The Dress Drama

As I explained in the earlier post, the formal dances in Macon, GA in the 60's were many. With that came the always important part of getting "THE" dress. There was a place in Macon called Starnes Formalwear. Here's how it worked. We would go to Starnes and a nice lady with a clipboard would sit down with you and start asking questions. What event were you attending? Did you have a "special" role at this event? (Were you an officer of the sorority?) Did you have a special color in mind?



After answering all the questions, you were escorted into the dressing room which was much like you would see in a bridal shop today. You would put on the appropriate undergarments, they would bring you the hoop and you would step into it and secure it at the waist with the button. Then she would start bringing out dresses in the color of your choice until you made a decision that this was the "perfect" one. Part of the agreement was that you were guaranteed that no one else would show up in the same gown at the event that you were going to. If the dress needed a little altering, it was done and you picked the dress up the day before the dance and returned it the day after. This was done all for the whopping price of $15.00. Now, by today's standards, that doesn't seem like much, but in the early 60's, it was quite a large sum. You could feed a family of four for $15.00 per week. This did not include shoes, gloves, or wrap if it was a winter event. (By the way, stepping outside in one of those hooped gowns during the winter was just like stepping outside in a swimsuit.)



I had gone through all the budget money one year. Mother had a good friend that had a daughter that was about 3 years older than I was and during a conversation with Mother, she offered me one of her daughter's dresses that she knew she would never wear again. We took the dress and, of course, it needed altering. We took it to a seamstress that promised she could do the job. I was happy! It was a beautiful red chiffon dress. My date asked what color I would be wearing so that he could buy the proper color corsage. I thought everything was settled. We went to pick up the dress and brought it home for me to try on and to my dismay and horror, the dress had been butchered. I can't even think of another way to describe it. It was BUTCHERED!


What was I going to do? I was lamenting my tale at lunch the next day when one of my friends, Jerri Ann Whidden, said, "I've got a red dress that you can borrow" Saved by a friend! I went by and picked up the dress and Jerri Ann and I were both small, so it fit just fine.

Here is the red dress. Notice the glass slippers. I still have them!

Here is the rest of the story:

About two months after Jerri Ann loaned me the dress, she was killed in a car wreck. Her date was trying to get her home by her curfew and he was speeding and lost control of the car and she died in the accident. From that moment on, my Daddy never insisted that I be home by a certain hour. I was given a reasonable time and a few minutes before or after was fine. If I found that I was going to be much later than the curfew, I just had to call. They were very trusting of me and I really didn't give them any reason not to be. But it was because of Jerri Ann and that tragedy that they were really loose on my arrival time. It broke my heart. She and I were just 16 and life was just beginning.

I have often thought of her and every time I come across this picture, I think of her and what a good friend she was.

Thought for the day per Marie: To have a good friend, be one.