The Slide Years: Stylin’

By Eilene Lyon

The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir.

The French must have had a little influence on Mom’s style during the time we lived there in the early 60s. I think this is the most chic getup I’ve ever seen her in. Seriously. Mom made a lot of our clothes, and she probably created this from a pattern as well.

Mom got her degree from Oregon State University in home economics, but she may have learned to sew earlier than that. She taught me how to cut fabric from a pattern and I even made some of my own clothes in high school, until I realized that just was not cool.

Somewhere I have a photo of me with Mom in matching dresses or swimsuit wraps that she’d sewn. Sorry, but I couldn’t find it for this post. Ultimate dork-fest.

Check out those pointy little heels she’s got on. I remember playing dress-up as a little girl and Mom gave me some of her old things she didn’t wear anymore. There was a kelly-green pair of pumps with those deadly spikes I loved to don.

My tiny feet fit only into the very pointy tip of the shoes, which probably prevented me from breaking a leg or ankle or something. I undoubtedly scratched up the floors or snagged the carpet something fierce, dragging those heels around the room.

It’s a safe bet that I got my (lack of) fashion sense from my mother. Oh well. At least I didn’t ruin my feet in high heels for the sake of it.