Some of my favorite childhood memories are of the Easter dresses my mother would make for my sister and me. It was the spring ritual that we loved. But along with our beautiful dresses came the ritual we didn’t love: getting a permanent in our hair….ugh. That is the worst curse for a child, getting your annual Easter permanent so your hair would be curled beyond belief. When mom grabbed the box that contained the permanent solutions, we would run! But finally she won out, and we sat there for hours while the stinky solution put tiny curls in our hair. For weeks afterward, every time it rained or we were shampooed, our hair smelled as rotten as a forgotten Easter egg. You know the smell if you have had a “permanent wave.” Back then your mom was the master of curls.
Now back to the dresses. Mom would make the cutest dresses for Easter. Whatever was in fashion, Mom would copy. We loved the full skirts that stood out over a crinoline petticoat. In fact, on Easter we literally stood up behind the front seat of the car so that our dresses would not wrinkle. I am sure mom loved the parade of us Norton girls in her gorgeous creations. Following behind would be our brother, “strangled to death” with a tie as he put it. The Easter parade was in full swing as we all walked into the church. We always sported white gloves with these dresses to hide the dyed fingers from the egg dying that preceded Sunday.
Today, I love to sew for my granddaughter, and I take delight in seeing her parade in one of Gigi’s creations. She is a girly-girly girl and loves full skirts that twirl. Sewing is one of my favorite hobbies, and as long as she will wear my handmade dresses, I will be sewing for her like my mother sewed for me. From the looks of my fabric stash, I will be sewing for decades. What a joy!
Tell me: What’s your favorite Easter tradition?
Comments 105
My mother says that my nana (her mother) would copy designs from the Sears catalogue and make her and her brothers one new outfit in the spring. She told me that she would sit and look through the catalogue and pick out what she wanted and Nana would make it for her! By the time I was born however, Nana had long stopped doing that (I’m a super late baby, my mother was 38 when I was born). My mom made me a few pretty floral dresses when I was younger, but her arthritis is worse now. I believe my mother made my floral dresses for Easter, but I can’t quite remember. My memory is a little fuzzy on some parts.
My parents never did an Easter egg hunt when I was little, which with 3 older brothers, was a good thing I think! I loved drawing on the hard boiled eggs with crayons and dyeing Saturday night before bed and placing them gently in my basket (that I still have! I love it!). Sunday morning I’d get up and there would be some foil wrapped chocolate eggs, a Cadbury Mini Eggs baggie, a Cadbury Creme Egg and usually a chocolate bunny. One year I even got a Cadbury Easter Bunny and he had the purple wishing egg in his paw! I think that was my most favourite bunny! Now I adore the cute Lindt chocolate bunnies with their adorable bows and bells.
Oh and the one year I got a colouring book with a new pack of Crayola crayons (still the best thing ever!) and I remember sitting in the pew colouring while my father was doing the Easter Sunday service (yup, minister’s daughter). I think that year the Sunday School children were given olive wood pendants (or pins if you were a boy) and you picked from a cross in a circle or a dove. I picked the cross and I even remember the olive wood smelled of what I would one day as an adult realize to be extra virgin olive oil. It was soo awesome!
Wow, I’ve written a novel here! But I have lots of fond Easter memories and that’s just a few!
I fondly remember dress shopping for Easter complete with a new coat, purse, gloves, and hat! Lots of pictures fondly remind me of those innocent days. The fashion frenzy continues today — love to shop! I too had a perm – but now my hair is so curly I fight with it to straighten each day. Little girls are so much fun – your granddaughter is precious — my hair was once that light too! Enjoy!
My Mom always made my dresses too. She made up the patterns but they were just like you would see in the store. I wish now I had learned to sew like she did..
When I think of Easter traditions, I think of when I was younger my mom also,
always made/sewed me a new outfit for Easter. And then, the shoes, socks and other accessories were purchased to follow. Love my mom. And now, celebrating and instilling the Easter story with my three little grandsons. Yeah!!
