Mama's appearance is based on that of a stereotypical elderly woman. She is a buxom, purse-lipped widow with silvery gray curls. All of her daytime outfits were short-sleeved, floral-print dresses with lace collars. Costumer Ret Turner color-coded Mama in lavender. As much of Mama's time was spent cooking and cleaning, she often wore overlapping aprons over her dresses. Mama's lower legs were always enveloped by visible support hose (a feature that was nonexistent during "The Family" sketches, but made its first appearance during the 1973 segment in the "Eunice" movie). For footwear, Mama invariably wore white orthopedic shoes of a high-heeled brogue style.