May Day at Girls Preparatory School is a tradition that began in 1914 on May 1, with an outdoor picnic at Burnt Cabin Springs on Signal Mountain. Today May Day includes a queen and her court, chosen by the students. Each grade has dancers who perform for the queen and her court, and the sophomores perform the Maypole dance, which requires weeks of practice and fabulous coordination. May Day is a special event every year, and many girls claim it as their favorite school tradition.
Young girls cannot wait for their turn to be a senior because every senior is presented to the school, donning a gorgeous brightly colored full length grown. The current trend is for the dresses to have big puffy shoulders and lots of ruffles and bows. Feminine and youthful, these dresses are unlike any dress the girls will wear in their lifetime. Each dress is special and chosen by the young lady who wears it. Some girls shop online or have one made through Etsy, while others employ local seamstresses to create the dress of their dreams.
One dress stood out this year, not just because of how lovely, unique and fashionable it was, but also because of the hands that sewed it. Harper Teague was fortunate to have her mother, Stephanie, make her dress. During this year’s Christmas break, Stephanie and Harper went to Atlanta to spend the weekend with Stephanie’s mother, sisters, and nieces. They went to several vintage dress shops, department stores, and bridal stores, and Harper had no luck finding a dress.
Harper was extremely discouraged, and Stephanie looked at her and said, “Honey, I think I’m going to have to make your dress!”
Harper replied, “Oh, Mom! Thank you! I would LOVE that!”
Mother and daughter agreed to start this special project, and Stephanie shared the news with her mother-in -law, Shannon Teague. Shannon replied, “Oh, Steph! I’d tell you not to do it, but I know you’ll do it anyway. If anybody can do it, I know you can!”
Stephanie reached out to Hollie Kent, also of Lookout Mountain, who had made May Day dresses for all three of her daughters. Hollie was very encouraging, as was Stephanie’s own mother. Stephanie shared that hearing the words of affirmation and support from the women who know her and love her gave her the courage to go through with it!
When asked about her history of sewing, Stephanie shared that she came from a long line of seamstresses on both her mother’s and father’s side. Her paternal grandmother had five daughters and handmade all of their formal gowns, plus a few dresses for Stephanie when she was a child. In addition, Stephanie’s mother sewed a few things for her when she was younger. Shannon Teague also enjoys sewing and made Harper’s baptismal gown when she was a baby! During college, Stephanie was known to hand sew a few things, but her first use of a real sewing machine was Shannon’s mother’s machine.
Stephanie shared, “I inherited her sewing machine in 2010 after she passed away. Shannon was planning to teach me to sew, but I was impatient, so I taught myself. The first item I ever made was a skirt for Harper when she was 2 1/2 years old. I didn’t know how to sew properly, and the seams ended up on the outside of the dress! Shannon corrected me, and I went on to make other clothing for my children. I taught myself to make slipcovers for our living room furniture, and I’ve always altered my girls’ dress uniforms over the years at GPS. In addition, I worked with Mendy Boyd for a few months sewing dresses for Meg Jacobs’ company, Vivienne Walker.”
Harper knew she wanted a dress fashioned after the 1970- and 1980-era prom dresses. Stephanie researched EBay and Etsy for patterns until she found one called “McCalls 4681.” After having success finding a pattern, Stephanie lamented that they had a difficult time finding the perfect fabric. She ordered color swatches that took weeks to arrive, and then Harper did not like any of them.
With time becoming more limited, Stephanie told Harper, “Honey, you’re going to have to choose either chartreuse or canary yellow.”
Harper decided she would have a canary yellow dress, so Stephanie ordered the fabric. She woke up to a text that Harper sent in the middle of the night that said, “Mom, is it too late to do chartreuse?”
Stephanie immediately emailed the supplier and asked to change the order to chartreuse, and thankfully they were accommodating! It just so happened that Harper visited the Biltmore that following weekend with her grandmother, Shannon. At the Biltmore, she saw a gorgeous chartreuse sofa, so she took a picture and sent it to her mom saying, “Mom! I love this color!”