It was wonderful reading about so many similar memories I have of Easter. My mornings would begin with a jellybean laden living-dining area. The colorful gems would be placed along upholstered sofa & chair arms & hidden in crevices located in such places as the back of a rotary phone, the handle of a bread box, the turn-table of a record player, or inside our shoes, atop our new white socks. While reading your journal entry, I was able to re-experience the acidic smell of the scalp penetrating perm. Raised during the era of Shirley Temple, my mom made sure my older sister & I had tap dance lessons & plenty of ‘Tonettes.’ We have a collection of black & white photos of us in our handcrafted Easter finery, created by our mom’s nimble fingers running the fabric through the whirring feed of the sewing machine. I can still recall the uncomfortable feel of the organza type fabric against my freshly bathed damp skin. We usually had an equally mom-crafted chapeau to adorn our heads. My younger brother would always be sporting a ‘little man outfit’, which always included some type of tie, traditional or bow & child size version of a man’s hat. I cherish every moment of every precious memory.
Of course, a new Easter dress…a beautiful corsage bought by my granddaddy to wear with my new dress…and no new dress would have been complete without a new Easter hat! Thanks for taking me down memory lane. Those memories are precious to me.
Thank you for sharing such wonderful memories of your childhood Easter traditions! One of my own memories that has always stayed with me is that growing up with five other siblings, our house income was not such that allowed many material things. However, our love was great and still is to this very day.
My mother loved to sew and was a wonderful seamstress. So much so she always made as much of the four girl’s clothing as possible. When my oldest sister was in high school, he was voted “Best Dressed” and it was solely from my mother’s beautiful clothing she made for her and the rest of us children. Also, another special memory of Easter, we didn’t have the usual store bought plastic grass for our baskets. We always used fresh clover from our yard to line the bottom of our baskets Minus the redtops, of course. There was always an abundance of it in our yard.. I can still to this day remember the coolness of the clover as I would run my fingers through it as we placed our hand dyes eggs in with it.
I can not see clover to this very day without remembering those frugal times but so very special ones. Our parents and two of our siblings are gone now but I’m sure they are enjoying the real reason for the holiday now, more so than ever.
I so enjoyed reading about your Easter traditions! In our family, Easter Sunday marked the transition from wearing our winter woollies to wearing our new dress and hat for Sunday services. With 9 children to dress (4 girls) my mother must have been a busy lady. I came to appreciate her work more when I was sewing and dressing our own 3 children for Easter Sunday. Now I buy a new hat for myself every spring to celebrate the season. The church I attend requires head coverings for women and this is perfect for me: I love hats and I’m sure that my early childhood traditions created this love for hats in me. And am I failing to mention the eggs? Oh yes, mom cooked eggs in an array of food coloring and we could eat as many as we liked for breakfast alongside fresh raison buns, and then Chocolates and ice-cream and tea at three o’clock Sunday afternoon. Happy Blessed Easter to you and all your readers!!
What I remember most about Easter is the fun of shopping for our Easter outfits. My mother had two sets of twin girls so when it was a holiday such as Easter, my mother would take us “downtown” to buy our Easter outfits. The store specialized in children’s clothes and and all the sales staff used to love to watch us two sets of twins try on outfits.What I loved most were the beautiful patent leather shoes and pocketbooks
We always felt so special!!!
Mine was also my new Easter Dress and Coat that my Grandmother would make each year for me. I also have enjoyed making dresses for my granddaughter who is 26 and expecting a little one in May
My two sisters were almost 8 and 10 years older than me and I don’t remember if mother made their Easter dresses every year or not. But we all got new white shoes and gloves and my sisters got small hats. I do remember the dresses my mother made for me when I was quite young, she called them “pinafores”. They were almost like a jumper, a dress over a dress. But what I remember the most was the matching purses she made to go with all my dresses. She used the bottom part of a Cody loose powder box (approx. 3″ diameter circular box). She would first make a white drawstring bag with tiny buttons sewn in 6 or 8 evenly spaced places around the box. Then she would make a scalloped piece, from the dress material, trimmed in white lace, and button it to the drawstring bag on the box. I hope you can picture this in your mind as they were very sweet and feminine. I can still see them in my mind’s eye and in some old photographs. I have no children or grandchildren and pinafores would be out of style today, but what I wouldn’t give for one of those the little purses that my mother so loving made for me!
