Twenty-five or thirty years ago I attended a wedding on a New Jersey farm. The land had been in the bride’s family for generations, complete with corn fields and hay bales. The groom was the brother of a man I hoped anxiously to marry. That man would eventually propose, and I would accept.In the early 80s a 25- or 26-year old unmarried High WASP might worry about what to wear to the wedding of her hoped-for brother-in-law. She might attend the event with an unquiet heart.
Farm Frenzy 3 Crack
And show up noticeably fancier than most of the other guests.I still remember my outfit – a pale pink linen camp shirt, black button-up cotton knit vest cinched with a thin black patent leather belt, mid-length pleated white cotton jacquard skirt, and a white, round-crown, wide-brimmed hat. A lot of fabric, but our motto for the early 80s was. “In Volume We Trust.” Why I forget what shoes I wore I cannot tell you.Recently, got married on her own farm, and asked me if I had any good wardrobe recommendations for her family and guests. High WASP training strengthens sartorial understanding as much as it saps the necessary courage for love.
And yes, perhaps only in this culture are skirt fabric and matters of the heart so closely linked.For the record, I do not suggest belted knit vests. Or the nervous smile that must have accompanied my every move. But cotton jacquard is the right fabric. Polished cotton works too. And longish and fullish is a very good silhouette.What to wear to a wedding on a farm?
A dress or skirt in a non-shiny fabric that won’t snag on hay bale seating, something long and full enough to allow for sitting on the ground if the picnic benches get crowded. Oh, and flats or wedges. No one likes to sink into dirt, no matter how glamorously.The Grande Dame takes cotton jacquard to its most refined extreme. Has the hardest time choosing which of her hats to wear. The Artsy Cousin tries to make her mother happy, decides the universe is giving permission to mix purple stripes with a feather pattern. Just as well. The motorcycle boots might not have thrilled Mom.
The Sturdy Gal is perhaps the happiest of all at a farm, unless she’s wondering why, oh why, everyone else is getting married while she is not. If you can’t wear flowered plimsolls to a farm wedding, when then? Her jeans jacket might raise a few well-plucked eyebrows, but she brings great presents. The best sort of guest, one you can count on to talk to Aunt Priscilla about terriers.
Dear Lisa, Aren’t weddings such happy occasions? Cotton Jacquard is such a great fabric for a summer wedding as it would wear well during the day and not be entirely marred by wrinkles by the time one sat down to dinner. All of your dress choices are lovely. I also love the black wedges – height but comfort.
You made me laugh with your comment “In Volume We Trust” as it was so true. I recall the bridesmaid dress I wore to my sister’s wedding – it was puffy and yet at the time unremarkable. I wonder what photos of us from this era that we shall cringe at when flicking through the photo albums in twenty years time.
Love Lindaxxx. Miss Cavendish – Did the argyles peek out the top? I hope so.Melanie – Ha!
True city girl indeed. The wedding sounds beautiful.Marcela – That’s right! What did she wear? I will have to go look.
Thanks.DocP – Wait. Were you there? Knife pleats. Knife pleats indeed.Amanda – Thank you. Yes, the Artsy Cousin loves 50s dress.
Do you read Fashion for Nerds? Audi posted this week on a vintage 50s dress she wore to a wedding:).Darla – Yes, it’s an Hermes shawl. I liked that grey dress too and was interested to see that Oilily was doing some nice stuff for adults.