Sewing the dress was a true act of sacrifice and love! Stephanie used the swatch fabric to make prototypes of the bodice for practice. The pattern uses three layers of fabric in the bodice (pattern fabric, a lining, and an underlining). Stephanie had previously only worked with single-layer fabrics, so she talked to Hollie Kent about how to sew all three layers. Hollie was a great resource throughout the crafting of the dress!
The fabric was delivered on February 9, and the dress was completed on April 12, after nine weeks of careful craftsmanship. Most of the sewing occurred in the early morning hours between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. She tried to take evenings off. Stephanie shared that she dreaded the fittings because she always had to alter the bodice so much to fit her frame. It also bothered her to have to ask Harper to have so many fittings, but Harper was always happy, pleasant, and willing!
One funny mishap occurred when the first pattern arrived: Stephanie had ordered in a size 6, but it was for a child aged 6-10, not for a young adult! That pattern helped her make the prototype with the swatch fabrics. Additionally, she had great difficulty finding a green zipper to match the fabric, so she bought one called “natural” hoping it would blend, but it was way too much of a contrast.
On a walk with her friend Jessica Hawkins, an interior decorator, Jessica suggested that Stephanie order several shades of green on Amazon and then choose one. Stephanie immediately accessed Amazon then and there and ordered some zippers. It was a so sunny outside that Stephanie couldn’t see her screen well, so she was shocked to learn that she had ordered a pack of 45 zippers! The original zipper ended up being used after all, and it was fine!
Harper’s dress was made out of a gorgeous dupioni silk in her signature chartreuse color, which complimented her skin tones beautifully. She really stood out as the crown bearer!
The dress was truly a masterpiece! Stephanie is so grateful that the dress turned out the way it did, and she is honored that Harper trusted her on such a huge project. She looks forward to making more dresses in the future!
Harper will never forget the special May Day dress and the memories it holds. Harper does not sew, but she does enjoy needlepoint. I imagine she will learn to sew one day soon in order to carry on the family tradition!
by Ann Henley Perry
Young girls cannot wait for their turn to be a senior because every senior is presented to the school, donning a gorgeous brightly colored full length grown. The current trend is for the dresses to have big puffy shoulders and lots of ruffles and bows. Feminine and youthful, these dresses are unlike any dress the girls will wear in their lifetime. Each dress is special and chosen by the young lady who wears it. Some girls shop online or have one made through Etsy, while others employ local seamstresses to create the dress of their dreams.
One dress stood out this year, not just because of how lovely, unique and fashionable it was, but also because of the hands that sewed it. Harper Teague was fortunate to have her mother, Stephanie, make her dress. During this year’s Christmas break, Stephanie and Harper went to Atlanta to spend the weekend with Stephanie’s mother, sisters, and nieces. They went to several vintage dress shops, department stores, and bridal stores, and Harper had no luck finding a dress.
Harper was extremely discouraged, and Stephanie looked at her and said, “Honey, I think I’m going to have to make your dress!”
Harper replied, “Oh, Mom! Thank you! I would LOVE that!”
Mother and daughter agreed to start this special project, and Stephanie shared the news with her mother-in -law, Shannon Teague. Shannon replied, “Oh, Steph! I’d tell you not to do it, but I know you’ll do it anyway. If anybody can do it, I know you can!”
Stephanie reached out to Hollie Kent, also of Lookout Mountain, who had made May Day dresses for all three of her daughters. Hollie was very encouraging, as was Stephanie’s own mother. Stephanie shared that hearing the words of affirmation and support from the women who know her and love her gave her the courage to go through with it!