What lovely memories. Thank you for sharing.
Oh how I remember those perms! thought we (I have 2 sisters) were the only ones to go through that; now I can smile about the memory but the dresses were always frilly and fun to receive and I still love the egg decorating which I do with my grandchildren. Happy holiday to all!
Happy Easter to you.
When I was a little girl, my sisters and brother and I would get to dye the eggs that our mother had prepared for us on Saturday before Easter morning. My parents would put the 6 cups of dye on the table and we would spend the next couple of hours creating eggs of color sometimes double or even triple dipped in the different colors in an effort to make the best or most different egg. Then we would put them in a basket on the table before bed so that the Easter Bunny could hide them in the nests we made outside. The morning came with much anticipation to see the treats the Easter bunny left and hunt for all the eggs we had dyed. There were a few times the dog found them first leaving less than we had started with. After breakfast, we would don our Easter “outfits” and with our curled hair (yes, I remember the smell of those perms and we were lucky if we weren’t too frizzy) we would head off to church. Our parents are gone now and we have grandchildren too old for the Easter bunny, but we all get together for dinner and still have the Easter egg hunts that remind us of earlier days and the fun and laughter that love of family brought to us as children and still brightens our lives.
Great memories. Thank you for sharing!
I called my Mom this morning and we re-lived some of our favorite Easter traditions. She said she always looked forward to the Saturday before Easter and watching us dye our Easter eggs. Back then, there was no such thing as plastic eggs. Everyone dyed real eggs and ate them all afternoon after hunting them over and over again (Mom wouldn’t let us eat them past a certain number of hours, though). I remember when I was in college, Mom still boiled eggs for us to dye. Now I teenagers and its one of our favorite traditions. But my favorite tradition was getting a new, home-made dress. Looking back now, I realize we grew up poor. But I never knew it. My dad worked hard to provide for us and mom stayed home and raised us. Mom was the epitome of a godly and domesticated woman. She made all of our clothes and every Easter and Christmas she made me and my sister (and herself, if she had time) a new dress. I always felt so sorry for my friends who had store bought dresses, because they were never as beautiful and the dresses my mom made for us. She is an artist and our dresses were her canvas. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. When I married my Prince Charming, she made my wedding gown to look like Princess Diana’s. She made her own patterns and my dress was even more beautiful than Diana’s, though it didn’t have the 25 foot long train. A dress will never be more loved or treasured than one made with love.
My mom made our clothes. I share your memories!
What a wonderful stroll down memory lane!!! Brought back such good memories of my own dear, sweet mother. She could also sew a fine seam and she made all my dresses and permed and curled my plantinum blond hair. Imagine if you will a “white fro”! lol!!! I felt like a princess, tho, with my pretty puffy hair and the pretty taffeta and satin dresses she made for me. Thanks for the memories! Love your blog and your magazines!!!
Thank you for sharing your stories!!
My mother sewed my dress and hers to match for Easter. My dad hid the eggs for my brother and me to find before church. We always went to sunrise breakfast at our church. So many great memories of Easter.
Isn’t Easter wonderful? Thank you for sharing.
Your Granddaughter is a very lucky little girl to have a Gigi that makes her those beautiful dresses. The lace is gorgeous!
Thank you. I love to sew!
Reading your post and traveling down memory lane with you and all the wonderful ladies who commented was a particular treat, since sadly my only sibling is no longer here to share those wonderful memories. Growing up our family’s budget did not allow for too many things, so Easter was special for we both got a dress, what was called a Spring dress coat, new shoes, a hat, gloves and sometimes a purse! Those clothes were worn every Sunday and to any other dress-up occasion until a new dress and coat was chosen for Back-to School. Since I was the younger sister, with the exception of the shoes, in my first ten years my “new” was almost always my older sister’s hand-me-downs. Over fifty years later, I can still picture in my mind the first Spring coat that was not a hand-me-down, but a brand new coat never worn by anyone else! The coat was aqua blue wool and the satin lining was lightly printed with the outline of little lambs. I was just so thrilled to have something new that I picked out. I thought it was the most beautiful coat ever made.
