A Coat For Alice

Thursday, April 21, 2011
A very special coat.
Made for me when I was 2 years old, by my Grandmother, Shona Brown.
She had been a seamstress for the Christchurch department store, Ballantynes, before she was married.

My mother recently handed it on to me, and it has been hanging in the closet, waiting for a little girl to grow a bit. Alice wore it out today for the first time to Jo Seagar's cafe in Oxford. She looks so sweet in it.


The ladies at Jo's shop immediately commented on it as soon as I entered. There's something about the bright red that demands attention - they said what a special coat it was, love the vintage buttons, how beautifully constructed it was, and how well it looked after nearly 40 years (I didn't tell her that though), and how nice it was to see a little girl in classic clothing, and not all those modern layers (their words, not mine).
I agree though!

Grandma's sewing is meticulous. I was inspecting it this afternoon and I don't know how she did so amazingly neatly.The interfacing still looks brand new as well.
I hope I can look after it as well as my mother did, so maybe my grandchildren will wear it one day too.

5 comments :

Leanne said...

Oh wow that is the 2nd cutest little gal I've seen today - have a peek at this wee poppet too http://deardaisycottage.typepad.com/daisy_cottage/

Love the jacket - a very special keepsake!

I am emerald green you went to Jo's place!!!

MissMollyCoddle said...

Love it! So cute and so precious. I've just got to do buttonholes on a coat for my wee girl and plan to make one from my grans coat, that'll be a very precious coat indeed. I love the old coat patterns and agree with the ladies at cafe. Lucky you, she looks adorable.

Anonymous said...

That is absolutely GORGEOUS. What an amazing and special coat.

bettyl said...

What a wonderful heirloom. My mom used to sew and did a terrific job. Thanks for the memory.

Hopes Handcrafts said...

oh so cute! I love her little hands covering that precious wee giggly face!

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