear it. Amy didn't like the colors very much either but she (being the sweet sister that she is) agreed to switch with me. She later told me that she felt really ugly with her short hair anyway so what difference would it make if she wasn't wearing the pretty colors? The hair is the other story behind these pictures. We decided we wanted to get our hair cut and Dad tried to do it. He cut Amy's hair first. He kept getting it uneven and in his attempts to straighten it out, Amy's hair got shorter and shorter. My mom ended up taking her to a hair stylist to try to get it fixed! After making all the mistakes on Amy, he did a better job on my hair! (Or maybe a stylist cut my hair too & he didn't even try...I can't remember now.)  I actually think Amy looks adorable in this picture, though!

Here's another example of dresses from the same pattern but out of different fabrics:

This is a close up of a family photo taken in 1976. I'm in the red and yellow dress, Amy in blue and red. We wore these dresses in our 3rd grade school photos too (you can see the fabric better in these shots):

I also made a quilt block with this fabric:

This is a close up of Amy and I in our 5th grade class photo (the only year we were in the same class). Amy is in green and I'm in orange. Another example of same pattern, different fabrics.

Sometimes the patterns my Mom used were similar but slightly different, and the fabrics would be similar colors, but not exactly the same, like in this photo, taken at Christmas time in 1973:

Here we are close up. You can see that Amy's skirt is slightly flared and mine is straight:

Other times, my Mom would make a dress out of two fabrics...one for the bodice of the dress and one for the skirt, for example...and then she would switch the placement of the two fabrics for the other dress. Here are two examples:

This family photo was taken in about 1971.

I remember this photo was taken right before a Relief Society fashion show (we don't have those anymore, sadly). Notice that Mom not only switched the fabrics on these dresses, but she also switched the color of the buttons and rick rack trim. How cute is that?! It's hard to tell in the photo, but the lighter color fabric was a pink and brown print.

I remember a couple of other outfits like these, although I don't have pictures of them. In a home movie taken when Amy and I turned 4, we can be seen wearing dresses that are red, white, and blue. One dress was red, white, and blue striped with a red, white and blue flowered pinafore. The other dress is made from the flowered print with the striped fabric for the pinafore. When we were in Kindergarten, I remember Mom making us dresses with pinafores out of two coordinating fabrics. One of the fabrics had tiny autumn colored leaves all over it and the other fabric was a light blue with an autumn colored leaves pattern scattered across it. She reversed the fabrics of the dresses and pinafores as with the other dresses I mentioned above. (You can catch glimpses of these dresses in home movies too.) I'm sure there are many others that I don't remember!

As we got older, it was more common for us to have dresses that were completely different patterns, fabrics, and colors. I liked being able to share clothes with my sister. Sometimes people would say it must be nice to have two whole wardrobes to choose from, but I was pretty sure we didn't have as many clothes as two people would have (but we did have more than one person would have). We each had dresses and shirts that were "ours" but we also shared a lot of items. Here are a few examples of dresses that didn't match at all:

This photo was taken March 11, 1989...the day Amy and I received our endowments. I received the dress I am wearing for Christmas 1988. I'm not sure if Amy got her dress at that time or another time.

Dresses we received for Christmas 1985. (Mom didn't make Amy's sweater vest, but she made the rest of our clothes.) I loved this dress and used it for years. I even took it on my mission. I used the fabric in a quilt block, too:

In this family photo, taken in November 1982 (right before Curtis got married), we are both wearing pink dresses but the patterns and fabrics are completely different.

You can see a little more of my dress in the photo below, taken at Curtis & Julia's openhouse:

Those shoes with the really thick soles were really popular at the time! I also have a quilt block using the fabric from this dress:

Mom made these dresses for us to wear as bridesmaids for our friend Paula Hansen Bergeson.

Because my Mom sewed, and I saw the results of her talents so abundantly, I felt motivated to learn to sew too. I remember learning to sew being a pretty frustrating process for me, and I'm almost positive I would have given up at some point if not for my Mom's help and my determination to be able to make beautiful things like my Mom made. I never have learned to sew as well as she does, but after taking a number of classes in junior high and high school, something finally "clicked" and I figured out how to understand pattern directions. I had a few clothes when I was a teenager that I either made myself or made with help from my Mom. Here are a few examples:

Mom helped Amy and I make the shirts and shorts we are wearing in this photo. I don't remember now what I made and what Amy made.

