Southern Dressing

This was submitted by Purple Penguin!

Southern women know that some things are non-negotiable, like how to dress.

Dressing for the occasion is drilled into our heads from birth, maybe from conception. In today’s casual world, many people obviously are clueless about where the lines are drawn for respectable dressing. For example, I have vivid memories of Easter pictures taken by my father of my mother and sisters and me on the grounds of Centenary College in Shreveport among the blooming azaleas. The foliage produced a beautiful background for our dressy Easter outfits, often including hats.

These memories were brought to mind recently with the nomination of Judge John Roberts for Supreme Court Justice. At the announcement of his nomination, he brought his wife and two small children onto the staging area for introduction. His wife, an attorney, was dressed in a pink suit. Nothing flashy. The children looked like they had on their church clothes, which is the suitable attire in this situation. The little boy, 4 years of age, was in a jacket with short pants and oxfords. The little girl, 5 years of age, was in a sweet dress that hit just below the knee along with anklets and patent leather mary janes. All completely normal in Southern circles.

Well, this picture set off a hissy fit of a column by the “Style” editor of the Washington Post. This woman was trying to make the case that these people were obviously phonies and trying to look like June Cleaver and family. Guess she doesn’t get south of the Mason Dixon line much. Maybe shorts and flip flops were more of what she had in mind.