What to wear to a Communion?

Ah Communions. The season is upon us. Every little girls dream. Princess for a day. Master of your fiefdom. Strutting about in your layers of frou frou, calculating your earnings, furiously planning your spend (Ninetendo DS games, Smartphones, perhaps a holiday to Disneyland?) gorging yourself on fizzy pop and cocktail sausages. Such unprecedented Oirishness.

But, what does one wear? Styles vary naturally, but the general theme is mini-bride, mini-beauty queen, mini-princess or mini-marshmallow. The idea is to acquire as much diamante, lace, satin and sequins as possible – lash ‘em all together and furnish with some clip-clop heels and some completely unnecessary accouterments – parasols, fake bouquets of flowers, elbow-length gloves, miniature handbags. The miniature handbags are unnecessary, as a briefcase would be more practical for storing all the wads of cash.

Above, we can see a selection of trends that tap into popular folklore; Maid Marian, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Dynasty, Las Vegas Showgirls. However, it’s always respectful to reference your nationality and heritage; below we can see a frock adorned in shamrocks. G’wan le cupla focal.
You can also dress your dollies in advance to try out different looks…although there are specialist Communion Dollies out there that are designed purposefully for the task.

Above all, it’s a day to enjoy and celebrate – twirl about in your €300 dress, splash your brand-spanking-new patent leather shoes in some mucky puddles, do a little sicky into your handbag after ingesting too many sweeties. Rejoice in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Lord knows they definitely weren’t able to have the craic back then in 1960′s Ireland, if these sourpusses are anything to go by.

Pics sourced from Waterford Museum Library and Google