11.10.10a
11.10.10b
11.10.11c
11.10.10d
11.10.10e

My sister kindly asked me to put this dress in my remix, as she has it too and doesn’t know what to wear it with. So sister, here is the ol’ boots and belt with colored tights stand by. Works every time in my opinion.

When I was at my parents house a few weeks ago, my mom and I were going through old family photos. (Because we’re mushy and cliche.) I found a photo of my mother, 24 years old with my sister who was barely 6 months old on her lap. Her dark hair is parted in the middle, she has an easy smile on her face. It occurred to me that we look just alike.

I didn’t take the picture because family heirlooms don’t fare well in my possession. Most of the time they end up…well, let’s just say it’s best to keep them in the photo album on a dry, cool shelf at my parent’s house. We kept flipping through pages of photos. There is another photo of my mother. This time it’s 1993, my mom is in her 30s. My mother’s dark hair is in a deep side part, cut just to her chin. There I am standing next to my mom, 9 years old with dark hair, in a deep side part, cut just to my chin. We look just alike.

I’ve been wearing my hair in a center part lately and when I look in the mirror, all I see is that photo of my mother. It’s a good reminder of where I come from, of who I am. And that if I can have half the life she’s had, then I’ll be doing good.

My mother and I don’t look a whole lot a like these days, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

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104 Responses

  1. Beautiful pictures! Great dress, wish I had as much luck at target as you! Guess that's what stinks about living in a big city!

  2. That is so sweet!! I think it's wonderful that you look like your mom. She must love seeing herself in you! My son looks a lot like me and I think it's the most amazing thing!

  3. What a lovely tribute to your mom. The pink tights are a fun twist on what could be standard 70s-throwback outfit – love it.

    Lydia x

  4. I completely understand the resemblance thing. My mother's and my high school senior photos look exactly the same. Same pose, same hair, same smile. Just replace the fake forest background in her photo for the fake western porch in mine.

    I'm one of the remixers taking part of your challenge, its been super fun so far :]

  5. that is such a cute story. It made me feel all mushy inside as I thought of my own mother.

    Great outfit, too! Your sister should definitely get some inspiration for it….of course, you'll have to show her more than one way to wear that dress, now won't you 😉

  6. You have such a young mom! If you look alike then she must be beautiful too.

    Personally i'm scared of a middle part. I think it'll make my fat head look even fatter!

    Melissa

  7. I have an old 1960s picture with my mom in a dress dotted with apples. I am always on the lookout for an apple dress so I can channel my wonderful mom!

  8. Aw, I like the 70s hair. Super cute. It's kind of strange when you realize that you look like your mom. It got worse when I had a kid and I saw myself doing things that I remembered my mom doing.

  9. I never realized how much I looked like my mother until I started blogging. I guess it's all the pictures I have to pour over every few days – I always see her staring back at me.

  10. I feel the same about looking at pictures of my mom when she was younger– my twin sister and I look exactly like her in some pictures. And I love this dress! I've searched all the targets around here for it!

  11. Your mom must be gorgeous. 🙂

    I look nothing like my own mom in pictures, but people who meet us seem to pick up on our relationship immediately … apparently it's in the walk, talk, and mannerisms. What's even better is that when people see a picture of my step-dad (who adopted me when I was 5) they say "Oh, is this your dad? I can see the resemblance!" 😉

  12. What a sweet post… I love looking through old family photos & thinking about what my parents would have been like before they were my parents. 🙂

  13. Love this post. I love to look at pictures of my mom when she was younger. She was very pretty and still is. A lot of people say I look like her the older I get. I think so too.

    P.S. I got the dress I bought from you and I love it! Fits perfect. I winterized it with a grayish cardigan (a little darker so I wouldn't be too matchy matchy) and black tights and boots! Super cute! I'll post pictures next time I wear it.

  14. What a sweet story! When I first saw the pictures I immediately though, beautiful hairstyle! My hair part has now cemented on one side and I'm pretty sure I can never do the center part again, but it looks great on you and I'm loving the colored tights too!

  15. I love that dress, I'm sad that neither of my targets ever had it! I really adore this look. The colors blend together so well.

    Pictures of my mom when she was younger look so much like me. It's so weird. Except you know she has black hair and I have bright red hair!

  16. there really is nothing like a mom. i say that not just because i am one, but because i love mine so much and since she had her stroke a couple months ago, she hasn't been quite the same. cherish this time you have with your mom. i bet she's quite a lady, especially if she's anything like you 🙂
    oh and that close up of you is stunning!

  17. Oh I really like this look. I love the pop of purple with the tights.

    Another thing: It would be helpful if you could repost the remixers list every few posts. That way readers don't have to search through older posts to find the list.

  18. I watched Love Actually last night and I realized who you remind me of… You resemble the girl that Hugh Grant's character falls in love with, Natalie the girl who works in the prime minister's office. Has anyone ever told you this before?

  19. Love the story, (and the outfit!) I realized I looked more and more like my mom a few years ago, my sisters and I make the same faces, too. Only DNA makes this happen, it's pretty special.

