Easter dresses past

Growing up, my mom made many of my sister's and my dresses. Currently, several of the ones she made for us as babies and toddlers are hanging in Charlotte's closet waiting for her to be big enough to wear. For Charlotte's first Easter, Mom made her a dress all her own. How precious is that little poof of purple? I just want to eat her up like an Easter Peep.

But I digress. Her dress made me think back on all of the Easter dresses and many others that I wore growing up. Here are just a small percentage of the dresses Mom has made us for various occasions over the years.

There was always lace — lots of lace. Even our tights were lacy, and Courtney and I often stripped them off in the car after church, unable to take one more moment in that itchy, lacy prison.

Another key accessory — the bow. The bigger, the better it seems. And, in dresses such as these, the curtsey pose is a must.

This one always sticks out in my memory. I thought the lace sleeves were extremely sophisticated for a fourth grader such as myself. But the real winner here is Courtney's dress. The Victorian collar, the broach! Nothing can compete with that. 

Remember in Anne of Green Gables how Anne Shirley so desperately wanted puff sleeves? Well, Anne would have died to have this dress and its incredible puff sleeves.

I feel like this was near the end for me and the handmade Easter dress. By about the sixth grade I requested a store-bought one, but not before Mom made us these coordinating linen dresses. The turkey decoys are just an added bonus because what woman doesn't want to be flanked by her daughters and fake turkeys on Mother's Day?

Elsewhere on the blog: The awesome Pink Power Ranger costume my mom made