Fashion show pictures

Last Saturday's "Down Memory Lane" visuals are here and now you can view a few of my "nostalgic" dresses ...and hear the stories behind the garments ...

The little green item on the left is a 40's crepe dress with a floral mesh motif. I bought it in the early 70's at a second-hand shop in Parliament Street here in Port Elizabeth. It served as a wedding dress on Friday afternoon, February 14, 1978. Yes, I was the bride because the groom wanted a very private church wedding. The next day we had a Victorian garden party with me wearing my ouma Labuscagne's Victorian wedding dress. A beautiful satin and lace two-piece that was lovingly restored by my vriend Bettie Langner, a fashion lecturer at PET at the time.  Getting back to my R5 (!) dress, Minette de Beer is showing it off. (Take note: The dangling fur collar does not belong to the dress!).
    Shanelle Fouche is wearing the dress my late mother, Gerty Thompson, had on for my church wedding. She also wore it in 1963 - in Middelburg - to my matric farewell in the town hall. (parents accompanied their children to a farewell dinner in those days).
    I treasure these two garments ...  (the cocktail hat was a last moment addition to Shanelle's outfit in the dressing room!)

 

These two green dresses, modelled by Michele and Reinette Labuschagne, belonged to my aunt Jo (Johanna) van der Walt (nee Labuscagne - no "h" in my maiden name) in the 50's. Her husband Louis was a sheep farmer and mayor of Steynsburg in the Karoo... They attended many cocktail parties, "boeredae" and "sakekamer" dinners in the 50's and 60's. So she had a well-stocked wardrobe which her youngest sister, my aunt Hetta, passed on to me after Johanna's death in 1977.
   The velvet dress on the left was made by a seamstress in Bloemfontein and Michelle has modernised it with the addition of a  belt and boots. The "moroccaine" satin dress (right) with wide rouged collar and cuffs is a very special memory piece. I had it on when my daughter Kia was christened 26 years ago. It has a permanent place in my passage. I love to look at it on a daily basis!

 
This lovely black and white chiffon evening dress is a Jane Paris - the label Wolpe Fashion Holdings of Cape Town used for their sophisticated evening wear from 1966 to somewhere in the 80's. I was their factory model and fashion co-ordinator from 1967 - 1969 and wore this dress 44 years ago at my "passing out parade" after completing a course at the Petrusa Roodt Fashion Academy in Adderley Street, CT.
     Shane Roberts was willing to model this very special garment while I could travel back in time (what happened to my size 36?)

 
These two pics are to illustrate the age difference of the Down Memory Lane models. Cecile Laubser is 70 years older than Shane Roberts' eldest daughter ...  Cecile's dress is a dove grey crepe with floral chiffon sleeves (70/80's) and the confetti girl's dress is just a fun acquisition that I will donate to a little girl's dress-up box when I scale down one day.
     
                                                   My young friend Hein Cilliers captured all the images.