Gran’s dress does distinguished duty

Generations together . . . Oldest granddaughter Nicole Hogg and gran Janet before Nicole’s first ball.

When Janet Hogg bought a bright yellow dress to wear to her friend’s 40th birthday party, she did not imagine it would have three more outings decades later.

Three of Mrs Hogg’s granddaughters — sisters Nicole, Julia and Sophie Hogg — have all worn the dress to their first high school ball, with Sophie the last to give it an outing to the Craighead Diocesan School formal late last month.

Apart from some subtle added ‘‘bling’’ to the front and the back straps, the only alterations to the 1970s frock have been having it adjusted to fit each girl’s figure.

Mrs Hogg has kept all her ball dresses — those she wore as a single girl, and then as a married woman — and remembers buying the yellow halterneck to wear to a friend’s 40th birthday at The Chateau 44 years ago.

Then also 40, Mrs Hogg found the dress at a small dress shop almost opposite where KFC is now.

Eye-catching . . . Janet Hogg (second from left) wearing the bright yellow halterneck in the 1970s. 

Enough years have passed for her to have forgotten the name of the shop, and how much she paid, but she has not forgotten her first impression.

‘‘I can remember trying it on and just loving it.’’

Farming at Wairewa Station, in the Albury district, she is sure she would have worn it again, possibly to the Albury ball.

But it had been packed away for many years when her oldest granddaughter, Nicole Hogg, tried it on one day.

‘‘She started growing up into a lovely young lady, and one day she tried on my yellow dress and fell in love with it, and said, ‘I’m going to wear this to a ball’.

‘‘Luckily, a lot of those dresses didn’t date that much.

Another outing . . . Middle sister Julia Hogg wore the dress to the Craighead School ball as a year 12 pupil.

‘‘And then Julia came along, and she had made up her mind that she would also wear it, and now Sophie — there was no leaving her out, she was going to wear it, too.

‘‘I’ve been absolutely tickled pink over the whole thing. It’s been quite a thrill that three of my granddaughters would want to wear my frock.’’

Keeping up traditions . . . Youngest granddaughter Sophie Hogg poses in her grandmother’s dress before last month’s Craighead ball.

The girls’ mother, Tamara Hogg, said Janet had always been known as a snappy dresser, with a real flair for style and beautiful fabrics.

Tamara said the halterneck style had made for easy adjustment for the girls’ different forms, with seamstress Donna Adams working her magic for each of the girls, shaping the dress to look like it was made especially for their occasion.

Although all three granddaughters were completely different colouring with brown, blue and green eyes respectively, the particular shade of yellow had suited all of them.

Nicole was the first to wear the dress, as a 16-year-old year 11 pupil attending the Timaru Boys’ High School ball in 2011.

Middle sister Julia followed, wearing the dress to her first Craighead ball as a 16-year-old year 12 pupil in 2016.

The vintage yellow held its own against the vibrant colours and florals of the Mamma Mia-themed Craighead ball last month when 17-year-old year 12 pupil Sophie, the youngest granddaughter, had her turn.

It had been lovely seeing the girls able to share the tradition with each other and their grandmother, Tamara said.