Perms were not part of our Easter tradition, although my mother would “set” our hair in little pink rubber curlers that we had to sleep in. Having fine straight hair, I longed for the thick curls of my best friend. So, I did get to experience one of those Toni perms one summer. My fine hair became an instant puff ball and in the few photos of that time, my head looks like a French Poodle. Big poof on the top and then two sad poofs on either side. And, you are correct, the smell was terrible and one you never forget. I was so eager to have my hair grow out and to be rid of the disaster.
Thank you for this lovely opportunity to travel back in time, a much simpler and gentle time. I wish you and your loved ones a very Blessed Easter.
You are so sweet to share with us! Great memories.
I’m laughing because I could have written this article. We were 4 sisters and one brother who was the baby of the family. I can still smell the Toni permanent solution and I’m 71. My mother sewed all our dresses also. She didn’t care that we were all different ages and sizes. We had to match! What a sight but she was so proud as we walked to church. My brother was fortunate enough to wear a clip on tie which he quickly removed and twirled around and tried to clip on to everything. Ahhh, those were the days!
So much fun recalling great times!
I so remember the hair perms! I hated them as much as my mom loved curls in my hair! She sewed my Easter dresses also. Such fond memories! I miss those days! perms and all!lol
Perms were very uncertain weren’t they?
Your little granddaughter is adorable. Look at that cute little face. The dress is beautiful. You can’t buy them like that.
Besides church…….finding the special little treats for the baskets is my favorite memory.
I totally agree.
I was fortunate to have naturally curly hair and missed Toni perms, although often wished for straight hair that would swing freely….curly hair just does not move and would not grow long, only out and full and looked like a mop so the poodle cut was my only style. I’ve lost the curl now so I just get the perm. One Easter memory is of a bouquet of flowers a boy delivered to me and my Mother turned them into corsages for my sister, me and herself. I never could figure out why he brought the flowers, I was only about 13 but my Mother was thrilled with them. Anyone remember Easter corsages ?
The fragrance of Lillie’s…..the best
I remember my mother buying my dresses. She couldn’t sew a stitch and neither can I ! I always had a pair of shoes and socks that matched the color of my beautiful dress, along with a purse, gloves and sweet little hat. I never did those things for my daughter because she was NOT a girly girl like me and getting her in a frilly dress was an impossibility. I hope that someday, I too, will have a granddaughter that will appreciate the finer ” feminine” things in life!
I loved little hats and gloves!
I too remember the permanents, it was a Toni and it smelled awful…..I was born with totally straight hair and somehow, as a small child, thought it was a sin to have straight hair since my Mom was always giving me permanents! My Mom was the most special Lady alive, she made all our dresses (my Sisters and Mine) and took such pride in making everything so special for us every holiday. Easter, as every Sunday, we had to look our best . Wonderful memories….so happy that you shared them with all of us. Your Granddaughter is beautiful and her dress is perfect.
May God Bless you this Easter and everyday!
God bless you too!
Seeing your granddaughter look so precious and reading about your perms reminded me of when I was grew up in The South Bronx, N.Y.C. during the 60’s. We lived next door to a beauty parlor, it was easy for my mother to just take me to get a perm, a cut or rollers put in for styling. What memories! Although my mother did not sew, she made sure my 3 sisters and I had the most beautiful dresses for Easter along with spring coats, bonnets and purses.
On Easter morning she would send my sisters and I with a friend’s teenage daughter to church for the children’s mass. After mass we were taken to the movie theater to see a religious movie like “The Bible”. My parents would go to the Spanish mass and afterwards go home to prepare Easter dinner for us. We didn’t have much but they made sure that our holidays were specials.
I have subscriptions to a couple of your magazines which I absolutely love. Wishing you and yours a most beautiful and blessed Easter.
