A Tiara, A Ball Gown, and a Little Photo Repair

My most demanding photo client has had my attention lately…it’s me! The spirit of spring cleaning inspired me to tackle a project or two. Fixing this photo has been on my to-do list for a long time.

Did I ever tell you about my summer of beauty pageants? The summer between sophomore and junior year of high school, I was in not one, but two pageants! I was only in it for the scholarship money, folks. And maybe a teensy bit for the ball gowns. My gown was medium teal with lots of ruffles tiny silver sparkles ALL OVER. Shoulders ruffles? Check! Crinoline slip? Bien sûr! That doesn’t sound anything like me, does it? 😉

Early in our marriage, my husband didn’t believe that I had ever had curly hair. He didn’t know what magic perms offered for girls with stick-straight hair. That’s me on the left, trying my best to feather those curls that everyone had to have in the 80’s. I displayed this photo on our refrigerator, where it was damaged by condensation.

Sadly, I didn’t take the Bristol Homecoming crown, but I was thrilled for my bestie, Kristi Forbregd, pictured in the front.

That water-damaged photo sat in my personal archives (shoe box) for over two decades. I thought maybe I could find an original, but the photographer is no longer available. Online archives don’t go back that far. Thirty years ago, you might have thought an inter-net was something you used to move fish from one tank to another. Who knows, this might be the only surviving documentation of that big day. I wanted to restore this photo because it’s part of my story.

My oldest daughter is nearly the age I was in this picture. They still don’t ask about us much, but some day soon they might want to know how I spent my summers, and if they do, I’ll be able to show them that flat-chested, flat-haired girl from a small town in Indiana who wore a ball gown and a tiara, and then went on to be president…of her own company that helps other people tell their stories through photos.

Do you have a story like this that is almost lost to time and damage? We can bring it back to life for you. It’s one of many services we offer to help you tell your own story through photo organizing, whether it includes big hair, flat hair, or no hair! We’ve even removed braces from teeth, marker from faces, and exes from photos. Only you can tell your story. Don’t leave it for later.

You have a precious photo like this one in your archives. I hope you find it and share it with someone special soon.