Friday, April 4, 2014

D ~ Dresses

There are two basic types of dresses that Amish girls and women wear.

For the first ten years of my life I had loose fitting dresses that buttoned down the back and aprons that were basically another dress minus the sleeves.

I was thrilled to change to grown up dresses on my tenth birthday, exchanging the buttons down the back for straight pins in the front, the comfortable loose and free dress to one that now fit snugly at the waist. Instead of the little girl apron there was now a two piece contraption, a cape that we called a "hals duch" that was worn over the dress bodice, and an apron that was pinned at the waist and covered the front of the dress skirt.

The first few weeks of wearing grown up dresses were pure misery, but thankfully I got used to wearing them and they no longer bothered me.

20 comments:

  1. Straight pins instead of buttons? Wow...I think I would have wanted to stay young for a long time! LOL

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  2. Do you still sew your own dresses, now that you're ex-Amish?

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  3. Very interesting. I enjoy learning about Amish heritage. There is a simplicity that I admire. New follower here. I'm stopping by from the "A to Z" challenge, and I look forward to visiting again.

    Sylvia
    http://www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/

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  4. I have often wondered about the pins, and whether they were a problem for the wearer.

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  5. Can you tell us, please, why is the change from buttons to pins required? Thank you.

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  6. Maybe the dress was pinned so that it could expand with pregnancy? But I know that even the oldest women still wear the straight pins in their dresses. Maybe it is to keep you sitting up straight like a lady (else you get jabbed?). Help Maryann!

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  7. I am guessing that the straight pins were mandated by the Ordnung...?

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  8. My understanding is that buttons are considered modern and worldly. Is that right? I wear dresses and sew almost all of them. That way they're not to tight or clingy and I get the fit I want. Thank you for this post. I wondered how the aprons were made.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  9. My understanding is that buttons are considered modern and worldly. Is that right? I wear dresses and sew almost all of them. That way they're not to tight or clingy and I get the fit I want. Thank you for this post. I wondered how the aprons were made.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  10. My understanding is that buttons are considered modern and worldly. Is that right? I wear dresses and sew almost all of them. That way they're not to tight or clingy and I get the fit I want. Thank you for this post. I wondered how the aprons were made.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  11. I think buttons are okay since they are on the little girls' dresses. It's zippers that are frowned upon because they have military connotations. Maybe that's the story with safety pins, too!

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  12. So interesting....do you have days where you miss not wondering what to wear, or is it still fun? (I hoe that is not an offensive question, as I certainly do not mean it to be...I am just fascinated)

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  13. Thanks for sharing Mary Ann . I knew straight pens were used,but didn't know buttons were allowed for children,I was thinking maybe snaps :-) Blessings

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  14. wow this is so cool
    thank you for sharing
    hugs

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  15. Why pins are used ..... I have no idea how that got started, but that is how it was and always will be.

    Safety pins are permitted, but take longer to use, because we pinned them inside so that they don't show. I always used safety pins after I became a mother. I didn't want to risk scratching my babies with a pin when I hold them.

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  16. Very interesting! I never knew about the pins....or, the dresses, for that matter. Thank you for sharing some of your life here Maryann. :) Blessings, Camille

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  17. I agree with everyone else. Very interesting. It is good to hear about other ways of life.

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  18. Thank you for sharing your insights. Well written, too. Very visual and gently personal. (I dropped by as part of A to Z, but now I will subscribe.)

    Geri
    http://www.gerijeter.com

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  19. Mary, I am learning so much here. To us on the outside, the Amish have always been a curiosity. The little girl on your book is darling...is that you by any chance?
    Shells–Tales–Sails

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  20. If you look at the kind of buttons that were in use when the Amish Church started, the idea that buttons are "worldly" makes a lot more sense than it does when you assume all buttons are cheap pieces of plastic.

    In the 16th and 17th centuries, buttons were made by wrapping silk and gold (yes, real gold) thread around a wooden core. 16th century buttons are around a wooden bead, and later 17th century ones are around a wooden disk with a hole in the middle. There are many patterns people could make on their buttons with different colors of silk and gold and silver threads, so they really were a fashion statement! Here's an example in the 17th century style: https://img1.etsystatic.com/035/1/8863043/il_340x270.537498061_4iqj.jpg

    I suspect it's left over from that time.

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment. I love hearing your thoughts.