This is one of my senior portraits, as well as one with Amy. I made this dress myself. (Bright colors and stripes were really popular in those days!) This is another quilt block outfit:

My mom and I made the plaid dress I am wearing in this photo together. (She did the hard parts!) This is also a quilt block outfit:

I have not made a lot of clothes for myself as an adult. I have never learned how to get clothes to fit as well as my mom did (I'm still working on it!) Besides that, it isn't economical to sew clothes like it used to be (unfortunately!) Usually, it costs more now to make something myself than it would to buy it already made. I have made a few things for my boys over the years (very few!) and a few things for myself. Here's a few examples:

I made the dress I am wearing in these photos, taken April 23, 1993--the day of my graduation ceremony from BYU, as well as my 1st wedding anniversary.

This family photo was taken in spring 1996. I made the dress I'm wearing as well as Scott's outfit.

Here I am wearing a blouse I made in early 2009.

So that is what I wore! Below are many more examples of clothes that Mom made for me as I was growing up, as well as a few things I made myself. Mom made so many things--school clothes, play clothes, Sunday dresses, Halloween costumes, dresses for special occasions, pajamas. I think she even made a swimsuit for me once! She also made almost all of the clothes for my mission, a lot of maternity clothes when I was expecting Scott, and my beautiful wedding dress. I feel very fortunate that so many of the things I wore growing up were not just articles of clothing but treasured items made with love for me from my mom.

Amy and I on our first birthday--July 5, 1969. It's pretty hard to tell what we're wearing in this photo, but it looks like we match.

2nd Birthday--July 5, 1970. Looks like we have matching dresses on.

4th Birthday party--July 1972. Definitely wearing matching party dresses here.

Cute little sundress. This photo was probably taken at a Denver, Colorado park.

Halloween costumes! We had a box of Mom-made costumes to choose from. She also often made new costumes, depending on what we wanted to be. Some of the costumes have even been worn by the grandkids! I know when Scott was really little he wore one of the clown costumes that Amy and I are wearing in this photo. This picture is probably from Halloween 1972.

Matching little dresses. This photo was probably taken in 1970.

This photo was taken in 1971, when Amy and I were three years old. It's hard to tell because the photo is a bit faded, but my dress is pink and Amy's is white. I still have this dress:

These cute little dresses look the same except that the rick rack trim on each dress is a different color. This is a picture of our RS Nursery class. I believe it was taken in 1973.

 

Okay, I admit you can't see what I'm wearing very well in this photo! I'm not even sure if I'm wearing the red coat or the blue one. I included this photo because we aren't wearing dresses. One of us has blue pants and the other has red pants. In some of our home movies, you can see Amy and I wearing these play clothes and you can see them a lot better. There were decorative patches on the knees...the blue pants had red patches and the red pants had blue patches. We wore them with multi-color striped knit shirts. The shirt that went with the blue pants had a blue neck band and cuffs and the shirt that went with the red pants had a red neck band and cuffs.

These are our Kindergarten school photos. Another example of dresses from the same pattern, but with different fabric and trims.(I'm on the left and Amy is on the right.)

This is a close up of me in my Kindergarten class photo. In all of my class photos (up until 4th grade) I was always on the front row and on one of the ends. This is because I was always the shortest kid in the class! I kind of hated it at the time...I wanted a turn to stand on one of the risers...but it has proved to be very helpful for this post, since you can see what I'm wearing...it's not covered up by a kid standing in front of me. I think Amy's dress like this was reversed from mine--she had a solid blue dress and a gingham "apron". Little girls almost always wore dresses to school then. I didn't start wearing pants more than dresses until I was in 4th or 5th grade.

Here I am in my 1st grade class photo. I must have liked this dress a lot because I am also wearing it in my 2nd grade school photo:

Here's an example of some play clothes. Mom made these too:

This is me in my 2nd grade class photo. I believe this was my 1975 Easter dress. I made a quilt block with the fabric from the pinafore. Amy had a dress like this one that was blue.

Here I am in my 3rd grade class photo. I remember I really liked this yellow button up jumper, which could be worn over a couple of different blouses. Notice I have graduated from "bobby" socks to "knee highs".

These are our 4th grade class photos. Another example of "reverse" dresses. Amy knows how to smile for photos a lot better than I do!

This is my 9th grade photo. I remember I wasn't feeling very well when this photo was taken. I made a quilt block with the fabric from this dress, which was actually a blouse and a jumper.

Mom made me this Hawaiian shirt and matching pants to wear to a girl's choice dance I attended in high school. I used these fabrics for one of the quilt blocks:

This is my 11th grade school photo. I'm wearing my 1984 Easter dress.

This photo was taken of Amy and I in our graduation dresses, which Mom made for us. Amy's dress had pink trim; mine was all white. It had a dropped waist and lace insertion in the skirt.

I received the blouse, vest and skirt I'm wearing in this family portrait for Christmas 1984, when I was 16. (The portrait was taken in 1988.) I loved this outfit!