When asked about her history of sewing, Stephanie shared that she came from a long line of seamstresses on both her mother’s and father’s side. Her paternal grandmother had five daughters and handmade all of their formal gowns, plus a few dresses for Stephanie when she was a child. In addition, Stephanie’s mother sewed a few things for her when she was younger. Shannon Teague also enjoys sewing and made Harper’s baptismal gown when she was a baby! During college, Stephanie was known to hand sew a few things, but her first use of a real sewing machine was Shannon’s mother’s machine.
Stephanie shared, “I inherited her sewing machine in 2010 after she passed away. Shannon was planning to teach me to sew, but I was impatient, so I taught myself. The first item I ever made was a skirt for Harper when she was 2 1/2 years old. I didn’t know how to sew properly, and the seams ended up on the outside of the dress! Shannon corrected me, and I went on to make other clothing for my children. I taught myself to make slipcovers for our living room furniture, and I’ve always altered my girls’ dress uniforms over the years at GPS. In addition, I worked with Mendy Boyd for a few months sewing dresses for Meg Jacobs’ company, Vivienne Walker.”
Harper knew she wanted a dress fashioned after the 1970- and 1980-era prom dresses. Stephanie researched EBay and Etsy for patterns until she found one called “McCalls 4681.” After having success finding a pattern, Stephanie lamented that they had a difficult time finding the perfect fabric. She ordered color swatches that took weeks to arrive, and then Harper did not like any of them.
With time becoming more limited, Stephanie told Harper, “Honey, you’re going to have to choose either chartreuse or canary yellow.”
Harper decided she would have a canary yellow dress, so Stephanie ordered the fabric. She woke up to a text that Harper sent in the middle of the night that said, “Mom, is it too late to do chartreuse?”
Stephanie immediately emailed the supplier and asked to change the order to chartreuse, and thankfully they were accommodating! It just so happened that Harper visited the Biltmore that following weekend with her grandmother, Shannon. At the Biltmore, she saw a gorgeous chartreuse sofa, so she took a picture and sent it to her mom saying, “Mom! I love this color!”
Sewing the dress was a true act of sacrifice and love! Stephanie used the swatch fabric to make prototypes of the bodice for practice. The pattern uses three layers of fabric in the bodice (pattern fabric, a lining, and an underlining). Stephanie had previously only worked with single-layer fabrics, so she talked to Hollie Kent about how to sew all three layers. Hollie was a great resource throughout the crafting of the dress!
The fabric was delivered on February 9, and the dress was completed on April 12, after nine weeks of careful craftsmanship. Most of the sewing occurred in the early morning hours between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. She tried to take evenings off. Stephanie shared that she dreaded the fittings because she always had to alter the bodice so much to fit her frame. It also bothered her to have to ask Harper to have so many fittings, but Harper was always happy, pleasant, and willing!
One funny mishap occurred when the first pattern arrived: Stephanie had ordered in a size 6, but it was for a child aged 6-10, not for a young adult! That pattern helped her make the prototype with the swatch fabrics. Additionally, she had great difficulty finding a green zipper to match the fabric, so she bought one called “natural” hoping it would blend, but it was way too much of a contrast.
On a walk with her friend Jessica Hawkins, an interior decorator, Jessica suggested that Stephanie order several shades of green on Amazon and then choose one. Stephanie immediately accessed Amazon then and there and ordered some zippers. It was a so sunny outside that Stephanie couldn’t see her screen well, so she was shocked to learn that she had ordered a pack of 45 zippers! The original zipper ended up being used after all, and it was fine!
Harper’s dress was made out of a gorgeous dupioni silk in her signature chartreuse color, which complimented her skin tones beautifully. She really stood out as the crown bearer!
The dress was truly a masterpiece! Stephanie is so grateful that the dress turned out the way it did, and she is honored that Harper trusted her on such a huge project. She looks forward to making more dresses in the future!
Harper will never forget the special May Day dress and the memories it holds. Harper does not sew, but she does enjoy needlepoint. I imagine she will learn to sew one day soon in order to carry on the family tradition!
by Ann Henley Perry
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