My Mom Said: Beauty knows no pain
By:Elaine Doll-Dunn, Black Hills Pioneer
Back in the days of mandatory girdles-regardless of your weight-and of high heels and matching EVERYTHING, my mother would quietly remind us whiners; "Beauty knows no pain."
That was all there was to it, we just stayed "babed" and dealt with the discomfort.
It was right up there with, "Better dead than out of style."
Referent to the details one endured to at least attempt to look good and stay somewhere within the confines of fashion and good taste.
This makes Mom sound like a high fashion maven ... not so.
She had little to work with monetarily, but could make haute couture out of a flour sack.
And I remember when she agonizingly spent what she considered an extravagant amount on a suit and blouse for herself ... she then wore that outfit for every occasion forever!
But, she always looked good in it.
She was a beautiful woman, always neat and clean; every day she wore what were then called "house dresses."
Plain cotton dresses from the Montgomery Ward catalog that had to be washed, starched, and ironed each time they were worn.
She was impeccable in them.
She did own one slack suit; it was pale pink, consisted of loose trousers and a tailored shirt, but she only wore it when she rode my grandfather's prize palomino in a horse show.
(Not a comfortable activity for her, she was a satisfactory horsewoman, but never really at home in the arena because she didn't do it very often. I thought she looked elegant mounted on that big golden horse, with her dark hair and pink outfit; and ... matching pink turban? Hey, it was the style, who can predict?)
"Stand straight, stand tall, hold your stomach in, smile"... she didn't really nag, but there was no deviating from her expectations. Also, curled hair, clean face, brushed teeth; "
Girls, at least look like you've been worked on!"
Her admonition to, "Think 'pretty' girls, but stay away from the mirror." Was a not-so-subtle message, and the ubiquitous, "Pretty is as Pretty does" as well ... I got that one a lot for some reason; I may have been just a little obnoxious, because I also remember her quiet admonition after some extremely clever comment of mine, "Nobody loves a smart aleck..."
So ... that's several pages from the flip chart of 'Mom' sayings, but they're all those that speak to the obligation she felt we all had to be the best that we could be, and look as good as we could doin' it. Personality was paramount, but the package should be attended to.
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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 1:44 PM
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