It runs in the blood (Dottie)

Over the holidays, I coincidentally came into some old family photographs on either side of my family. It's so fascinating seeing pictures of people in my bloodline who I've never met yet am so connected to. Even more fascinating was seeing photos of my two grandmothers, Mary and Dottie, when they were younger. It's both frightening and beautiful to see how they've changed and how they've stayed the same. It almost makes me excited to get older and view my life in retrospect.

Here are some pictures of my father's mother Dorothy. She is the most modest down-to-earth woman that I've even met and yet she has one of the most interesting pasts (I'll go into that some other time). She once told me that fashion was "never really anything that interested" her. Looking at these pictures of Dottie, the young vivacious actress that moved to New York City by herself after college, it's hard to imagine that that's true.


This is Dottie during her time in college. I love her Peggy Olsen-esque bangs (only they look much better on my grandmother).


This is from her wedding day. Rumor has it that this dress was made by the same people who made Grace Kelly's wedding dress!


And this is my grandfather whisking her away the day after they wed. Once again, I think that this dress is so Grace Kelly that I can hardly stand it. Seeing this picture makes me pretty sure that I need a dress like that if only to twirl around in front of the mirror. I also love the corsage and how big it is. What she remembers best is the camel-hair coat that she deems entirely "impractical," but so "lovely." And the shoes. THE SHOES!

I haven't scanned the photos of my maternal grandmother Mary yet, but look forward to those to come!