FROM GARDEN PORTRAIT TO FAMILY LEGACY: CREATING MEMORIES BEYOND FABRIC AND STITCHES

Some stories come full circle in the most beautiful ways. When Meghan Goering was five years old, her mother commissioned a local seamstress to create a custom dress and hired an artist to paint a portrait of her sitting in the iconic Reynolda Gardens in Winston-Salem NC. This painting and the profound love it represented, would shape not only Meghan's sense of self but her motherhood journey and entire life's mission.

Now based in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and blessed mother of four daughters of her own, Meghan has of course kept the tradition alive. The precious navy dress, featured here, has been worn by her two eldest and will be passed down to her youngest when they reach five. Yet she had been dreaming of taking it a step further and creating something equally special of her own. The birthday of her third daughter, Caroline, seemed the perfect occasion for it.

That's what led her to us : to commission a custom smocked dress that would carry forward the legacy her mother began decades ago.

To allow, not just Caroline, but little girls around the globe to each create their portrait tradition, we decided to offer the dress in limited edition on our e-shop. This collaboration thus represents more than just a dress : it's about preserving the art of intentional memory-making for our children. 

In this article, Meghan shares more about the story of how one portrait planted the seeds for a lifetime dedicated to celebrating childhood and family life.

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Meghan’s Painterly Portraits

Before going back to roots, here is a presentation of her portrait offer.

Professional photographer Meghan is deeply devoted to preserving family legacies through timeless, intentional portraiture

She specializes in creating bespoke, hand-crafted albums and custom-framed fine art pieces—each one thoughtfully designed to be cherished and passed down through generations.

She is well known for her Painterly Portraits. Working with a digital artist in a dedicated lab, digital brush strokes are applied to every single pixel, creating a painting-like photo. From there, it is printed on giclee canvas before applying contoured brush strokes to give it a 3D painterly look. To the natural eye, it’s just as exquisite as a traditional, oil painted portrait. 

The Origin Story

Let's start with that five-year-old girl in Reynolda Gardens. Can you paint the scene for us ?

Isn’t it funny how time shapes our memories ? I don’t remember the portrait session itself, but I vividly remember the dress. I can still see myself riding in the car with my mother to pick it up. It had the distinct scent of smoke from the seamstress’s studio—a detail that makes me smile even now. 

What stayed with me even more, though, was how my mother spoke about that dress throughout my childhood. She always called it “the most beautiful dress in the world.” Looking back, I think it wasn’t just the dress she treasured—it was everything it represented : a fleeting season of childhood, a moment she wanted to hold onto forever.

What prompted your mum to create such a portrait and to choose a custom made dress ?

Let’s start with the dress. She wanted something special that no one else would have and I was very keen on velvet. She chose navy because it was a color that suited me well. The dress also featured a hand-smocked collar lovingly made by her sister—my aunt—which made it even more meaningful.

As for the portrait, it wasn’t just a Southern tradition, but a family one since decades. My mum’s own parents had commissioned portraits of their own children, and my great-grandparents did the same for theirs. I can still picture the hand-painted portraits that hung in my grandparents’ dining room. It’s a beautiful thing to think about—the layers of memory, craftsmanship, and love woven into both the dress and the portrait, and the sense of continuity it creates across generations.

That portrait still hangs in your mother's home today. When you see it now, what goes through your mind?

Gratitude. I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my mother and the care she took to preserve our childhood in such a meaningful way. When I look at it, I see a little girl who was—and still is—so alive. Full of words (usually too many, according to my past teachers!), full of energy, and full of love for others. To see myself through my mother’s eyes is to be reminded of how deeply loved and celebrated I was.

Your mother had a deep reverence for childhood. How did this manifest in your daily life growing up, beyond the formal portraits?

Every moment mattered to her—whether monumental or minuscule. Yes, the formal portraits had a prominent place on the wall, but so did snapshots from everyday life. We had framed JCPenney and Olan Mills portraits almost every other year, but also candid photos from family vacations, Halloween costumes, and ordinary moments that she deemed worth remembering. She even custom-framed my childhood artwork—sometimes pieces that weren’t particularly impressive! Her commitment to honoring our childhood through photography and display made each moment feel significant. The walls of our home were a gallery of love and memory.

The Full Circle Moment

When you decided to continue this portrait tradition with your own daughters, what drew you to commission a custom smocked dress rather than choosing something off the rack? 

From the very beginning, Caroline had this angelic look—strangers would stop to tell me how much she resembled a little Cabbage Patch doll with her round cheeks and bright blue eyes. Like me, she looks especially lovely in blue, so I began searching for a dress that felt soft, dainty, and one of a kind—just like her.

The Charlotte Sy Dimby dress we create is everything I had hoped for. The pastel blue, the exquisite smocking in shades of blue with just a hint of darker contrast, the sweet puff sleeves, the covered buttons, and that beautiful bow tied at the back—it all felt like a perfect reflection of her spirit. It isn't just a dress; it is a keepsake, crafted with the same intention and detail I pour into my own work as a portrait artist.

What was it like to be in your mother's shoes, planning and commissioning a special dress for your child's portrait? 

Now, being in her shoes, I understand the joy of thoughtfully choosing every little detail. Each decision—the color, the style, the embroidery—feels like a love letter. And just like my mother once envisioned, I now picture my own daughters’ portraits lining our staircase. I hope they grow up seeing themselves on those walls and knowing how deeply cherished they are by both their father and me.

Can you describe how Caroline felt wearing the dress? What emotions did you feel as you pictured your own child?

On the day of Caroline’s heirloom portraits, I curled her golden hair and fastened her scalloped bow just so. She hopped up on my little studio stool, full of personality—silly, sassy, entirely herself. I captured every bit of it behind the lens. But it wasn’t until I saw the finished portraits that the emotion truly washed over me. The way the dress fit her so perfectly, the way her soft curls framed her face, the sparkle in her blue eyes—it all came together so beautifully. That was the moment my joy felt complete.

Now, every time I pass the spot on our stairwell where her portrait will soon hang, I catch myself smiling, already picturing it there. Thank you, Charlotte sy Dimby, for making Caroline’s portrait even more magical than I could have imagined by designing the most beautiful dress in the world.

The Ripple Effect

This dress is available for other families to create their own special portrait memories. What do you hope it represents for other parents and children?

I hope it inspires parents to pause and invest in something truly lasting. Every part of the experience—from selecting the dress to preparing for the portrait—is an opportunity to affirm to your child how treasured they are. It’s also a powerful reminder for us, as mothers, to focus on what holds true value: the beauty of our children and the fleeting season of their childhood.

What would you say to parents who are considering investing in both a special dress and professional portraits for their children?

You will never regret choosing to preserve these moments. Childhood slips by faster than we’d like, and the chance to capture it with intention is a gift to both you and your child. Investing in the details—the dress, the portrait, the entire experience—cements the memory in their hearts and in yours. It becomes something they can return to again and again, a visual reminder of how deeply they are loved.

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To learn more about Meghan, you can visit her website and follow her on Instagram at @meghangoeringphotography. You can also learn more about the tradition of Heirloom Portraits on her journal. 

To commission your own portrait dress, please send us an email at info@charlottesydimby.com