New Easter Clothes

Whatever happened to new Easter clothes? I remember when I was little, we went shopping for new Easter clothes. I was thinking about that. We got a new dress at Christmas and then again at Easter. At Easter, you also got new white shoes and a hat---we had to wear hats for Church---and dresses. Plus, growing up in St. Louis, it was usually chilly at Easter, so I would get a new spring coat too.

I figured out why that happened---the new dresses---twice a year. With the change of the season, you needed something else. What fit you the year before no longer did. That was it. You got a new dress and that was your Sunday dress all summer. Growing up in a large family, you only got one. You had a good pair of shoes and a pair of play shoes. That was it.

Now-a-days, everyone has multiples of clothes and many pairs of shoes. Kids get new things all the time. You shop for the season. You have many choices. And you can wear pants to Church---eliminating the need for dresses.

Still, I miss that excitement of finding that special pastel colored dress with matching hat---maybe gloves, purse and shiny new shoes. I guess there's nothing keeping me from buying myself something new. Except, I don't need anything new.

This is just a little reminder of what used to be---circa 1954:

My little brother, Ronnie and I with my Easter bonnet and new purse.

And this one with the whole family---circa 1965:

I should have posted this on "Throwback Thursday" but I didn't think about it until now. All of us in our Easter finest. That's me in the sailor dress. I still remember it. I loved that dress. My grandparents in the background. They always looked so old---yet my grandmother was about 51 in this picture. My grandfather was in his 60's. Grandparents just looked older back in the day.

Here we are today, Easter Sunday, 2014. We're in our 60's.

On second thought, maybe we look it after all!