ALLISON

Pond Girl - "The Girl Next Door"

"Bouffant Girl" memories and commentary about growing up in the fifties

Her photographer husband's special recollections of Betty Jane

Many enlargeable

 

Very sad, sad news

PondGirl Allison, a mainstay of The Pond, passed away in December of 2017. 
Many of us were great admirers of her, marveling at her Fifties portraits. 
 

She will be sorely missed.  God Bless Her.

 

ALLISON, 'THE GIRL NEXT DOOR' --
SHE IS THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE GOLDEN PETTI-ERA OF THE FIFTIES!

 

"I feel like I'm in a dream!  I'm surrounded by all the beautiful petticoats I used to see in
all the stores when I was a young girl. In my dream, I'm wearing my pretty floral print
dress, and my skirt  is filled out with clouds of gorgeous crinoline and lace.
 

 "But I must pinch myself, because it's not a dream! 

"The petticoats you see around me are all authentic vintage petticoats from Tessy's private collection. I am wearing my floral print dress and under my dress is one of the sweetest little petticoats I've even worn! It has three layers of crinoline netting with three tiers of delicate lace over netting. So what do you think? Would you like to see more? Would you like me to model them all for you? Well you can, because Tessy has asked me to model some of her collection for you -  I am so flattered that she asked me do this!

Pretty dresses! Pretty undies! Gorgeous petticoats! This is such fun!"

 

Nostalgia from Allison!

  "I love your site!!!  Ever since I was a little girl in the 50s, I loved my petticoats! My mother would always buy me pretty dresses and skirts because she loved my enthusiasm for pretty clothes. That has never changed. I've always believed that a girl's skirt is the most teasing, the most tantalizing, garment ever invented! The one thing that will make a skirt even more tantalizing is a petticoat. I've kept my figure by my veggie diet and working out everyday. I can still wear a miniskirt and have men watch me go by! I love it!   Tessy, I have (this) picture I'm sending you which I think you will enjoy.  It was taken in 1956 and the little girl in the picture, who is about to kiss the bride, is me. I can feel that petticoat right now!    Once again, I LOVE YOUR SITE!! .......Allison

    

 

"Tessy, I found a picture of me that was taken just 2 years ago. I'm sending it along. The dress I'm wearing has a very full skirt. As a matter of fact, It's a full circle. Under my skirt is a thin black crinoline that fills the skirt so beautifully. It's not so obvious when I'm sitting, as you can see. Under my skirt I'm wearing very sheer stockings with a black lace garter belt and really pretty black lace panties. I know you can't see them, but that's why windy days were invented!....giggles"                        Allison

 

 

"(Here is) a picture of me and my girl friends from about 1956 or 57. I'm easy to pick out. I have the prettiest dress! If my girl friends and I were to lift our dresses, you would also see that I had the prettiest petticoat. I don't think my mom would've let us do that...giggles.  I wish the quality was a little better, but it was the 50s.
Tessy, I've figured out why women today all go around wearing black. They are all attending a funeral. The death of femininity!"

OUR kind of girl!

 

 
 

...at about five years of age

Blurred, but it sure is emblematic of how Era little girls dressed

 

 

 

More from Allison

"I have a picture I think you will enjoy. Little Allison from, (I think) 1954. I'm posing with my big sister, Susan. We're showing off our Easter dresses. So why am I pouting? Because Mom made me wear that stupid coat! How can you see my pretty dress? It's even crushing my petticoat!
    Every year my Mom would take me shopping for an Easter dress. I looked forward to it almost as much as Christmas! The stores were filled with the pretties dresses I've ever seen! I was in heaven! It was soooo hard to decide, but at last I had to make a decision. My Mom would let me hold the bags on my lap on the way home. I was soooo happy! I got a pretty dress, a new petticoat, new shoes, a little matching purse, and a pretty hat! It makes me sad to think that little girls today will never have the thrill of Easter dress shopping. It's just one more wondrous thing that has gone out of our lives."

Click on picture for full-sized

 

Tessy likes seeing the pettis pushing out against and peeking from the coat!  She knows many of you do too!

 

 
 "Me in my dancing school tutu.  I guess I was about five. 
And yes, I do have feet.  The grass most have been a bit high."

 

 


 "I can't remember when I started wearing petticoats but it was at least the 2nd grade.  Larry, my husband, came across this picture of a 2nd grader and it could have been me. Some girls started early and I, like that girl, was one of them. I might have even started in the first grade." 

