English Royalty

When I was little my Dad was a teacher at Jefferson Jr. High School in Columbia, MO. He took students to England every other summer as a study abroad tour. I never got to go. Apparently my parents thought I was too young. Sometimes my Mom went with him, but not once did I get to make the trip. My Dad always promised me he would take me someday. There were several summers that we seriously looked into it, but we could never make it happen. I still haven't been to England. I'm still waiting for my Dad to uphold his promise. Still. Waiting.

I'm pretty sure this dress was one of the many gifts he brought back for me, I suppose as a consolation for not getting to go on the trip. I guess the next best thing from going to England is getting English fashion! Gosh my Dad knew my love for fashion even at this young age! Like I always say, I didn't stand a chance to be anything other than a PhD in fashion. I'm also pretty sure this is a Laura Ashley, which later became quite popular in the United States, but Dad got this for me before they were readily available in the States. I could be wrong about this being a Laura Ashley (Mom, correct me if I'm wrong!)

I adored this dress. You can tell by the pictures. Don't I look like the happiest child in the world?! In the top picture I'm perfectly modeling that "something is oh so interesting over there away from the camera...don't you wonder what it is I'm so interested in" pose. The photo below perfectly captures my personality. Ha! I imagine I'm thinking, "I put up a big fit when you said you were leaving for England and not taking me with you, I exclaimed that at the old age of 5 I still haven't been to England like you promised, but really I knew I wouldn't be able to go, I just wanted to make sure you brought back something fabulous like this dress! Well done, Daddy!" I'm just kidding. I don't remember ever throwing any fits about Dad leaving for England, and he brought gifts out of the kindness of his heart, not because I guilted him into it. That is just how fabulous and wonderful my parents are!