A Sucker for Seersucker

Yesterday, I saw the cutest picture of my blogging friend Rosie's husband and young son sporting matching blue and white-striped seersucker suits for Easter (on her site, a blog for my mom).  Seersucker suits with plaid bow ties.  Priceless!

Then last night we face-timed (is that a verb yet?) with son #3 and his awesome girlfriend, and she pointed out the new blue and white-striped seersucker shorts he was wearing--fashion-forward shorts she'd talked him into buying, hoping they would be the gateway article of clothing that would one day lead to the purchase of a full-fledged seersucker suit, complete with a bow tie, as befits a proper Southern gentleman.  (As she said this, my son just shook his head and grinned indulgently, with a look on his face that said, "That ain't gonna happen.")

All this talk of seersucker suits yesterday reminded me of the miniature one I made for my oldest son almost 29 years ago, with the intention that he would wear it for a family wedding that was going to take place a few months later.  (This morning I went up to the attic and dug it out of a huge plastic bin filled with decades-old little boy clothes--which probably should have been dropped off at Goodwill at some point, if only I could bear to do it.)

Well, here was the kicker: my baby boy grew more than I thought he would between the time I made the suit and the date of the wedding.  The pattern I used was a size 1 (which was closer to a ready-to-wear 2T), but at about 10 months old my firstborn was already 32 inches tall and tipping the scales at a healthy 28 lbs.  The little shorts still fit him, as did the short-sleeved white oxford button-down shirt and tiny bow tie; but  it was a late summer wedding and we were smack dab in the middle of a heat wave (with the temp hovering around 100 degrees and the humidity a good 500%), and between the chubbiness and the sweatiness, there was no way I was going to get those edible little arms into the jacket sleeves, no matter how hard I tried.  (Think Chris Farley in the movie Tommy Boy: "Fat man in a little coat...fat man in a little coat...")

I was just shy of three months pregnant at the time, and wearing a bridesmaid gown that was straining at the waistband--even though my mother-in-law, who'd sewn mine for me, had specially re-worked the non-maternity pattern to fit my expanding waistline.  I didn't really look pregnant yet, just sort of dumpy.  I was hot (and bothered), suffering from first-trimester queasiness, feeling distinctly unattractive...and so disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to show off my baby boy in exactly the manner I'd planned.

Had I not been so hormonal, I would have realized that even minus the jacket, he was one cute little wedding guest--as you can see (despite the graininess of this pre-digital age snapshot).

But by the time the wedding Mass was over, he'd wet through his Pampers and his seersucker shorts, and--because I'd forgotten to pack a spare outfit--he attended the reception in a natty get-up of diaper, shirt, and tie.  Still undeniably cute, but not exactly the look I was going for.

Luckily, however, I did go on to have more boys (four of them).  And it just so happened that when his first Easter rolled around, son #3 was able to wear the seersucker suit to church. He was about 11 months old, but a good bit lankier in build than his older brother had been at about the same age, and the suit fit him like a glove.  This time around, instead of a button-down shirt and bow tie, I paired it with a Peter Pan-collared shirt, knee socks, and blue and white saddle shoes--three clothing items that have been on my son's "fashion don'ts" list ever since.  Oh my goodness, he was so adorable!

Such a tiny little man, in such a tiny little suit!  Here he is walking along with my husband's late father, our boys' beloved Papa.

Okay, I'm dying now.  That is one of my all-time favorite pictures from days of yore.

I am so enjoying visiting some new blogs I've found through the "What I Wore Sunday" link-up over at Fine Linen and Purple, and seeing all the cute young families...and the wee ones sporting their Sunday best...I always think, "If only I could have been a blogger way back when, and showed off my precious little boys in their church togs..."

Well, if I'd been a blogger when I was a young mom in the 80's (whose glasses were very big, while her boys were very small), linking up at FLAP to show what we wore Easter Sunday, I suppose my post would look something like this (from Easter 1987):

[Sigh...]  I really am a sucker for seersucker!   If any of my boys ever has a son, Grammy would love to see him sporting the pint-sized seersucker suit she made all those years ago. And Papa II will be only too happy to play the role of his dad before him...to walk hand in hand with that well-dressed little man.