Do I need my vision checked? Am I seeing double? Wait a minute, I think I’m seeing quintuple! Oh, the days of look-alike dresses. I have sweet memories of my mother and sisters wearing our look-alike dresses in 1965. I felt special, like we were walking the red carpet in Hollywood for an awards ceremony for celebrities. I can remember all of us going someplace, usually church, in our matching dresses and people smiling at us. Naturally, my mother had the biggest smile of all! When I would go off by myself, such as to my Sunday School class at church, I couldn’t wait to join up with my orange dress group again. (Yours truly is second from left, age 12.)
Maybe it was the attention or the smiling stares? I’m not sure. I just remember feeling complete, proud, and special when I stayed with my mother and sisters when we wore these look-alike dresses in public outings.
Fast forward twenty years to the 1980’s. In my family circle, no one was surprised when my sewing machine whirred late at night after cutting out patterns for look-alike dresses for my own daughters.
In the beginning, I sewed a matching skirt and sundress for my first daughter, Amanda, when she was one-year-old. Later, when our second daughter, Hannah, joined our family, not only did I sew matching outfits for both girls, their Cabbage Patch dolls donned matching dresses as well. Little did I know that our family would expand to four daughters when Liz and Tavia came on the scene. How could I ever keep up with the sewing for all of us to sport matching outfits?
What joy I anticipated when my creations were complete and my daughters and I could parade around in matching dresses in public places, almost like our own style show. Ahh, the smiling stares and compliments brought back a sweet family history from 1965.
I don’t see mother-daughter matching outfits much anymore. But I suspect there are still a few mothers out there that make this happen today with sewing machines or purchases. Readers, I’d love to hear if any of you have stories of matching outfits within your families, current or from the past. Let me know! Open in your browser, scroll all the way to the bottom, past the related posts and blog archives, and you’ll see the comment box. I reply to all responses!
1985
I remember matching outfits! And yours are adorable. I didn’t have sisters, so I didn’t match with anyone, but I bought a few when some granddaughters were young!
Kathy, I bet your granddaughters looked adorable with those matching outfits. They’re not totally gone these days!
Love this, Becky.
You’re right. We don’t see this much anymore, and yet – people have matching outfits with their family pets! My – how times have changed.
Thanks for sharing your fond family memories. They’re heartwarming.
Thank you, Jean. I love the matching outfits with pets too–so fun to watch!