Your Mother is still laughing.
Dad
I wish we could find a photo of our perms!! Thanks Dad
Lovely Traditions….. Happy Easter, from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Thank you!
No coiplamnts on this end, simply a good piece.
We are very proud of our cousin Andy he has the best family and staff at Montero’s . We get to Elizabeth city every once in a while from Norfolk to eat dinner which the food is out of this world anyone and all should try Montero’s for dinner it supper good food.and very friendly faces everywhere thanks to Andy for being wonderful chef and also to his beautiful wife karin and 3 awesome girls. We enjoy the good times when we get a chance to visit.
I can’t believe we have so much in common, my mother was a hair dresser and so I too got that permanent wave, I looked like little orphan Annie, but my mother did buy me beautiful dresses with a matching coat every Easter.
We lived in Kansas and it was always cold. We also dyed eggs and then my Mom would paint a blown out egg gold and put a ribbon thru it. I remember hunting eggs and Easter baskets. I am expecting a grand daughter in a fee months and can’t wait to celebrate with her. I still dye eggs and our boys are 28yrs, and 30yrs. I do it for me.
Your granddaughter will be a lucky girl!!
Boy do I remember the Toni perms. It was like it was yesterday. My grandmother would make us little dresses and my mother was not always thrilled with what my grandmother came up with but I always loved what she made. Of course I didn’t have much more taste at age 6 than my grandmother. At any rate good memories. Thanks for bringing them to mind.
Love your thoughts and memories.
Such a beautiful little girl in a beautiful dress! I, too, made lovely outfits for my little girls!
Since God decided to include my Mother’s curly hair gene as He created me , perms were never a part of my life….from the comments I am reading, I should be thankful!
Each Easter, my brothers and I always picked out a colored baby chick to bring home…sometimes green, sometimes pink and sometimes blue. As much a tradition as the baby chicks was the trip Mother and I made to purchase an Easter hat….I even remember the name of the shop: Jo Belle’s.
Oh I miss Easter hats!
the picture is beautiful. My Mother also made Easter Outfits for my two sister and me. One of my traditions was my Father buying each of us a corsage to wear to church
I hadn’t thought about corsages in years!!
My mind ran parallel with yours this morning – shopping for Easter outfits – my mother did it for us and I was blessed to get to do it for our daughter. For a long time I didn’t know what Easter represented, but thankfully I learned! Halleujah, what a Savior!
Easter was always a fun time, filled with new clothes, black patin shoes, gloves and bonnet. All the mothers and grandmothers would receive corsages to wear to church. I couldn’t wait to be old enough to receive one! That was in Texas. Now that I’ve lived in North Carolina for 20 years, I still see those corsages in the grocery store at Easter. But the best memories were gathering in church to hear the story of our Redeemer and Savior. God bless you all this Easter!
Love your thoughts! Thank you.
My Mama always made my Easter dresses. I especially remember a yellow dotted swiss dress that she made for me. My favorite memory is going to my grandmother’s house for Easter lunch with all my aunts, uncles and cousins and the big Easter Egg Hunt afterwards in her yard. She had a lot of buttercups in her yard which was a perfect place to hide eggs. Looking forward to having an Easter Egg Hunt in my yard this year for my grandchildren!
Egg hunts are still my favorite afternoon event with my grands!
Phyllis, you must be the dearest Granny/Gigi ever! You grand daughter’s dress is exquisite, especially your monogrammed collar. Does your monogram book teach us how to sew traditional hand embroidered monograms like yours? Is that book still available? Please say YES! Happy, blessed Resurrection!
The monogram magazine is still available on our website. There are no instructions for handwork, just many photos for inspiration.
