A Few Tips for Mother-Daughter Fashion
Caroline Graham Swann
Darlings, most mother-daughter relationships have a very gentle (ahem) debate about fashion choices.
My daughter and I have waged war over the choice of birthday party dresses (age two), school clothes (age 5), preteen events (11), teen age (13-18), college attire (age 19), her wedding (age 22), and to this current day.
I always wanted a daughter: even as a child I dressed my dolls in the most frilly feminine dresses and bonnets. So, when I was blessed with a daughter I could at last live out my love for feminine lacy baby clothes. Of course, she had no idea of what she was wearing, so at that time all went smoothly fashion-wise. One of my favorite outfits for her during infancy was a pastel pink soft fabric one-piece adorable confection with attached booties. The back was all ruffles with tiny satin bows, satin bows on the attached booties with teeny tiny bells and ruffles around the little cuffs also with the teeny bells. When she moved the bells jingled and she loved to listen as the pretty little things jingled. She had no hair so I found a way to put a pink bow on the top of her head. She honestly looked adorable in this, thank goodness she had no idea of my choice or there might have been a huge debate.
My niece did not escape my love of fashion: she also fell prey to my visions. As time went by, I thought for special holidays they would be so cute dressed alike. Christmas, I selected green dressed with long sleeves trimmed in white fur and hats to match with white fur. I will never forget the look on their faces as I so happily presented them with the picture perfect twin attire. They were not smiling in the Christmas photos that year.
Oh, the teen years needed a mediator. Our fashion issues were very frequent!!! Her debut brought about very heavy battles over the choice of gown for one of the most important event for a young lady. My daughter is very tall and, of course, I think beautiful. This is the time for an elegant gown, not the current prom trend gown. She stood her ground and I took my stance, while her father hid from both of us. To make a long story short, she wore a very elegant Balangencia white satrin gown, sheath with a small train adding even more elegance to the back. Her long white kid gloves and simple pearls completed her debutant gown.
Audrey Hepburn could not looked more beautiful. I won that battle but lost many more in the fashion realm with her.
Weddings have a way of creating fiery fashion issues between some mothers-daughters. We were afflicted with this syndrome. I was living in NewYork at the time and she was attending college at Carson-Newman University, so my thoughts were to select designer gowns for bridesmaids in New York. I discovered the most beautiful blush color gowns for the bridesmaids on sale at a very posh store and was so over the moon with the delightful price. Thinking she would be so happy with the beautiful gowns I bought them for the bridesmaids. When I arrived in Dandridge with the fashion find, she was NOT HAPPY: midnight blue was her chosen color. After years of gaining much wisdom, I should have taken the gowns to a resale shop and let the bride have her color choice, to this day I wish I had not been too involved in her choices. So, darlings, when it comes to weddings, please heed my regret, and only suggest possible better choices for her wedding.
Our fashion wars have settled down, and she has her own style now of more understated attire. My granddaughter has my love for clothes, and believe me my designer shoes are the delight of her life. I love it when she calls and ask if she may borrow so and so !!!
And my daughter and granddaughter were actually pulling my black Michael Kors bag back and forth as to whom was going to be the new owner. I told them to share it …bit I noticed my daughter seems to carry it all the time with great fashion sense. At last……I just smile but do not comment on her current love of my designer bags.
