Every Sunday
Every Sunday, my 92 year old Father, my 83 year old Mother, my husband and I dress up and have Sunday Dinner together.
As I sit here writing this I am wearing a good dress....what some would call a party dress, the good jewelry.....by that I mean not the silver jewelry I buy at TJ Max and wear most other days. I have on my going to a party makeup, eye makeup and bright lipstick and not the every day Bobby Brown lipstick.
Every other Sunday my parents entertain and the other Sunday Ken and I entertain. There are times we go to a restaurant, where the only dressed up women are teenage girls, 20 somethings and my Mother and I. Why is that? You may wonder. I have mulled this over myself and here is the theory I have come up with.
My Mother is European and at her age, dressing up, is natural to her. She works in the house or in her garden in the earlier part of the day and then has a bath and dresses up for the evening.
My Father grew up in an age when men were expected to wear a collar and a tie everyday and at every event. He still wears a white shirt and a tie every day. He has felt uncomfortable the few times he has tried to dress with the times.
I am their Daughter and I grew up being expected to be dressed for Dinner and every Sunday.
Ken dresses up because he has become used to my family after 35 years of marriage. He did not grow up this way, he grew up the way most Americans I know do, wearing casual clothes on the weekend except if and when they go to Church.
I have often been in a Mall and wondered to myself “Where do people wear these lovely clothes that they are buying?” I know that many people wear them at their jobs. Where else do they wear them, besides the occasional wedding or a girls night out?
Teenage girls and 20 somethings tend to follow the current versrion of the runway and movie star fashion.
It may have come to your attention that I am, the new 43 :) I grew up in the 50's and 60's when everyone found a time to dress up and were expected to be dressed up for certain activities. I grew up when wearing gloves and a hat when going to the City and to Church was expected. When, if you did not follow that rule you were looked at as someone who did not know what was the right thing to do. Sometimes in some places with some people, I feel like a relic of the past and I think to myself “Why did I bother?” Then I think “I like to dress up and feel very much the girly girl when I do.”
As I sit here writing this I am wearing a good dress....what some would call a party dress, the good jewelry.....by that I mean not the silver jewelry I buy at TJ Max and wear most other days. I have on my going to a party makeup, eye makeup and bright lipstick and not the every day Bobby Brown lipstick.
Every other Sunday my parents entertain and the other Sunday Ken and I entertain. There are times we go to a restaurant, where the only dressed up women are teenage girls, 20 somethings and my Mother and I. Why is that? You may wonder. I have mulled this over myself and here is the theory I have come up with.
My Mother is European and at her age, dressing up, is natural to her. She works in the house or in her garden in the earlier part of the day and then has a bath and dresses up for the evening.
My Father grew up in an age when men were expected to wear a collar and a tie everyday and at every event. He still wears a white shirt and a tie every day. He has felt uncomfortable the few times he has tried to dress with the times.
I am their Daughter and I grew up being expected to be dressed for Dinner and every Sunday.
Ken dresses up because he has become used to my family after 35 years of marriage. He did not grow up this way, he grew up the way most Americans I know do, wearing casual clothes on the weekend except if and when they go to Church.
I have often been in a Mall and wondered to myself “Where do people wear these lovely clothes that they are buying?” I know that many people wear them at their jobs. Where else do they wear them, besides the occasional wedding or a girls night out?
Teenage girls and 20 somethings tend to follow the current versrion of the runway and movie star fashion.
It may have come to your attention that I am, the new 43 :) I grew up in the 50's and 60's when everyone found a time to dress up and were expected to be dressed up for certain activities. I grew up when wearing gloves and a hat when going to the City and to Church was expected. When, if you did not follow that rule you were looked at as someone who did not know what was the right thing to do. Sometimes in some places with some people, I feel like a relic of the past and I think to myself “Why did I bother?” Then I think “I like to dress up and feel very much the girly girl when I do.”
9 Comments:
I think the term "dressing up" has changed with the times. There are moments to do that in a classier way but in my day to day activities I may dress the part of a hippy, or more conservative, a little crazy at times but always with thought and coordination and a consciousness of getting the look that best reflects my mood right... Leaving the house in sweats is something I cannot, CANNOT bring myself to do. Oh no! That would be sinful!
Here's to a beautiful Sunday with your amazing family Mo'a!
MizBohemia: The term dressing up has chnged with the times and fashion. Strangely enough the fashions that are being featured now are like what I wore 30 years ago. I graple with myself as to whether I can wear them now or whether I would look like "Mutton Dressed up as Lamb." I am happiest when I am wearing lots of jewelry, I love bangles. However, I also love to dress in sophisticated fashions in garmets made from good fabrics, and simple cuts with just the right accent jewelry....when less is more. Sweats cannot be found in my closet but I do wear exercise clothes for physical therapy and Pilates.