  20. I wish I looked like my mom when she was my age. Maybe one day I'll do a side by side.

    Love this look so boho cute!

    snapshotsofnow.blogspot.com

  21. these photos are great! you should definitely get them developed and frame them for your future kids 🙂

    my laundry wasn't done at the start of this 30 for 30, but I'm gonna do it the next time you start one!

  22. Kendi, this was so sweet! My mom and I don't look a ton alike (I'm told I take more after my dad), but people tell me all the time that my daughter (who is 16 mos. old) looks just like me, and it gives me such a thrill. Your mom must be just lovely, as you certainly are!

  23. I'm honored to be your mom. You and your sister remain my greatest achievement.
    You are no longer my "mini me" but if I loose 10 pounds, grow 4 inches, buy extensions and part my hair down the middle, I might be "mini you"!
    Love you always,
    Mom

  24. I was trying to figure out what looked different about you and then I read about the middle part!

    Suits you (and maybe your mom?) very well!

  25. Gorgeous! The lighting is so pretty and that outfit is just plain lovely! I love the pop of color in the tights. Such a sweet story too…sadly, i look horrible with a center part, but it looks great on you!

  26. Millie Mae — good idea! I made a button on the side now so you can just click through! Also on that page there is a Google Reader feed bundle, if you'd like to follow along. Thanks for the suggestion!

  27. I love the outfit esp the tights… I think its great to always remember where we came from and I couldn't agree more family heirlooms should never be given to me……

    xxx
    CEO

  28. The more i see this dress the more I come to love it! It's just so wonderful and those purple tights add a really nice touch.

  29. What a beautiful story! You should take a photo of your mom now, and take it out in 25 years. I bet you'll look alike then 🙂

    P.S. – Thank you so much for adding me to the Remixer list, in spite of my tardiness. I will devote a haiku to you during one of these 30 days!

  30. My mom and I look alike at various points in our lives. Mostly when we were younger. Not so much right now. She has a much thinner face than I do, but it was rounder when she was younger. It's nice to see similarities though. Makes you feel more connected in some way.

  31. Love this ensemble! The pinkish tights really contrast nicely with the dress.

    My mom and I also look pretty alike, especially since I got my hair cut. Our baby pictures could be duplicates of one another.

  32. I feel the same when I part my hair in the middle! We're lucky to have instant reminders, huh? Moms are the best.

    Your color combinations are fantastic!

  33. awww i dont look much like my mom but she was a really stylish kid so i love digging up her old pictures (alas no old clothes — they suffered through three fires!) and see that wow, it's all coming back again.

    you look fabulous as always. i wish my legs were long enough to wear boots and not get overwhelmed by them. love the tights 🙂

  34. It's funny, my mom and I don't look alike today, but we look almost identical in the same stages of life. It's obvious in pictures, and even more that one time where I was 28-or-so years old and at my grandparent's house and opened the door to an old friend of my mom's I had never seen. He immediately recognized me (the house is usually full of people, so that indeed says something) and said I look just like her. I guess he had seen her last in her 20ies 😉

  35. Love the dress and the honoring of your mom. I myself sometimes feel that I become more and more like my mom, but in a good way!

    Lovely outfit and I think the hair parted in the middle suits you well.

    Could you do a nice hair tutorial in the future?

  36. you look particularly gorgous in these photos – and I love the bright pop of color with the tights. We Love Colors tights are the best!

  37. I love the text in those post. What a sweet sentiment. Thanks for always putting a smile on my face with your posts.

  38. So sweet. Love this combo. Yes, I agree adding unexpected bright colored tights to print dresses and skirts instantly makes the outfits trendy. great combo.

  39. I've been trying to think of a way to compliment how gorgeous you look in these shots without sounding like a lesbian and it isn't working. So, you'll just have to imagine. 🙂

  40. I love a good mother/daughter bond… As close as my mom and I are, my brother and I came out with most of my dad's features.

    By the way, I love this dress and I want to steal it from you or your sister, you know, whoever has a less secure closet 🙂

  41. I absolutely teared up at this post. While I don't think I look too much like my mom, other people do, they also think I sound just like her. And I love hearing stories about the lives my parents had before I was born. I want stories just like that too.

    Are we going to get to see these pictures?

  42. So glad to see colored tights again– I'm ready to break mine back out, and this post is all the encouragement I need. (And the tribute to your mom was just perfect; I bet she's so proud! :))

  43. I thought of you this weekend when I bought purple tights that are very similar to those.

    I had a deeper dark eggplant in one hand and a brighter electric purple in the other…and I thought to myself, this one is safe but I am more drawn to how much this punches up the outfit…

    and then I uttered those four words that make any skeptical tight purchase more clear—

    What would Kendi do?

    So, I threw down the safe pair and purchased the brighter purple ones.

    Katelyn
    blog.shopvoguevintage.com

  44. its always amazing to see old photos of your parents/grandparents, etc. my dad just digitized some 8mm tapes from my grandparents and i saw my mom as a 2 month old baby, a 1 y.o, 2 y.o 4 y.o and 8 y.o…it was amazing! I also look a LOT like my mom so it was so incredible to see her so young:)
    ~Ally

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