But I Smile Anyway…

Having another go at Maggie and Laurens, Throwback Thursday challenge! This week it is Lauren at the helm!

This week’s prompt is: It’s a Formal Affair

This week, Lauren has gone for a slightly different approach and asked us to write about occasions where we had to dress up.

I am proposing a different way to write to the prompt today. Because we all had very diverse upbringings, I am going to list several reasons why you might get dressed up. Please feel free to add any occasion you had to get dressed up.

What were your special clothes like?  Did you get your hair done for the occasions? Was a mani-pedi part of the process? Were you instructed on how to behave? Did you have any input on the formal attire? Did you feel comfortable in your special outfit?

Please feel free to write about as many of the occasions you’d like to share. Pictures would be an awesome addition.

Lauren

Oh, my, dressing up was definitely a thing since we were constantly invited to different occasions and events, being from such a large family. I had an extensive collection of Indian outfits from a young age, (and still do!) which were pulled out to wear on any such occasion

Preparation as a child would have been washing face and hands, getting dressed, and then mum brushing my unruly mop of frizz into some semblance of tidiness, which was usually in two plaits!

As I got older, I would do my own hair, and have a go at simple makeup which was usually a bit of eyeliner and lipstick, with a spritz of Guerlain’s Samsara! That was my first grown-up perfume!

The addition of fancy jewellery and bangles was fun, too, and I would spend lots of time choosing my accessories!

But, despite all these times to get dolled up, for pre-wedding parties, weddings, receptions, birthday parties, dinners at different people’s homes, I longed for a different type of dressing up.

My school friends growing up, were all pretty much white, British girls, and we would go to each other’s birthday parties, wearing flouncy party dresses, and I’d have special ribbons in my hair.

Then they grew up. Or rather we all did, but I got a little left behind, seeing as they started getting dressed up to go out for the evenings, which was not something I was allowed to do.

I remember the first time I went to a ‘disco’ was on a school trip when we were 11 years old. I was so excited to wear my special rainbow dress and suede pixie boots! And to get dressed up with no mum!

When we all sat our GCSEs, that final year of formal school there was a Commemoration Ball, where the final year girls were invited, and you could bring a date (Well, no way was that going to happen!) and everyone was so excited about the ball dresses they were going to be wearing. I longed for that kind of princess look, which wasn’t going to happen…

But, at university, I was able to attend a couple of balls, and as I had grown up a bit by then, I was embracing my culture more, so to the first one, we all went in beautiful Indian outfits! And I did that for a few of them. At my Hubby Dearest’s end-of-year ball, I wore a more formal western dress, which sated my longing for a proper dress!

But I did get to look like a princess once, at least, on my own wedding day!

I wish I had the energy to find more photos but they are all in boxes and out of reach at the moment!

Dang! I missed it again yesterday and no doubt that will be the sign of things to come since I am back at school from Tuesday! Still, I hope you enjoyed it!

Having another go at Maggie and Laurens, Throwback Thursday challenge! This week it is Maggie at the helm!

This week’s prompt is: Transitions and Modifications

1. Think about your first haircut. Were you the kid that cut your own hair? Did you go to a salon or did your parents cut your hair? Did your parents save a lock of your hair? As Sikhs, we aren’t supposed to cut our hair, appreciating and being grateful for what God gave us. However, we are not fully baptised in our family. When I was about 6, I had a real craving to get my hair cut, and so my mum took me to the hairdresser, and I had my first page boy cut! My dad cut my brother’s hair for the first time, and that was painful for him, as my father has always kept his hair and worn a turban, but felt the pressure to do it, so my brother didn’t get any bullying as he grew up in an area that was predominantly white. One silly story of me and my hair is that I wear convinced I had too small a forehead, so I took a bunch of hair from the front and snipped it clean off at the scalp, thinking no one would notice… Er, they did And, then I had a fountain of sprouting hair growing back, soon after!
2. How about shaving? Fathers often teach their sons to shave. Most girls I know, decided for themselves when to shave their legs and their underarms. Some cultures do not shave at all. Again, line the above, we aren’t supposed to remove any body hair, however, the majority of us who aren’t fully baptised do. I think my mum got me an electric razor first, but I also experimented with hair removal cream, waxing, etc over the years. And eyebrows and upper lip threading!
3. Did you alter your clothes? Cut jeans into cut-offs? Cut the sleeves off t-shirts? Wear graphic tees? Tie-dyes? Sew patches on your jeans? Not really. I was pretty simple growing up!
4. Was there a time you remember challenging the authority in your household? Do you remember the first time you found your voice? I wouldn’t have dared as a child! But as I grew older I learned how to stand up for my thoughts and beliefs.
5. What about piercings? Girls getting their ears pierced was a rite of passage for girls. Then boys started getting one ear pierced. As time passed, piercings became more mainstream and accepted. I had my ears pierced, just those one set for each ear, and they are still just like that. I was around 8, I think.
6. Did you walk on the wild side? Smoking? Drinking? Did your parents know? Shhhh! Okay, so there were a few drinks, as I went to Uni, but nothing more…
7. What about tattoos? Did you get a tattoo while still living at home? Did your parents approve? Nope. No tattoos, but I do think about it now!
8. What about language? Was swearing allowed in your family?  Did you use the same language around your friends as you did at home with your family? Nope. No swearing was allowed but as I got older and learned more Punjabi naughty words, it became fun to sprinkle them into conversations with people who didn’t understand!
9. Think back to high school. Girls, did you iron your hair? Did you colour your hair? (using Sun-in counts!) Guys, did you grow a beard or moustache? Did you grow your hair long? Feel free to share a photo of yourself back in the day. I have naturally curly hair but didn’t even realise it was curly until I was 16, because it used to be brushed out and plaited all the time, or left in a frizz ball! Straightening wasn’t a thing, for me until uni! And Sun in… er, yes, but not before uni!
10. Many people think our authentic self is the person we were as young children. Are you still inherently the same person you were as a child or have you changed your personality and demeanor along the way? I think. I am the same, but I have just become more confident and able. to stand up for myself and my beliefs more. The benefits of getting older!

Okay, so three times in a row was my limit, here we are on Friday, again, but be glad… I am off to a wedding and squeezed this in before we leave!