RUNNEMEDE REMEMBERED

Growing up in a small town in Southern New Jersey


Saturday, April 12, 2008

It's prom season




Yes, it is. I was not permitted to dance when I was growing up. Dancing was a sin. Getting that close to someone who was not of the same sex as you were was a sin. So dancing was out. Skating was in, though, so I went skating with boys, instead of dancing. Never got it in my head why one was okay and the other was not.




I know some of the older (older than I) folks thought that dances like The Twist or The Watusi were obscene -- all that gyrating. So, I never went to either the Junior Prom or the Senior Prom. Back then there were two to choose from. Of course, the Senior Prom was the highlight. For me, however, if I had been able to attend a prom, it would have been the Junior Prom because that was the year my dear husband and I were "dating" (while he was in the states). He was not permitted to attend dances either, so going to the Prom with him was not an option. Another thing that made it impossible for me to attend a prom was the cost of a gown.
In the late 50s and early 60s girls wore ball gowns to the Prom. They were long, flowing, some had trains, most had lots and lots of tulle. See the pictures above? The one I coveted, and tried to win by selling magazines (it was a prize) was the pink one in the "Nadine" picture -- the one with all the ruffles on it. At the time I thought that was the most gorgeous dress I had ever seen.
I walked past the case in which it was displayed every day and prayed, yes I actually prayed, that I would sell enough magazines to win that dress (earn that dress). I didn't do it. I was bested by another girl, who probably prayed just as much as I did that she would win that dress. If I were picking a dress now from those at the top of this BLOG, I would pick the pink one on the left. The strapless one.
Back at the time I was looking at dresses to wear to the dances I wasn't going to be able to attend, I would NEVER have looked for a strapless gown. I mean, I had absolutely NOTHING to hold it up with. I didn't even have much of a waist. I was straight, up and down, with a little bump where my derriere is located.
So, that's the story on the Prom for me and mine.

1 comment:

Judi Hahn said...

My dauther Becky wrote: I like the pink strapless the best also. J That other pink one was too poofy. She's correct, but back then "poofy" was "in".