Skirt week - Mum-made non-skirts of 1986

Cam over at Curlypops has instigated "Flashback Friday Fashion Fail - The Debutante Edition" . I have to say that I fail at the Flashback Friday Fashion Fail, firstly because I didn't have a deb, and secondly because I don't think I had any fashion failures. I love (and still love!) everything I wore and my mum made it all.

Here's a shining example - my senior formal in 1986.



I really, really wanted to wear a red dress, but I remember having to ask permission of the Senior Mistress at school. I don't know why - something about the year being 1986 and what was considered "decent" for 16 year olds. While some of the girls at school were flying to Brisbane to sort out their formal dresses (I know - really), Mum and I were at Gardams (when Townsville had a Gardams) and Carrols on Saturday mornings picking out the perfect shade of red in waterwave taffeta. I loved this dress - from the semi-puff sleeves to the crossover lower back, from the boatneck to the V in the bodice. Not such a fan of the white court shoe though. The bloke was kind of cute I suppose.



A month or so later I had my speech night. I think Flo Bjelke-Petersen was the guest speaker that night and all the mums brought  a plate of pumpkin scones to share for supper after. Gosh - we knew how to draw a guest speaker at Pimlico High, we did. My Oma was there that night, I remember, and I wore another mum-made dress. Another hit - red and white striped, drop waist, square neck, multi-directional. It broke all the rules for horizontal stripes.Very fashion-forward for 1986.

And now back to July 1986 for the Townsville Show, which I went to with my friend Suzanne every year. By 1986 Suzanne had left school and was an apprentice hairdresser. She was much more a woman of the world than I was (even though we were both 16).



Yet again, I'm wearing mum-made by way of the shirt. I think it was a flannel with a thin black stripe. I remember feeling pretty smashing in it, and then I asked mum to make my a black tie and she obliged. Obviously Suzanne and I coordinated what were were going to wear that night - it was the biggest social event of the year in Townsville, after all. Those jeans are kind of strange though. Ugh.

Cam has a linky thing at the bottom of her post, and you can see some truly excellent examples of fashion fails when it comes to formal wear. Go and check it out!