December 1991: The VERY stylish Rachael, Mom, and Heather
I also like to think of this photo as, "Proof that I really was skinny once upon a time!"
I also like to think of this photo as, "Proof that I really was skinny once upon a time!"
We actually got lots of compliments regarding our hair back then!
I'm not sure how it started, but sometime during my teenage years, my sister Heather and I began jokingly calling ourselves, "TRENDSETTERS." I guess we must have seen someone doing something we'd done years before and pretended they got the idea from us. Occasionally the joke still comes up, but I'd mostly forgotten about it until recently.
I'm sure everyone in the USA has seen ample footage of the removal of hundreds of FLDS children from their compound out in Texas. And, no doubt, you've seen several pictures depicting the interesting style their mommies/ladies are sporting. When I saw them, I have to admit that I thought of these 1991 photos of Heather and me almost immediately-- although our abundance of patterns seemed more like a Hutterite "trend." But I just assumed these FLDS ladies had been dressing and grooming themselves this way for oh, a century or so. Not exactly, according to a Salt Lake Tribune Article I stumbled upon online. In a 30 June 2008 article by Brooke Adams, I read the following:
Often described as a "prairie-style" way of dressing in the media, the uniform FLDS fashion has been targeted by critics and cult experts who considered it an example of brainwashing within the sect.So perhaps Heather and I really are trendsetters, since we were rocking their style way back in 1991. But how they found out about our awesome looks all the way out west, I'll never know!!!
The style became widely followed under current prophet Warren S. Jeffs. But sect members defend it as an outward reflection of their values that actually began roughly a decade ago.
The transition was gradual, Jessop said.
Women wore out dresses that featured floral and gingham prints, flounces and frills, and replaced them with the plain, simple styles seen today.
Jessop said the clothing preference is based on... scriptural references and a desire to apply those dictates more deeply to their lives.
"I really like wearing plain clothes," she said, because it is part of being able to "focus on doing things for others rather than on seeing how darling I can look."
P.S. I hope this doesn't offend anyone. It's just my weird sense of humor manifesting itself once again! Man, I love that scanner!
2 comments:
RE: your & Heather's hairstyle -- you look much more attractive with that style than some other family photos I can think of. Of course, you and your sisters believe that your worst hairstyles were inflicted on you by your Mother, but at least I never made you sleep on pincurls or walk around in public with corkscrew curls and Mamie Eisenhower bangs. Count your blessings. (P.S., I think it would be interesting to hear from your friends about whether their Moms ever gave them hairstyles they hated. Or, maybe not.)
Oh, how I love this post. I am so glad you have been able to scan so much too!! I am loving all of these posts. The pictures are great! I love your hair too and can relate to your head to toe style:) Isn't style interesting?! It's constant evolution is crazy and looking back always seems to be entertaining!
Post a Comment