This family photo was taken on Shellie's wedding day (March 17, 1989). Mom made bridesmaid dresses for Amy and I as well as her dress and the three dresses for the granddaughters. (Not to mention Shellie's wedding dress!)

In the photos below, I am wearing a blouse that Mom made for me and sent to me while I was on my mission. It was so pretty! I wore it a lot and could wear it with many different skirts:

I had a dress made out of the same pattern as Amy's dress, just out of different fabric, which I wore on my mission.

Mom did not make the skirt, but she picked it out for me. I asked for a black and white checked pleated skirt for my birthday (1991) and she found this one.

When I got engaged, Mom took me shopping for wedding dresses. I found one I really liked, but I really wanted my wedding dress to be made by Mom, so she drew a picture of the dress I liked and tried to find a similar pattern. She couldn't find a pattern for the "cummerbund" part of the dress (a feature I really wanted) so she had to experiment to figure it out. She used muslin for these experiments. I still remember the day she brought me a muslin cummerbund and asked "Is this what you want?" It was perfect! When I told her so, she said thoughtfully "you know, last night I was worrying about your dresses (she was making Amy's wedding dress at the same time) and I said a little prayer, asking that I would be able to figure them out so that you would both have the dress you wanted for your wedding day. After I prayed, in my mind's eye I saw how to do it." I'm grateful that my mom is a woman of faith as well as a woman of talent! I've often pondered this experience that my mom shared with me. It's taught me that our Heavenly Father's knowledge encompasses all things and that He is willing to help us gain knowledge if we ask for help. It has also taught me that if something is important to us, it's important to Him. In the eternal scheme of things, my wedding dress isn't that important, of course. But it was important to me and to my mom at that time, and He wants His children to be happy.

Here is the finished product:
  

The bodice is covered in lace. The cummerbund buttons with tiny pearl buttons. Under the cummerbund is a satin bow with pearl and tiny flower streamers.

The dress has a short train that can be buttoned up in the back to make a small bustle. The sleeves come to a point and are trimmed with lace.

Amy's dress is beautiful, too!

There are bows on the sleeves too and lace trim around the hem.

There are lace roses on the sleeves too.

My dress is very special to me, and I will always keep it!

Mom made me this sailor style dress to wear as a bridesmaid at Tim's wedding. The photo below was taken at the wedding reception:

July 3, 1991

In this photo, taken in April 1994, I am wearing a maternity top that Mom made me. In the photos below I am wearing a maternity dress that she made for me also.

July 1994

I made the dress I am wearing in this photo, taken in December 1994.

Mom made the housecoats that Amy and I wearing in this photo taken on Christmas morning in 1979.

Mom made these peach dresses that Amy and I wore at Erick's wedding reception. (December 19, 1981) I used the fabric from these dresses, along with the fabric from a blouse I made, to make one of the quilt blocks:

I know you can barely see it, but I loved this plaid skirt that Mom made for me and sent to me for Christmas 1990, while I was on my mission. She made me another flowered skirt which also matched this sweater at the same time. I wish I had a picture of that skirt too because it was very beautiful.

In this somewhat blurry photo from about 1973, Amy and I are wearing matching play clothes.

Mom gave me the fabric for this flowered dress for Christmas 1988, and made the dress for me shortly thereafter. I took this dress on my mission. Mom made Shellie's wedding dress also.

Amy and I are both wearing sundresses Mom made for us in this 1977 photo. I used the fabric from this dress for one of the quilt blocks. Amy had a "reversed" dress made from these two fabrics.

You can barely see it, but in this photo from my 9th birthday I am wearing another cute sundress that Mom made for me the summer of 1977: 

I also used this fabric for a quilt block, and drew a sketch of the dress on the card. This dress was a "wraparound" dress and it had a little turtle appliqued on the bodice. Amy had a "reverse" dress using these fabrics also.

Again, you can't see what I'm wearing very well in this photo from my 11th birthday (1979), but I am wearing a pinafore from a school dress--the pinafore could be worn alone as well.

This fabric was also used for a quilt block, along with fabric from the dress that went with it.

This photo was taken around 1980. Amy and I are wearing blouses with matching tiered skirts that Mom made us. The fabric for this outfit was also used in a quilt block:

In this family photo taken in Mesa, Arizona in 1974, you can see two more cute summer dresses that Mom made. Shellie and Ben are wearing clothes Mom made also.

As I mentioned above, Mom made most of the clothes I needed for my mission, including the suit I'm wearing in this photo with my mission president and his wife. This picture was taken the day I arrived in North Carolina September 20, 1989. I remember we went straight from the airport to the photographer's studio.

