Summer Sundress: Then & Now
It’s time for another Fab Collab! Sherry from Petite Over 40 is back and this time we’re featuring that favorite summer staple, the sundress. If you joined our first Fab Collab where we shared styles and stories behind our pearls, you know that each of us represent a different decade in life. Sherry is in her 40s, I’m in my 50s, Nancy is in her 60s, and Mom is in her 70s.All this week you’ll see how we’re styling sundresses these days and read our own personal connections to a particular dress from our pasts. Sherry got the week started styling a Lilly Pulitzer sundress and sharing a story about dress that made her feel as elegant as Meryl Streep in the movie Out of Africa. Read her story here.I styled my modern day sundress with a neck scarf & accessories–yellow, of course!! You can read about my handmade floral sundress that reminds me of dental school here.Then Nancy took her floral sundress to stand with the flowers at the Botanic Gardens and gave us a story about her youth here.
Sundress Then:
In Charlotte’s words: To me a sundress is a washable comfortable dress to be worn in the heat of summer. It was usually worn for vacation travel. The one in the picture below was yellow gingham, loose fitting with a tie belt and about knee length.
After making my dress I had enough fabric left to make one for Jodie (about 10 years old). We wore these matching dresses on one of our summer trips to Washington D.C.(the picture of Charlotte was at Mount Vernon). It’s funny because I remember overhearing a lady wondering if I had made or purchased the dresses. But since she was a stranger, I didn’t respond. Nowadays it seems like dresses are the last thing worn for travel.
This trip to Washington DC had many memorable moments. Since we took our car, I was the driver while Jodie navigated. Needless to say the driving in DC was tremendously difficult even then and there were many times we got lost. One time was right before our tour was scheduled at the White House. Luckily when we pulled up to the area, we found a parking spot very close to the front. When we came out of our tour however, we had a ticket since it was a non-parking zone. However the ticket was only $5, so it was well worth it.
Jodie & I had taken a trip to Eastern Europe the year before this. After seeing all of the castles in Czechoslovakia where the walls were lined with gold, she wasn’t quite as impressed with the White House. I had to explain that the U.S. was only about 300 years old and Eastern Europe was more like 3,000 years old.
This was not the only time we had mother/daughter matching dresses. Since I could sew my own clothes, it was easy and fun to make us outfits that were coordinated. Of course by the time Jodie got to be older than elementary school, this was plain embarrassing to her (this is Jodie—can we talk about what an awkward stage this picture is from? I wasn’t going to include it but since you couldn’t see the front of mom’s dress, I did—no laughing!)
If you missed it earlier in the week, don’t forget to check out Sherry’s (the 40’s model) sundress and the story behind it on her blog: Petite Over 40! You can link to Jodie’s sundress (50’s) post here and Nancy’s sundress (60’s) here.
Sundress Now:
Charlotte’s (70’s) Outfit: Mom doesn’t have an abundance of what I’d consider sundresses in her closet. But I thought since maxi dresses are so popular right now, this dress would serve the purpose marvelously!
The red shoes (and accessories) are definitely my addition to try to make the outfit more fun & modern. Of course black sandals would have been the easiest, but we just threw that pair out!
Dress: Jessica Howard (similar here)~~Shoes: Innoncence (similar here)~~Necklace: (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)~~Bracelet: (similar here)
Thanks for reading—Don’t forget to share your sundress story in the comments—it’s just as fun to learn about you!!
And last but definitely not least, here are some maxis as sundresses (the Old Navy one is a great deal and even comes in Tall versions)
