Boomer Christmas Memories 2014

Well, here we are, nearly at the end of 2014. Had a big milestone birthday this year! It has been several years since I have had a “family” Christmas. Still, I can’t help reflect upon the hundreds of  memories from long ago.  

 My mother usually hosted the family gatherings as she was beyond doubt the best cook. Example: One of my dear aunts neglected to remove the turkey from the wrapper. It was not tasty. 

 We had the smallest house, so finding a place for everyone to sit was difficult at best. Buffet was the prerequisite. If everyone attended (and they usually did) there would be 30 people, more or less. Mom would pray for good weather so we kids could play outside. My mother invariably cooked herself “into a stupor” as we say. The prep work would begin weeks before. There would be multiple lists and each of us had a task. Dishes needed washing, silver to be polished, etc. Of coarse, my mother’s unusually clean house had to be “cleaned.”

 Mother would bake pies and cakes.There was homemade fudge and candies.The entrees would include turkey, ham and pot roast. Sides included both mashed and sweet potatoes. Mom also prepared 2 kinds of stuffing. We a stove upstairs and oven in the basement and all would be working overtime. 

  The 60’s were a great time to be a kid. Department stores were full of opulence and there was plenty of assortment for all. In 1963 I received my very first record player. A red portable (I did take it everywhere). Santa bought me 3 LP albums that year. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (Gene Autry), Christmas with the Chipmunks, and Songs by Ricky (Ricky Nelson).

The next Christmas in 1964 I received my first guitar. A Japanese made Sears Silvertone 6 sting acoustic. It was purchased so I could participate in our church’s Saturday guitar masses. I learned 3 chords. 

Since I had to wear uniforms for school and my mom was such a great seamstress, she made most of my clothes. I seldom got “store bought clothes.” I was allowed in 1965 to pick out my own presents. That meant a to visit Robert Hall clothing in Highland Park. I was allowed to choose 3 outfits! I was in heaven. 

I had a very difficult time selecting so it took quite a long time. My poor dad went to car and waited. He loathed shopping. I finally chose a pink ribbed short sleeved “poor boy” top and pink and tan plaid hip-hugger, bell bottom pants with a very wide pink belt. Next, there was a sleeveless cowl neck sweater in a very pale mustard with hip-hugger plaid pants in lime green and mustard. Lastly there was a Mondrian color-block shift dress. I was even allowed a pair of white go-go boots! I thought I was a mod queen! Curious how I have remembered those outfits all these years!

These days I am grateful for a quiet evening with friends, loved ones and good food. I hope all who read this have a most wonderful Christmas/Holiday and good fortune in 2015!

My Love Affair with John Bates

Picture a chubby pre-teen girl in a bland plaid catholic school uniform with white go-go boots. That was me in 1964. Even at age 10 I was into fashion. I would scan magazines and TV ads for appealing items. I would “design” some of the outfits my mother painstakingly stitched for me. She was an excellent seamstress and could combine bits and pieces from several different patterns to achieve the “look” we wanted. All I know is when I wore a groovy outfit, I felt marvelous!

Since we lived in the Canadian border town of Detroit, we had ready access to British television shows. Enter The Avengers. Diana Rigg as Mrs. Emma Peel. Not only was she the model of the liberated woman who could do it all, she sported  the trendiest clothing and the most fabulous accessories including the previously mentioned gogo boots.

The  clothing designer who first defined Mrs. Peel’s  élan was John Bates.  His fashions underscored her character. That of the truly unencumbered  female. One minute she was in a feminine lacy dress with ruffles and pearls. The next in a one piece leather cat suit, of coarse, with matching boots.
 
Bates' designs for Emma Peel included leather cat suits, low slung trousers, empire waist mini and maxi dresses and jackets featuring PVC and Op Art designs. The garments not only made her look fantastic but were also fun and functional. Moreover, they were objects of lust and (verbose) desire for myself and all my friends.

At the age of 18 in 1957, Bates worked as an apprentice at the design house of Herbert Sidon, in London. He would then go on the be a fashion illustrator. In 1960 Bates introduced the Jean Varon label. The designs were fresh, bright and modern.  Bates’ collections were immensely popular in the London boutiques. They were sought after by trendsetters like Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton and Marianne Faithful.

Bates quipped,”I called it Jean Varon because at the time an English name like John Bates meant nothing, you had to appear to be French. Jean is French for John and Varon because there was no "V" in the rag trade book. Jean Varon made a good graphic image"

His creations were imitated and mimicked by many  American clothing companies. Very short minis, trouser suits, lace dresses, cat suits and tube dresses.  These styles seemed to define not only that particular time, but an attitude that a woman could be anyone she wished to be depending upon her couture. 

In the 1960’s there was even a Poppy Parker doll in Great Britain with outfits designed that closely resemble Bates creations. 

In 1965, one of his dresses with a mesh midriff was chosen as the Dress of the Year and donated to the Fashion Museum in Bath, which in 2006 held a major retrospective show of his work.

One of Bates' most influential champions was Marit Allen, the editor of British Vogue's Young Ideas. Allen considered Bates the true inventor of the miniskirt, rather than Mary Quant or André Courrèges. Bates designed a wedding ensemble for Marit Allen that is displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Allen  said of Bates, “John Bates loves short skirts, money, false eyelashes and Cilla Black. Hates English bras, big busts and any sort of foundation garment.”

Believe it or not some John Bates/Jean Varon items can be purchased online on Etsy and Ebay and other sites. Some at very reasonable prices.