Sunday Dress

At the beginning of quarantine my Grandi sent this dress to me and requested that I do a photoshoot with Salem wearing it. It was her dress when she was seven years old. It's funny to me that Salem fits into it perfectly before she's even five (Salem is a big kid though.)

This was the perfect little pandemic project for me to do since I haven't been able to take on any clients, and everything is of course closed. We went to the woods right behind my house and I decided to capture Salem being herself. We actually frequently walk this path because the kids think it's spooky to listen for bears (which aren't really even out right now, the kids just like to scare themselves). They pick me flowers, and we look for blackberries & mulberries growing along the path. And Salem always insists on eating the pretty (but sour) red ones. Haha, see above photo.

My Grandi was one of six kids- two girls and four boys. They lived on a farm and at times her dad worked three jobs to provide. She always tells me what a hard worker he was and how deeply he loved his family. But even with his hard work and multiple jobs, money was scarce and they rarely had new things. So everyone grew up respecting and caring for the things they did have, especially clothes.

Grandi remembers the "thrill of getting this new dress." She wore it strictly on Sunday or special occasions and remembers having black shoes with laces to go with it. Grandi talks about how special it made her feel to wear this dress. It's funny how some things remain the same through all generations and periods of time, like the way a special outfit makes you feel. Salem has certain dress up clothes or outfits that make her feel very special or grown up. Everyone is the same in those aspects. :) It's so special that I can tangibly see what that was for my grandma.

There's actually a photograph of me as a kid wearing this dress, but I have no idea where it is or who might have it. One of these days it will turn up in an old album or something and I'll include it on this post.

I love this picture because I adore Salem's freckles. I was always so freckly as a kid too.

I hope these photos are what my grandma had in mind. Because my Grandi means the actual world to me. I hope these photos of her great-granddaughter wearing her own childhood dress is what she'd envisioned and is something she can cherish for forever.