Back in 1949, I remember my parents, grandparents and I sitting in my dad’s car, driving to visit my grandmother’s sister, my Great Aunt Pearl. I had on a gorgeous blue and white dress with matching coat that my godfather bought me for Easter. My mother curled my hair with that awful curling iron for every special occasion! I HATED trying to sit still while she heated the curling iron on the kitchen stove, and then curled each lock of hair, holding it until you smelled the faint whisp of burning hair! Often I wound up having little burn marks along my neck or ears from that painful thing, or worse yet, a patch of missing hair because she held it too long or the iron got too hot and my hair fried! Anyway, on this special day, we drove to visit my aunt, an hour away. She lived on a farm in Lorain, Ohio, and as soon as we got there, we were told that the rest of the family was about the farm, here and there. We walked into the barn, and my cousin was there, milking Bessie. She turned just as she squeezed Bessie’s udder and I was covered with cows milk! My mother was furious…all over my brand new coat! But all in all, it was a lovely Easter and for many years afterwards, Easter was always spent on the farm…minus the milky greeting!
The curling iron story is great. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful memories.
I am with you on those girl perms. It was either a Toni or a Prom perm. We had 5 girls in our family so we were all permed. I continued having them done in my adult life and when I started getting grey and needed color I decided one chemical on my hair is enough. So no more perm. Lo and behold I had waves and curls naturally.
That’s so great.
How great!
This takes me back to our Easter traditions… perms and all! My two sisters and I got brand new dresses, ruffled socks, new shoes, bonnets, and gloves. The Saturday before Easter, we were taken to the beauty shop to get our stinky perms! My father bought us beautiful carnation flowers corsages to pin on our dresses, so I had a mixture of smells competing for my nose — a stinky perm and lovely, spicy carnations. Needless to say, I would stick my nose in my corsage! I also loved the Easter candies in the 50’s, especially the chocolate-covered cream crosses with piped flowers at the crux. I miss the beautiful sugary decorated pastel eggs that had pictures in them. And the bonbons!
Those eggs were fabulous weren’t they?
I too remember our Easter traditions from my childhood. We would shop for our Easter outfits, always including a new hat, shoes and purse. I had to laugh in complete agreement with your description of hair permanents. My first perm was given to me on the day before my Holy Communion. My naturally wavy hair exploded into a head of curls that looked like I had put my finger in a light socket! I wish you and your beautiful family the joy of this Easter season. Thank you for sharing them with us.
Chuckling at your thoughts.
That’s an expert answer to an ineintsterg question
Abby Johnson stresses the need for greater unity in the pro-life movement, contrasting it to the unity she felt among supporters of abortion when she worked for Planned Parenthood.
Yours can be a prime example of informative writing. I think my students could learn a good deal from your writing style and your content. I could share this post with them.
That’s an expert answer to an interesting question
Tb. me apaixonei por ele e estive mesmo tentada, mas já me aconteceu demasiadas vezes não gostar assim tanto quando os vejo ao vivo, decidi esperar até ir lá ver pessoalmente! 🙂
pergh, halaman rumah bro ke tu? memang cantik la, sebijik macam ayah saya suka halaman bersih macam2 pokok dia kaut letak depan rumah..hehe
Hello, you used to write wonderful, but the last several posts have been kinda boring… I miss your great writings. Past few posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!
How sweet of Koby to bring some goodies home to you. And how awesome of Lynn to offer such nice support for the Loom Knitting for Little People book. Fabulous
Waking for the sunrise service. Coming home to my mother’s garden in full flower. Finding room after the Easter ham for pineapple upside down cake. Looking for the missing Easter egg – how did they ever get lost? Some didn’t show again until autumn- when they were heavy as a geode.
Great memories.
Love reading your journal, Happy Easter.
Loved reading about you Easter traditions. They sound a lot like mine in the mid-West. The picture above is adorable. I noticed the little white patton leather shoes and ankle socks. I bought my Grand-daughter little white MaryJane leather shoes and white this socks for this Easter. They were shipped from SC up to NC with a white floppy eared bunny and Kraft marshmellow eggs. The perm you mention brought back memories of me not wanting one, running to the sink and letting water pour over the curlers. Since the perm was a must with my Mom also, it ended up being left on twice as long so it would be sure and take. Oh goodness. It was awful! lol The white gloves we also wore were definite signs of the times back then. In a 9th grade group graduation picture, all the girls wore white gloves. Another picture I still have is being the only one in a church-group picture with the gloves on. I think that may have been the last that I wore them. Happy Easter to you!