In the two pictures above, I am wearing another mission outfit. I can't remember now if Mom made it or if I made it. This outfit looks like a dress, but it was actually a top and a skirt made of the same fabric. In the first photo, I'm standing outside our classroom door at the MTC (we were the Mt. Vernon district). In the second photo, I am standing on top of a tree that was uprooted by Hurricane Hugo. This tree was lying across the road on the street where the mission home was located. (September 22, 1989)

I purchased the pink jumper I am wearing in the picture, but Mom made the blue shirt I'm wearing with it. Later, when this jumper got ripped, she made me a new pink jumper and sent it to me.

Frank picked out the pattern and fabric for the maternity jumper I'm wearing in this photo as a surprise for me when I was expecting Scott. Mom made it, though. In this photo, I am expecting Tanner. (August 1996)

Mom made this dress and gave it to me for Christmas in 1973, when I was five years old. Close up of the cute fabric below:

For Christmas 1975, Mom made colonial style dresses, bonnets and purses for Amy and I. Later that school year, when our school had a Bicentennial celebration, Amy and I wore the dresses to school. A photographer took our picture and we were in the newspaper. Here is the clipping:

(I remember the same photographer took some pictures of a little boy who was dressed up and I together as well. He even made us hold hands, which I didn't like! I didn't even know the boy's name!)

I still have this dress:

I made a quilt block with this fabric, paired with fabric from another outfit that Mom made for me when I was in 6th grade.

This beautiful dress was a Christmas present from Mom in 1976. Amy had a dress just like it that was pink. I loved the shimmery fabric with the velvet roses that this dress was made of.

I also used this fabric in a quilt block, although I didn't have any of the original light blue fabric used with the dress, so I used a darker blue fabric instead.

This is another little dress I have, but I don't remember wearing it, so I don't know anything else about it. I was probably only a few years old when I wore it.

I think Amy had a red sailor dress with blue trimmings to match this dress. I'm not sure how old I was when I wore this dress. Maybe 4 or 5?

This is a baby dress Mom saved for me:

Here is another baby dress that I have:

This quilt block is made from fabric I used to make myself a top when I was a teenager:

This fabric (the rosebud pattern, not the solid blue) was used to make my Easter dress in 1981 (7th grade). This is one dress that I really wish I had a picture of, but I don't. It was a "Gunne Sax" style dress, which was a very popular style at that time. This kind of dress was rather expensive to buy, but Mom made mine for much less. I remember wearing my dress to school and lots of girls asking me where I got it because it was so pretty. They were all disappointed when they heard that my mom made it, meaning they would not be able to buy one like it! This dress had blue bias tape trim, a lace collar, and a double ruffle at the bottom. I loved it!

When I started 6th grade, Mom made me a jumper, a dress, a blouse, a jacket, and some pants that were all color coordinated. I could wear the blouse (which was yellow gingham) with either the jumper (gold) or the pants and jacket (brown corduroy). I could wear the dress (brown plaid) alone or underneath the jumper. I used the fabric from the dress and the jumper in a quilt block:

In this photo from Amy's wedding, Shellie and I are both wearing bridesmaids dresses made by Mom:

When I was in the BYU Children's Chorus (5th and 6th grades), I needed a white skirt to wear with a white blouse under my choir robe, so Mom made me one. Then she also made a pink top that I could wear with the skirt when I wasn't using it for chorus performances. I made a quilt block with these two fabrics:

Another dress I wish I had a picture of is my 1979 (5th grade) Easter dress. This dress was one of my all time favorites! I do have a quilt block made from the cloth, though:

I remember the pattern wasn't one of my favorites to start out with, but Mom decided to add eyelet beading trim with blue satin ribbon running through it and blue satin bows to the edge of the yoke and at the top of the ruffle. This little change made all the difference, and this dress went from plain to stunning!

Here is another outfit preserved in a quilt block:

I made a skirt and vest from this fabric in a 9th grade sewing class.

I'm almost done! The final quilt block is made from fabric I used to make a sailor style top the summer between 9th and 10th grades. I really liked this top and wore it a lot: 

I started out saying that I wished I had more pictures of the clothes I wore, but I guess I had a lot more pictures than I thought!

Just a word about fads and fashions to finish up. You can see a bit how fashions changed over the years from all these photos. In general, though, I was not a very fashion conscious person. When I got to high school, I was aware of the fads that were popular but I was pretty practical about them. If I liked how a particular clothing fad looked, then I might dress that way. But if I didn't like the way it looked, I wouldn't wear it--no matter how popular it was! I was also very budget conscious even at that age and thought the prices some kids would pay for fad items were ridiculous! I do remember wearing some things that I liked then that I think now were probably pretty hideous--like knickerbockers with argyle socks in my high school days and bright flowered pants in my early married days. It makes me wonder what I am wearing now that will look crazy to me in another 10 years. :)

That is all I have to say about what I wore, and I think that is plenty!