More such

  

 

 

  Larry manipulated one of Allison's images
to look like an old picture from 1958 

 

          


(above) Party petti

   

   "I found this picture of me and my mom. It looks like it was taken in 1962. Two ladies in green. My mom was a very elegant lady, and she enjoyed the fact that I loved pretty clothes. Believe it or not, I still remember that dress.
  Do you see how I'm squinting? Where are my sun glasses! To this day, I still squint when I'm outside in the sun. I have very sensitive eyes and need my sunglasses.
   Looking at this picture, I can feel that crinoline on my legs. It was a wonderful feeling then, and still is. I loved the soft sound of my petticoats as I sat down. Scooping my dress up, I would sit, then press and smooth my dress out in front of me. I could feel the crinoline gently caressing my soft young thighs. What could make a girl feel more feminine? Nothing else."

Wow! Wouldst ALL Bouffies feel this way!


 

"I found this (enlargeable) picture of me that must have been taken in 1986 or 87. I love this picture, because in it, I'm wearing one of my most favorite, most adorable dresses! I still have this dress and I still wear it from time to time. The petticoat is a sweet little crinoline with such a pretty wide lace hem, and it's just enough to fill the full skirt to give it a sensual shape. It's the kind of dress that demands that I wear my most delicate lacy panties to feel sooooo feminine.

     What do you think of it?"     


 

 

"Here we are three Irish girls on my mom's birthday in 1995. That's my sister Susan on the right. I'm wearing my black polka dot halter dress with a sweet little crinoline to fill out the skirt.  Oh, that's my bear, Wheezer, I'm holding. My skirt looks short, doesn't it? It's not really that short! It's knee length! I'm just a victim of "over soft sofa syndrome."  It's hard to sit like a lady in such a thing! You might say, 'It's not feminine friendly.' Men love these sofas because they know how hard it is for us girls to sit down or get up form these sinking sofas without revealing our panties. Oh well, pretty panties and pretty petticoats should be shared, shouldn't they.  ***giggles***"


 

Allison gives us an idea of how
she goes to work!

 

 

Ready to go to work (for real!)

 

 

 

 

2005!

A little treat from Pond Girl Allison ("The Girl Next Door").  Petticoat Pond had a bit of the luck of the Irish when we met this special, EXTRAORDINARY Boufhunnie!

 

 

 

 

 

Click these two for larger


 

       Dave Barber sent two gorgeous nylon paper pettis from his collection to Allison.

The best part is the SOUND!

'I'm rubbing the paper nylon together and it makes a delightful rustling sound. Here, I'm wearing my black taffeta skirt over Dave's black paper nylon pettis and the rustling sound together is sooo nice." 

 


...to Wonderland


(above) 2009 - can be enlarged  Nice crop  Love those pleats!

DAVID BARBER`S PETTICOAT EXCLUSIVE DESIGN.

 "The petticoat Allison is modeling below was designed by myself for myself to wear. I got the fabric from a fabric warehouse up in Bradford West Yorkshire north in the UK. The petticoat is all PAPER NYLON including the yoke, into a full single tier with plain hem. To offset the plainness of the petticoat, I added a delightful feminine touch of a crystal pink butterfly and a white rose. This petticoat is now in a loving home with Allison, having had my fun with it. The petticoat is VERY VERY RUSTLING and Allison loves it very much."

(click to enlarge)

 

 

Here is The girl next Door showing off one of the
authentic fifties petticoats from Tessy's collection
Enlargeable

 

  

 

David Barber sent Allison a petticoat, which is another of his own designs made of paper nylon and lace.


 Allison loves it, so we thought we'd show it off as well.      

 

 

  

 

PondGirl Allison wishes all a Happy May Day!
 2015

...and the opportunity to frolic on a Maypole, like this.   
A nice day before the communists appropriated it...
 

 

  

  Larry manipulated a couple of of Allison's
images to look like an old picture from The Era:

Girls rarely, if ever, wore stockings to school, for those of you who commented

 

 

Here are two more:

 "I'm wearing my poodle skirt here. But I will confess to never owning a poodle. My sister had one, but not me. I thought they were ubiquitous and I wanted to be different. But here I finally get to wear one."

Comments are solicited -
Perhaps more are forthcoming with encouragement?

Other Femme Splash

  

 

 

Back to Femme Splash Main Page