Rosie

Last month, we visited the FDR house in Hyde Park. In our exit through the gift shop, the girl picked out a Rosie the Riveter t-shirt, and announced that she wanted to be Rosie for Halloween.

Because I know this girl, I know that her choice was about 40% "let's make mom happy with a feminist icon" and 60% "ooh, i get to buy hair product and screaming red lipstick". I totally went along with it because it was a pretty easy costume to pull off, and um, We Can Do It!

She had the jeans, a belt and the boots. We got a blue oxford cloth shirt at the consignment store - it should have been denim, but oxford cloth is what we found, and it's good enough for jazz. I got the red/white polka dot fabric at a quilt shop and fashioned it into a head schmatte, and we found an image of the collar pin on the web, printed it on photo paper, and hot glued it to a pin-back button. Ta da!

[The electric drill is not historically accurate. Also, it did not go to school with her.]

And then, as one does, I posted the pictures on Facebook and a friend of mine from high school left a comment:

I am smiling because I think your mom would have loved it. It is genius. And intelligent. And historical. And NOT a princess or a sleazy outfit. Post this to your blog. Please.

And so, because Anne asked, and because my mother would indeed have loved it, here's my 10 year old Rosie.

Fierce.