The White Dress

There must be millions of white dresses for girls in Mexico. They are required for First Communions, parades when a girl is designated as an angel, and sometimes when she dances some of the traditional dances in school programs. Maybe they are needed at other times as well. When I am photographing a gathering of children preparing to go into the Parroquia for the large First Communions they have with some religious holidays, I can see that most of the time the dress isn't a "one-time dress." It is made so it can be adjusted to a variety of sizes and you can also see that it isn't right out of the box. It has been used before.

That does not lessen the girl's pride in being "dressed up" and feeling special. They walk around carefully holding their skirt or standing gracefully and patiently with their family. They let Mom adjust their dress or their hair. Oh, they might whisper in a girl friend's ear but there are no childish giggles or running.

Now the boys.....well, as they say, boys will be boys. It is all the parents can do to keep their boy's shirt tails in and jackets on before they head into the church. The minute they come out of the church, Bibles are handed to Mom, shirt tails are out and they are chasing a friend.

The white dress stands a better chance of surviving than the white pants and jackets.