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Aunt Norie’s Sewing Room

By Eleanor Mckee - | Jan 3, 2007

Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Oh, how well I remember the first full-length mirror we ever had. It was on a door in the hallway, so we could take a quick look before we left the house.

One morning, I remember as the kids were rushing off to school we heard “Oh no! Wait for me. I can’t go looking like this.” Then some one sang out “Oh mirror, mirror, on the wall, you really do tell all, don’t you?” Seriously, if you don’t have a full-length mirror, treat yourself and your family to one.

Can you see the total finished product, when you get everything on, ready to head out the door to that important meeting, to work, to school. Not just a peek at the hem, now tilt the mirror to get a look at the top half, or vice versa, I think this is very important to see the overall picture. Does the blouse or jacket come down far enough over the slacks? It may feel like it does, but what does it look like? Does the hem hang longer in the front or maybe in the back?

I remember so well growing up out on the prairie. Mom’s dresser had a mirror that tilted but you couldn’t get far enough back to see the hemline. All of the girls wore dresses to school, and you didn’t dare go into that little one-room schoolhouse with your slip showing or some boy would sing out for all to hear “that so and so is slipping today.”

We rode ponies to school, and girls usually did wear overalls over their dresses but once you reached the schoolhouse, you hung them up with your jackets or coats.

That old saying comes to mind here: “So soon old and yet so late smart.”

Women wore those long dresses even on the wagon trains, and we girls had to wear dresses. Now it seems anything goes (almost). At least people are certainly more practical.

Have a wonderful and blessed new year.

— Aunt Norie, P.O. Box 265, Tonganoxie 66086; auntnorie@bdc.net.