I've been thinking about these since one of
my last visits to Aunt Beth.
When Gary, Richard, and I went to visit her in the rehab center,
she was wearing what I would term a "duster."
One of those combination dresses/housecoats that
my mother wore every day when I was growing up.
It appeared that Aunt Beth had on a duster just like one Mom had.
When I commented on that to my cousin,
she told us that it was Mom's.
I had forgotten I had taken some clothes over to
Aunt Beth after Mom died.
I found it very sweet, comforting,
and also very symbolic that she was wearing it.
It made me feel close to Mom.
There's so much history in the
house dress/duster/mumu/apron generation.
Today at the personal history writer's group,
Caroline read a paper she had written about growing old.
In it she mentioned how women never used to wear pants
and how hard it had been to get her mother to wear pants,
even when she was working in the barn.
I remember that it took a lot of coaxing to finally get
Mom to buy some pants in the 1970's.
After Mom died, there were lots of house dresses in her closet.
I couldn't bear to get rid of them because
there were so many memories attached.
(My daughters joke that they would never
have that problem with my clothes.
They "claim" that I have so many that they
can't really associate any certain ones to certain occasions)
A few years back at a family reunion we had a baby shower for my niece, Angie. The only requirement for coming to the shower was that the women had to wear one of Mom's house dresses. They "got" to keep them after that. I was so happy I had found a meaningful way to clean some of the house dresses out!
I still wear some of Mom's house dresses for nightgowns.
Misty has worn hers out and I'm trying to make her a replica.
My son-in-law, Justin, has only one request, and that is that
Tiffany not wear a house dress/mumu/duster.
Today I pulled out some of my great Aunt Elner's
"Swirl" house dresses.
I'll have to post some pictures of them later.
my last visits to Aunt Beth.
When Gary, Richard, and I went to visit her in the rehab center,
she was wearing what I would term a "duster."
One of those combination dresses/housecoats that
my mother wore every day when I was growing up.
It appeared that Aunt Beth had on a duster just like one Mom had.
When I commented on that to my cousin,
she told us that it was Mom's.
I had forgotten I had taken some clothes over to
Aunt Beth after Mom died.
I found it very sweet, comforting,
and also very symbolic that she was wearing it.
It made me feel close to Mom.
There's so much history in the
house dress/duster/mumu/apron generation.
Today at the personal history writer's group,
Caroline read a paper she had written about growing old.
In it she mentioned how women never used to wear pants
and how hard it had been to get her mother to wear pants,
even when she was working in the barn.
I remember that it took a lot of coaxing to finally get
Mom to buy some pants in the 1970's.
After Mom died, there were lots of house dresses in her closet.
I couldn't bear to get rid of them because
there were so many memories attached.
(My daughters joke that they would never
have that problem with my clothes.
They "claim" that I have so many that they
can't really associate any certain ones to certain occasions)
A few years back at a family reunion we had a baby shower for my niece, Angie. The only requirement for coming to the shower was that the women had to wear one of Mom's house dresses. They "got" to keep them after that. I was so happy I had found a meaningful way to clean some of the house dresses out!
I still wear some of Mom's house dresses for nightgowns.
Misty has worn hers out and I'm trying to make her a replica.
My son-in-law, Justin, has only one request, and that is that
Tiffany not wear a house dress/mumu/duster.
Today I pulled out some of my great Aunt Elner's
"Swirl" house dresses.
I'll have to post some pictures of them later.
7 comments:
I HATE missing group but didn't have anything written. If I could have seen your post first I could have written about Mom's clothes.
Love the photo! And the tradition that you are keeping alive. You are the greatest.
I remember going shopping with my Aunty Mary the day she found that the "house dresses" she had always worn were no longer available. She was distressed. Until then, the only time she wore pants was when she visited my dad "up north".
Thanks for the memories, Annette, and for the picture.
Even though Justin doesn't want me to wear a mumu, I do love the memories of Grandma in them! And I do love the brightly colored one that you gave me, along with the beautiful quilt you made with remnants. And I may not wear the mumu, but I do wear the apron. I wore it on EAster during all my dinner preparations. I was vacuuming with the apron over my sunday dress, along with my pearls and house slippers. Justin thought I was the perfect picture of "Betty housekeeper" so he took a picture! I 'll send it to you. :)
what kind of a blog is "mumu" or house coat? Tiffany I agree with Justin, no house coat on the premises. Annette.... I am coming Sunday, I want no house coat at that time. It might be hard for you because its on a sunday and I know you will have a hard time resisting..... but I know you can?
All of my aunts and my grandma are very particular about their house dresses and aprons. Some of them prefer them without sleeves, some only like the ones with snaps, my grandma will only wear them if they have pockets in the front. It's a funny thing!
Dan doesn't like mine anymore that Justin does--He calls it my tent. It's just a part of me I won't give up. I have safety pins holding the sides together and one pocket worn through cause I'm tired of mending it. My kids think every mom wears mumus, and they should. I forget how odd I look until someone new sees me. Jackson's friend slept over last week and when I came out in my mumu he looked at me very wide eyed. Long live the mumu!!!!
annette,
i love the topic today. there are very few memories of grandma that don't include mumus. the way i see it is that wearing a mumu most the day would really simplify your life because you wouldn't want anyone (outside of close family or friends) to see you, so you wouldn't go out much, spend nearly as much money or gas. i'm liking the idea. thanks for the fun post
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