After a year of being COVID-cooped up at home, many of us feel like butterflies emerging from our cocoons and spreading our wings again. At long last we’re putting away our daily ensembles of sweatpants and pajama bottoms so we could at least be presentable (and comfortable) at Zoom meetings or Skype chats with friends and family.
Dr. La Verne Ford Wimberly of Tulsa, OK at first thought that the lockdown would only be a matter of a few weeks. She did not want to get out of the habit of dressing in her Sunday finest for church. So the 82-year-old retired teacher, Principal and Superintendent decided from the very get-go that she was NOT going to let COVID interfere with her deeply held spiritual routine of celebrating Sundays in high fashion.
While it’s true that her Metropolitan Baptist Church in Tulsa moved their services to the virtual realm, Dr. Wimberly continued her tradition of combining Faith and Fashion even if she had to do it at home.
Dr. Wimberly explains: “I just decided at that point, I was just going to get dressed as if I was going to church, so I would not get in the habit of just slouching around.”
When weeks stretched to months, she decided it’d be fun to share her adventure by posting her weekly selfies in her gorgeous chapeaus and finery on Facebook. And she’s kept that routine for 52 Sundays in a row!
Time to have your socks knocked off with some of her outfits.
But soon she felt her friends and fellow parishioners were paying too much attention to her millinery finery and clothes, so she started adding Bible verses and devotional messages to her posts. This is her latest post from last Sunday:
Dr. Wimberly: “I wanted not only to keep myself motivated, but I wanted to help keep others motivated as well, to inspire them, encourage them, and kind of eradicate some types and forms of depression, isolation, fear and despair.”
Amazingly, to date she has not repeated a single outfit. Dr. Wimberly admits that when she began work in 1963 as a teacher back in Chicago, she decided she would buy only quality clothes that would stand the test of time.
Dr. Wimberly also keeps a calendar journal of what she’s worn to avoid repeats. But when interviewed she admits she hadn’t made her April calendar yet – so we’ll just have to wait and see what she wears for Easter.
But in the meantime – more amazing outfits!
Even if you don’t celebrate Easter, I suspect most of you will enjoy listening to Bing Crosby croon a seasonal tune:
8 Responses to “Friday Fun: A Bevy of Beautiful Bonnets Befitting Easter”
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Wow. I don’t look anywhere near that good at 75, and I ‘m sure I won’t look any better at 84 – assuming I get there! I do love clothes, but anything on my head (hat, wig, whatever) interferes with my cognitive functioning – even if I think it doesn’t at the time, I make errors – really dumb errors. So my hat’s off – literally – to anyone who can rock hats and headgear like that!
And although I am not old enough to have actually seen a rotogravure, I am old enough to know what it is. And to remember the song.
Thank you so much!
My aunt (who has a lovely voice and sang semi-professionally) loved this song and sang it for our family at our annual Easter gathering. And that’s how I learned what a rotogravure was.
Otherwise, I’d have NO idea.
Really enjoyed this post, Nameless.
Love watching the way Dr. Wimberly is so motivated to attend her weekly Church Services, even though they were online. She looks stunning with all of her lovely matching outfits and hats.
For being 82 she looks remarkable.
Really enjoyed watching the video with Bing Crosby singing his famous Easter tune.
I wish all that celebrate, a very Happy Easter.
Thanks again, Nameless
A lovely Friday Funny, Nameless.
Dr Wimberly is a very classy lady. Each of her outfits is a perfect, timeless construction of good taste. She must have turned her house into one big wardrobe, though. She has at least 60 hats (no outfit has been seen twice yet) and most of these hats have both a large circumference and height. Imagine how much storage they would take.
Dr. Wimberly’s beautiful ensemble of clothes and awesome hats is just what we need to see! for this Easter.
Such a great story, with great pictures!
Thank you, Nameless for post.
Most enjoyable, my friend. Dr. Wimberly changed her most engagingly!
Thanks Nameless! The article I saw on Dr. Wimberly did not let me see near so many outfits! And I have seen that movie many a time–thanks for the memories and Happy Easter!
those hats are awesome!