Thank you for sharing!!!
Even with hair so curly a brush would hardly go through it, I cried for a Tonette like everyone else had–I was sure I was missing something special!! I, too, had beautiful dresses lovingly created by my Mother. For many years the dresses were completely handmade because she didn’t have a sewing machine. I still have many of the dresses she made for me and all of the dresses she made for my girls. They are carefully stored in anticipation of a granddaughter!!!
Thank you my sweet friend. Love you and your mom.
Oh,I can so connect to the annual perm with Grandmother’s beauty shop lady doing the cooking. Your story reminded me of the smell and, the way it smelled forever; loved the dresses though. Happy Easter!
Some thing’s we will never forget!
Never would have thunk I would find this so inedipsnsable.
I’m not worthy to be in the same forum. ROTFL
I think I always had a Toni perm which, if memory serves, came with paper dolls. Maybe it was the bribe to get me to sit still while that nasty solution trickled down my back. Our Easter tradition was to have a family picnic and Easter egg hunt at the base of Myrtle Hill cemetery in Rome, Ga. I know it sounds strange, but the cemetery is literally on a hill and is the final resting place of President Woodrow Wilson’s first wife. At the base was a sweet park with the old concrete picnic tables, a few swings and lots of tall grass and bushes just right for hiding eggs!
Great memories.
Beautiful grandchild, loved your post, brought back lots of memories!
Thank you Charlotte.
How well I remember those “Tonette” perms. I can still smell them. Also remember the old curling iron my grandmother had. Not the electric ones we have today. The best Easter memory is the Easter my sister and I decided to cut each others hair. Needless to say, the outcome was a bit choppy.
What a beautiful child. That dress is perfect for her. It must give you great joy to sew for her. What a priceless tradition. I love your Easter reflections – I can identify!
Great memories! My sister and I were more fortunate. My mother’s way of curling our hair was with “rag curlers,” tying up each full strand with small pieces of cloth or flannel. I don’t remember exactly how it worked but it was a painless way of having curls the next morning. And oh, the Easter dresses and hats…
Toni Permanents…I do remember those too!! And my mother was also a gifted seamstress so we had beautiful new dresses and new shoes!! That was a treat back in the 60s!! Of course, I remember going to church and singing UP FROM THE GRAVE HE AROSE!! After church, family dinner and egg hunt!!
My sister and I always got our home permanents at Christmas break. In the summer we got ‘pixie’ haircuts. I remember our Easter dresses being scratchy tulle but we always got lacy gloves and socks. One year I got a little pink umbrella purse. It is funny the things we remember.
I, too, remember Easters so well. I am the youngest of 9, and my mother would dress all of us to the nines – dresses, hats, shoes & purses for the girls (suits or blazers with ties, plus bucks for my brothers), and we’d all be surprised with tailor-made Easter baskets, hidden in the house. A huge meal would be set after we all attended mass. It was truly a storybook childhood, and my mother (and father) were the authors.
I’m happy to be following your blog. I love your publications, have subscriptions to a couple, and pick up others at the grocery. I love your right-brain/left-brain balance you seemed to have struck in your life – something I have aspired to as well. Best wishes for continued success in all your life ventures, and Happy Easter.
Rita C at Panoply
Happy Easter to you !
My mother once gave me the “Shirley Temple” perm. I cried and cried and tried to wash it out. The smell was awful.
Yes!! Washing made it worse!
What a great tradition! Oh the smell of perm solution… That is one smell you can never forget! My father was a Scout leader. Easter morning he would leave real early to pick up the Easter flowers to be delivered after church. I loved waking up Easter morning to find the dining room filled with potted spring flowers! I can still smell the fragrant flowers that filled the house 🙂
I always looked forward to having a new Easter dress, shoes, little girly socks, and an Easter hat. Mom always made the dress–she was an amazing seamstress. But sadly living in Chicago, the weather was never very springlike, and I didn’t like having to wear my winter coat over my pretty new clothes.