I am so proud of you that you would not leave the house in sweats...another time when your Icelandic heritage shows up :)
I would NEVER leave teh house in sweats. My hair is always washed, or in a knot-if I have no time- and I try to look my best.
But I do feel most comforatbly in jeans and a nice shirt or something. I ove to dress up on those special occasions, but not every Sunday!
I always feel like teh ugly duckling is emerging into a swan when I dress up. If I´d do it every week, I might lose that feeling...
and auntie, we know that modern day is about auantity, not quality so much:) I have 100 of affordable shirts :) But not one jewellry piece that is worth more than 10 bucks. I am a student and my pay is ridiculous :)
However, I hate it when I go to the theatre and people show up in jeans. That bugs me.
Hmmm, dressing up when visiting... last time we were in Iceland, we also found out the hard way that even casual visits were anything but, involving coats, ties & dresses against our jeans and sweaters, and overloaded buffet tables groaning with every kind of food imaginable. My Bjarni warned me that they do dress for these occasions, but I didn't really think he meant really dress! We ate so much food there! It was all so fabulous. I went into withdrawal from hardfiskar (still in the throes of it today) after we came home. I've since ordered it online, but the expense of it kills me.
Back to dressing up. I don't do it much anymore. I prefer casual, relaxed, jeans and a tee shirt, even barefoot in summer. Never wear make up at all, and only put on "church clothes" for church, or for a rare occasion at the show or a nice restaurant. (I don't own a pair of sweats, and wouldn't be caught dead in them) Of course I have to dress business-like for work, but as soon as I get home, the clothes start peeling off until I can breath again. I suppose these habits were instilled by my Mom, who in her later years also usually dressed up only for church or special affairs. Mom did make us get dressed up to travel though, by plane or train. My grandmother always dressed up, every single day, whether she was going out or not. She wore stylish jewelry of good quality (often art stones) and knew the value of moisturizing cremes at night. It was she that taught me the finer basics of entertaining, setting a proper table, putting out the right linens for guests... etc.
I liked hearing this interesting trivia about you and your parents :-)
Minka: Jeeans and a nice shirt is to me a perfectly exceptable attire especially for young people. However like you I don't think it is appropriate at the theatre or like events.
Dressing up should be special and for special occasions.....but I fear that in this day and age not many people bother.
I dress up every Sunday to honor my parents. I love the fact that we can have this time together until three years ago I always lived at leat 6 hours by car ....and sometimes a 2 day drive away from them. We moved here so that we could help them when they need it and at their age their need for help is more frequent.
Terry: One of my cousins who lives in Alaska visited Iceland with her Mother who was born in Iceland. She had nothing but jeans and sweat shirts with her......she spent a whole day shopping for outfits that she felt more comfortable in....yes, Icelanders do dress up more and I think better than we generaly do here.
I also have cravings for Hardfish...when I travel in Iceland with family and friends and we stop for a snack they buy candy and I buy hardfisk...Mmmmm!!!
Terry: My family also always dresses up for travel and have many times been upgraded to business class LOL shows you that you are judged by the way you dress.
HI, just dropping in my Minka's place :-)
I used to have to dress up on Sundays too. A hat and everything!
I do love to dress up but there is very little call for it my life these days.
kyahgirl: Nice to see you here...just read your blog and your Perfumista blog at Doug's...I liked it a lot, it brought back many memories. I worked for Coty, Helena Reubenstein and Lancome, years back, training the sales people. With Coty I talked a lot about perfume, the meaning of the word, what a Nose does etc. I loved that job and became quite a nose myself....that's lover case nose....I could tell what perfume a person was wearing as they passed me by. OK more than you wanted to know.
I dear say, I would not have many occasions to dress up if it were not for Sundays and Holidays with my family and my trips to Iceland, Denmark and other parts of Europe.
Hope to see you here again.
"Dressing up" reminds me of the time I was 16 and went to (was send to) a boarding school. The only thing I got on my way was the advise from my father that I should always dress up for dinner. Luckily I never did, as hippy time was on it's way and I would have been killed. But still I behaved wrong in every other possible way, knowing nothing about anything.
Most of my youth I hid in baggy trousers and huge pullovers and with my slimness and short hair I got the name "Hugo" and was called that for many years (and forgot about it until I read later an old letter from a friend, starting with "dear Hugo". Sometimes I wonder what else I did forget?).
Quite newly after I lost weight, in the lekkere age of 58, I start having fun dressing up and dressing tight, and never have I had as many smart shoes and boots as now!
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