Old Fashion
By Melanie A. and Sonia C.
In this gallery you will learn about some of the beautiful things worn by the grandparents and great grandparents of the seventh grade students. You will be able to look back in time to see what people wore and what they used as accessories as babies and as adults. The accessories and garments include gloves, rings, scarves and even baby shoes. These items were very stylish; they may seem old fashioned now but they were very fashionable at the time. All of these artifacts show the owner's originality and personality. These accessories are part of our heritage.
Pearl necklace
America
Celia C.
My great grandmother Molly Jemal gave a pearl necklace to my grandmother, Celia Cohen, for her wedding gift. This gift is important to my Grandmother Celia because it reminds my grandmother of her mother. My Grandmother Celia didn't have a lot of money growing up and she had a lot of siblings,so this was a very special gift for her to get.
Celia Cohen wore it on her wedding day.
Sweater Clip
Poland
Ada
When my great grandmother was a teenager, she went with her mother on a stroll around the town she lived in. She remembered that she wanted to buy the "fanciest clothing piece around" called a sweater clip. So, she asked her mother for one, and she said she would buy her one(it was silver color). She was ecstatic when she officially owned one. She showed her father, showed it to all of her friends, and wore it to many places; to weddings, parties, Bar Mitzvahs of her family members, and around the house when she felt like it.
My great grandmother loved wearing her sweater clip, especially on the high holidays, to feel more special on a very special day.
Pin
China
Rachel S.
This pin reminds my grandmother, Rachel S., of her good life in China. Her mother, Rahma S, bought it for her when she was a young girl for her birthday. It reminds her of her family and when she was in school. The pin is small and thin. It has a Chinese sign on it that means good luck. It has a needle on the back of the pin to hook it on your shirt. She kept it because it was a treasure to her.
It also reminds her of the holidays and Shabbats in China. Her family life in China was very different than her family life in Brooklyn.
Ring
Russia
Grandma Annette S.
As it is customary in the G. family, on Annette G.S.'s wedding day she was able to choose a piece of her mother's jewelry. This piece of jewelry was to serve as a reminder of the strong women in her family. Jack's mother (Shari S.S.) followed in these footsteps and picked a piece of her mother's (Annette S.) jewelry on her wedding day.
It is customary in some Jewish families to give a piece of jewelry to a bride. Jack's family took this custom further and not only does the bride get a piece of jewelry on her wedding day but on other special occasions as well. It is very important in Jack's family to carry out this tradition.
Men's Leather Belt
Chicago
Grandpa Louie M.
This leather and silver belt is significant to me because it shows me how important religion was, and still is to my family. My great grandfather wore this special belt everyday when he went to shul. We remember it as a precious diamond and later it was passed down from him to my Grandpa Louie, then to my mother, and then to me.
This artifact has significance to Jewish culture because my great grandfather wore it on special holidays and Shabbat.
Arthur's Wedding Scarf
United States
Arthur K.
This artifact was the first luxury that my grandfather Arthur bought in the United States. This black and white silk scarf was given by my grandfather to my mother to always remember him.
He spent all of his time working that he never had time to enjoy life before he bought this and is a symbol of happiness.
This was bought on his wedding day and is it is a symbol of Arthur's first time actually having fun making a life for himself in America.
Baby Shoes
New York
David W.
These baby shoes were from my dad's mother, Sandra W. She wore them when she was a baby, and they were dipped in bronze and given to my dad to keep.
During the time she was a baby it was common to do this. The W. family kept the baby shoes to remember their grandmother, Sandra.
Gloves
America
Barbara A.
These gloves were very special to Melanie's family because Melanie's Great Grandmother, Becky S., would always wear them. Becky S. thought that they were special and she gave them to Melanie's mother Barbara A. Now, Melanie's mother cherishes them with care.
Melanie's great Grandmother would wear these gloves every Shabbat and every Jewish holiday. When she was young, Melanie's mother, Barbara A., always loved when her Grandmother Becky would come to her house for the holidays.