Revisiting the ’70’s – Flowers in My Hair

Today I am taking you along to rural Ohio, for a trip down memory lane….and specifically I will be attempting to transport us all to circa 1974!!! Here we go….

I think Bohemian works well for me! Should I try for a vow renewal with hubby in this dress
(PS–Don’t worry about what looks like the sad bride who just hung herself in the tree behind me. She’s actually just fine)

See that pink price tag. 
$200.00 and you could own this lovely dress in 1974!

Here’s what your whole bridal party could look like if you owned the wedding gown I tried on above. Here’s the model wearing the very same one–very chic!
(Not to be snarky or anything–but I wore it better!)

It seems as though if you were a beautiful blushing bride in the ’70s, you had either a choice of being a hippy, flower child, bohemian bride or else you could choose to have a bit of the prudish Little House on the Prairie, Holly Hobbie, Annie Hall character going on….

Here’s the everyday version of those prudish wedding dresses…who had one of these blouses??? I did–I did–I think I had a few!!

And just look at all the rainbow of colors available in headpieces for brides and bridesmaids of the era!! Oh my goodness–it’s like rosettes and cotton candy exploded everywhere!!

Back to the 21st century and the real story-

And now let’s return to 2014. This was a last minute “rescue” photo shoot session. My parents were going to drop these lovely ’70s treasures off at goodwill on their way to pick me up at the Detroit airport when my Dad had a brainstorm of a great idea that we should hang on to them for one more weekend while I was visiting so that I could share this story with you.

The reason I really wanted to show you all these photos is because this is where it all started. This is probably THE reason I do what I do today. I started in 1992 as an Assistant Designer in NY and today am the Design Director for my company. I still love everything about fashion and I know that my mom is a major influence of how and why this came to be. Around 1971 when I was about 1 year old, my mom started a bridal shop in Defiance, Ohio and ran it until around 1977. These dresses and accessories are some of the last remnants that came down from my parent’s attic and represent what is left from that era. I loved growing up in this environment of beautiful dresses and seeing my mom transform young ladies into confident beautiful brides. I fell in love with fashion. My mom did all of the alterations at the store which meant that I was the lucky recipient of the most amazing scraps of fabric that with my mom’s help turned into gorgeous creations for my Barbie collection. She taught me how to sew–first by just hand cranking the sewing machine and then as I got better–I got to lay on the gas pedal and turn a stitch!! No one dressed better than my Barbies (except me and mom because she made all of our awesome fashionable clothes too!!).

Mom is so chic in her top knot bun and rockin’ that mini dress–extra points for the sassy collar and tie!!

 

Assisting mom’s customers at the dressing rooms during holiday time

 

Yours truly modeling a circa ’70’s flower girl party puff of a dress in front of Mom’s “Bridal Shoppe” It is a similar version to the one in the advertisement earlier in this blog–tiers and tiers of ruffles.

Mom and I were so well coordinated….and then this little squirt came along to ruin it all:-) He can’t even stand up on his own–what a little pain.

Eventually I was a busy young designer making funky outfits during my teenage years and throughout college. I loved being able to think about what I might want to wear one day and the next being able to actually wear it because I could make it–not shop for it or pay a hefty price for it. It was immediate gratification in terms of fashion. You have to remember the era too. There was no internet shopping so even if you saw something super fashionable on TV or a magazine, it was most certainly never arriving at any store near me for years–I wanted it now!!!

Rolling the Credits—

So thank you to my newly minted editor in chief and photographer for the Chronicles of Tina blog, who seem to be taking a very active interest in producing future blogs. They inspired and helped me create all of the content for this reminiscent look at our family’s past.

Great job on this article–Go team!
They’re already bugging me for more blog content–can you believe how pushy editors can be?

It has already been a wonderful day with Mom and Dad–I mean my professional blog team– and I plan to capture some more great stories to share with you all while here in the bustling metropolis of Defiance!

If anyone wants to lay claim to any of these dresses/accessories from the ’70’s let my mom know before they end up going to charity….but I think I’m taking the hippy dippy dress home with me.

Will you marry me again Dave???