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Easter Bonnets and other fashion traditions…

Walt EditEnd of an era…

The other night as we were having dinner and discussing Easter—which was just a few days away—my mother made some quip about the Easter bonnet. From there we got to talking about other fashion trends, such as white gloves, that used to be a must-have in a proper young lady’s wardrobe. It was something we always wore (or carried) to church.

But they just weren’t worn to church, which is illustrated by this photograph taken in 1967. That’s my sister and I with our dad on Father’s Day, and I think we were on the way to brunch, not church. Note both Lynn and I have white gloves in hand.

The necessity of gloves is mentioned in Little Women—which make me feel incredibly old when I realize I share something with the March girls that I don’t share with my daughter.

But it isn’t just gloves that went out of fashion. Go to church these days and female parishioners haven’t just abandoned gloves—they’re often wearing casual slacks—even shorts, instead of dresses.

There was also a time we dressed up when flying. I remember the first time I went to Hawaii, back in 1973, one of the outfits I bought for my trip was for traveling. When I was a girl and my parents took trips to Vegas, they dressed up. That’s just what people did back then.

Today is Easter Sunday. I’m not a church goer—yet my mother-in-law faithfully attends services at her Episcopal Church every Sunday. I will have to ask her when she gets home if the congregation dressed up today. Were there little girls in frilly new dresses and did anyone have on an Easter bonnet?

I just noticed something else about the photograph—Dad was wearing a tie. While men still wear ties, they wear them on far less occasions today.

Wishing you all a happy and blessed Easter—be it casual or formal.