Old School: Gone but Not Forgotten

By Carol McEwen,

As prices continue to soar, it’s little wonder that an Easter custom from the ‘40’s and ‘50’s is long gone. What custom? Parents buying their little girls new outfits for Easter Sunday. “Outfit” included the whole shebang: a dress, shoes, purse, hat, gloves and probably socks, too. Those mothers were out there shopping as if their daughters were competing for that year’s Miss Easter. I enjoyed this common practice during my childhood, along with my mother and the retailer, but not my poor dad, the bill-payer.    

Our first purchase had to be a dress, since the other items needed to coordinate with it. Preferably in a pastel color, it required lace, ruffles and/or decorative buttons. Extra points for puffy sleeves, filmy fabric or a bow in the back.    

Next we bought shoes, white with a little strap across the instep — what we call Mary Jane’s today. I remember particular favorites, with flower cut-outs on the top, so my color-coordinated socks showed through. Another year, the pair had small bows on top — the epitome of elegance. Speaking of socks, aka anklets, we chose either white or color-coded to match the dress. A pale blue dress could be paired with pale blue anklets, but conservative girls like me usually opted for white ones, preferably with lace trim on the cuffs. You can’t go wrong with white, after all.  

With shoes and socks figured out, a purse purchase came next. Luckily it only needed to be big enough for the dainty hanky my mom loaned me and a quarter for the Sunday School collection plate. Added flowers were a plus, but not required.  

Now the most difficult purchase: a matching hat. It was always a challenge to find one that didn’t make me look like Carmen Miranda or Madame Zelda, the fortune teller. After trying on multiple choices and tangling my hair in countless sprigs of Blue Forget-Me Nots or Forsythia, we’d surrender and buy one, just to get it over. Growing weary, we made our easiest and last stop at the glove counter for a pair in white, youth size.   

Mission accomplished, we’d stagger home, secure in the knowledge that we had invigorated the American economy, Old School style, and put together another Easter fashion triumph.  

Carol McEwen is a writer for Stroll By The Bay, Mirimar Beach, Florida, and authored the weekly Old School column for the Arlington Sun Gazette/Gazette Leader. She may be reached at: carolwrites4fun@gmail.com.