A four-year-old Colorado girl proudly stepped into her first day of kindergarten wearing a bright yellow shift dress, that positively bursting at the seams with history and tradition.
Young Caroline Hirt’s peers could not have known that the sweet yellow-and-purple frock she proudly wore to school was actually a precious family heirloom, having been made by her great-great-grandmother in the 1950s, and then first worn by her great-aunt on her first day of kindergarten.
The frock was also worn by Caroline’s mother Jenny Hirt, 41, and has been passed down for three generations and worn by 19 family members across seven states, in order to mark their first day of kindergarten class.
Traditional tot: Caroline Hirt, four, smiled wearing the 67-year-old dress that’s been passed down for three generations and crossed seven states as a customary first day of school outfit
Mini mom! Mother Jenny Hirt, 41, gave a toothy grin as the fifth person to wear the hand-sewn dress for her first day of kindergarten back in 1981 with a matching purple headband
Great matriarch: Jenny’s great-aunt Martha Esch was the first to wear the dress that was especially handmade for her first day of school in Saline, Michigan in 1950
The tiny yellow shift dress with purple plaid fringe, flower detailing and a bow tied in the back is a vision from an Anne of Green Gables storybook and fit the smiling Colorado girl like a glove.
The dress, Jenny explained, was created for her great-aunt’s first day of kindergarten in Saline, Michigan, in 1950 by her great-grandmother Maude Hatton Bryant and grandmother Helen Esch Stewart, who helped with the embroidery.
And since the 1950s debut, the handmade dress has been passed down the Esch line as the unlikeliest of family heirlooms.
Mom Jenny was the fifth person to wear the dress in 1981 and her daughter little Caroline was the 18th. However the mother-of-two remembers she didn’t feel much excitement about the frock on her first day.
‘At the time, it was not such a big deal. I was the first and only granddaughter at the time, and the second generation and fifth girl to wear the dress,’ Jenny revealed to Daily Mail.
‘My cousin Sarah wore the dress 10 years later. After that, we decided to really keep the tradition rolling,’ she explained on the custom’s genesis.
The dress has now been worn 19 times with Caroline’s cousin Sylvie as its latest wearer.
Jenny revealed that the dress tradition is here to stay with three young cousins ages two, three and four yet to grow into the vintage outfit.
Fashionable fit: Caroline clings to her mom with a joyful smile before the first day of school in the famed yellow and purple frock as its 18th wearer
First day of school jitters: Mom Jenny confessed that little Caroline wasn’t ‘terribly thrilled’ to wear the dress but after adding a few touches of her own, she was happy to go
Mommy and me! Jenny’s elder daughter Ally Hirt, 6, was more enthusiastic about the vintage fit and wore the outfit with leggings and pink sneakers in 2016
The dress has traveled seven states thus far, starting in Saline, Michigan and passing on to North Carolina, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, Ohio and Florida.
A collection of photographs reveal multiple female family members wearing the dress and the girls couldn’t look more different with varying heights, hair colors, and unique hairdo’s, with only a select few opting for the traditional pigtail braids. But in all the photos the dress appears evergreen fashionable and the tots gleeful with their gown.
As the outfit travels across the nation, the dress too has seen some wear and tear.
‘When I was doing minor repairs on the dress this summer, I noticed the buttons have been moved around at least three times, I assume to make them fit the girls in our family,’ revealed to Daily Mail.
As for Caroline, she wasn’t completely down for the tradition and added her own spin to the first day look with the bright vintage number.
‘It was a bit nerve-wracking! I was honored for her to participate, and thrilled when she actually fit into the dress. Caroline is much more deliberate with her clothing choices. She wasn’t terribly thrilled to wear the dress,’ Jenny explained.
The little fashionista then made a compromise after seeing photos of her mom and other family members in the dress.
‘After seeing the photos, especially the one of me, Caroline thought it was pretty cool. But she HAD to wear her favorite boots. And she also refused to put her hair in pigtails braids as was part of the tradition,’ Jenny added.
Jenny’s older daughter Ally, 6, however has a taste for the family hand-me-downs and rocked the frock enthusiastically.
‘We try not to put too much pressure on the girls to wear it. My older daughter, Ally, was thrilled to wear it since it was something her mama and grandma wore to their first days of school,’ she said.
Spitting image: Emma (left) and Abby Esch wore the full tradition for their first days of class with the dress and two side pigtail braids tied with ribbon in 2003 and 2005, respectively
Petite Princess! Caroline’s second cousin Sara Levant wore the dress with her blonde tresses pigtails back in 1995 and bears a strong resemblance to the dress’ first wearer Martha
Latest fashionista! Sylvie Johnson is the dress’ latest wearer for her first day of kindergarten and sported the 67-year-old frock this year
With a laugh the mom explained that the now the tradition, that has spanned three generations, sometimes takes plenty of persuasion to keep it alive. Ice cream was the key to winning niece Sylvie over, who ended up very happy with her dress.
But the frock isn’t the only heirloom passed down for generations. The parent revealed that her family is full of traditions and have passed along recipes, furniture, musical instruments, jewelry, and of course clothes, as history-rich hand-me-downs.
‘When I was pregnant with my first daughter, my mother sent me boxes of my childhood clothes and toys that she kept for years waiting for me to have my first child,’ she explained her family’s heart-warming hoarding habits.
‘Ally and Caroline have played with many toys that used to be mine when I was a little girl. Ally, my older daughter, is drawn to these things, and a sweater I had since 1979 is one of her favorite sweaters. She even wore an outfit to school one day last year where she wore my Aunt Martha’s skirt from the 50s and my sweater from the 70s,’ she added.
As the tiny tots trot into their first day of class, the family is taken aback by the viral frenzy their tale-old tradition has received online.
‘It is a way to carry on the memories of family members, try to instill pride of tradition in our kids, and bind us together as a family. It’s a big deal to us,’ Jenny shared to Daily Mail in hopes that other families can carry on the tiny token custom.