Cross-Generational Shopping -- My Mom Would Have Been Proud

As family folklore tells it, my Mom had only two dresses growing up.  They both got washed on Saturdays which necessitated a time of "standing behind the wood stove" while they dried.  I wish I could ask her to describe everything to me again, but I can't, so we'll just go with that assumption.

Needless to say, when my Mom was older and married to my Dad who made a nice salary and even more when she was also working, my Mom LOVED to shop.  She didn't just walk into a store, pick out the first decent blouse or dress that she saw, pay for it, and go home.  No.  She made shopping into some kind of art form.  No dress in her size was left unviewed or unconsidered.  And, she certainly saw no reason to try only one store when a whole mall was beckoning.  A person (such as her oldest daughter) needed to be properly-nourished and well-hydrated to survive a day-long trek to Montgomery when Mom was on a quest.  We lived in Troy, you understand, but my piano teacher was in Montgomery -- how convenient! -- so we certainly couldn't waste all that gas by not killing several birds with one trip, now could we?

I could manage to stay enthusiastic and engaged for about an hour, then I was prone to becoming somewhat whiny and moody.  (Yep, I was one of THOSE teenagers).  She just endured me and went right on.

Maybe that's the reason I never became a big-time shopper.  Don't get me wrong.  I like spending money on pretty things, but generally I think about it in advance, decide on one or two stores where the item(s) might be, go into those particular stores looking for that particular item, find what I want, decide if I still want it, pay for it, and walk out.  There's very little veering off of the path.  Shopping is something I get in my car to do when it won't really work to just order it on-line using free shipping.  Steve is much, much worse, but that's a story for another day.

When our kids were growing up, I would say that the clothes budget was one of the biggest factors in determining how often we shopped, where we shopped, and how much we bought.  During one period of their lives, Laura and Julie really wanted designer jeans (for Matt it was Air Jordan basketball shoes).  Well, the budget allowed for regular, normal, everyday jeans (or basketball shoes).  We decided to let them earn the money to pay the difference if that label mattered so much to them.  But I'm entering another subject.  Stick to the story, Connie.

I'll let THEM tell you about a particular school-clothes shopping trip we made to Boaz one year.  I'm sure they'd have you cheering for their side.  :)

I do remember some particularly fun trips with the girls when we were shopping for prom dresses and then wedding dresses -- the dream of every mother who has a daughter.  Laura and Julie generally had very different color and style preferences, reflecting their unique personalities, but would you believe they both liked the very same wedding dress?!  Again, I digress.

Last week, oldest granddaughter Allie was in need of a shopping trip.  She is going to be in an Acteens Coronation at Whitesburg Baptist in a few weeks.  Her Mom is 8 1/2 months pregnant and has a pulmonary embolism, so GRANDMOMMA TO THE RESCUE!!  :)  Whitesburg had established some very conservative guidelines, so I figured we'd go in, find THE dress that met all the criteria and be done in just a little while.

Oh no.  My Mom would have been so proud.  Allie took this opportunity to look at every dress in her section of the store, whether it was her size or not.  We tried on several, but I could tell she wasn't finished looking.  We stopped for some Chinese food -- that girl loves honey chicken -- then we walked the entire length of the mall, window shopping, shoe shopping, home decor shopping, you name it.  At the next big department store, Allie once again, looked at every remote dress possibility.  But, wouldn't you know it?  The better choices were at the first place we had looked.  :)  So, back through the mall we went.

Allie thought this blue dress would look graceful and billowy.  It did, but she wasn't bowled over.  She tried to imagine it with her hair pulled up.

The runner-up dress was this pink floral with white, lacy shrug.  It turned out to be too small, and I think she didn't look quite "old enough" in it.  After all, she'd heard that some of the girls come to this coronation looking like they're going to the prom.

Bear in mind that we were sending pictures to her Mom for approval as we went along.
Finally, the winning dress!  I think Allie felt like a princess as soon as she put it on.  You can see her in this picture trying a royal curtsy.  :)

Now, here's where Allie's personality really asserted itself.  She loved the white dress, but she wanted to add a "pop of color."  Thus, the coral shoes.  Definitely HER choice, very Allie-esque.

She's going to look beautiful for her big event, and I'm planning to have a front-row seat to watch it all unfold in person.  We were both completely worn out by the end of our excursion but thoroughly satisfied with the results.  We had Allie's Mom's approval, and I'd like to think my own Mom (Allie's great-grandmother) would have approved, too -- both of the dress and the whole shopping experience.  Now, which granddaughter wants to be next?