Stories About Clothes
Anyone else got stories about their clothes?
I seem to have a story about almost all of mine. Seriously. Here's a sample:
I don't just have combat boots. I got them while taking classes with the Army. And when those died, my brother (in the Marines) got me another pair.
Trench coat: It's over ten years old - I got it for the World Congress!
Jeans: well, after a harrowing search for jeans in Israel that covered the nether regions of my body, I made a pilgrimage to the Gap Outlet at home and got myself a respectable pair for a cool $15 (clothes in Israel tend to be expensive!).
Socks: some are pairs I 'inherited' from my grandfather.
Wedding ring: family heirloom - my great aunt made it, my mother gave it to me for my 21st birthday and I decided then and there I wanted it to be my wedding band (had a duplicate made for Mark to match).
Scarf: my mother made it for me.
Black shirt: went shopping w/ roomie, she chose the shirt, didn't fit her, threw it over the stall and said "Put this on, it'll look great on you" - and it did. I'd never have picked it up myself.
I can go on forever. And I have a feeling some people think I do. I don't just say "thanks" when someone says 'I like your...", I have to tell a story. Sometimes, on the rare occasion that I don't have a story, I feel bummed. Maybe I'm just totally self-absorbed, or materialistic - but heck - clothes stories are fun. I suppose that's why I collect them. Anyway, have any that you'd like to share?
Comments
Ooooo. I know where you get the whole clothes story thing from. Me! I do the same thing. Why can't I just say 'thank you'?
Btw, are Popop's socks still going? I ask because I was telling that particular clothes story as an ode to handknit socks, their durability and therefore worth and made the claim that you were still wearing Popop's handknit socks.
I don't know if you know the back story. I remember when Mimi got them from tante Armelle. She paid $25 for them and that would have been somewhere between 1971 and 1974. I remember Mimi kind of carping because she thought it was too much. Now inflation has had an impact. According to the inflation calculator I used, that is equivilant to $106 today. Now that is a lot to pay for a pair of socks, but they have been in continous use for about 30 years. That brings the price to $3.50 per year and going down. The cost of the materials in today's dollars ranges from $15 to $20 per pair. This is not inconsiderable. And it takes about 16 to 20 hours to make a pair of socks. (And Popop's were argyle, so was of three colors and a bit more complicated.) At minimum wage, that comes to between $77 and $103 per pair. So basically, tante Armelle didn't even make a profit, if we were going to do a breakeven analysis on these socks. And this is why I knit socks from love, not for money.
Aunt Cindy offered her services of hanging wallpaper for a contribution to the Kingdom Project. She 'charged' $100 to hang a border for Craig and Suzanne. It took her 4 hours and they bought the materials. I started to think that maybe I should offer to make socks to raise money for the Kingdom Project. After doing the math, I figured I would be better off if I offered to *not* knit a pair of socks for $25.
Posted by: Nannie | February 21, 2005 5:26 PM
Yes, the socks are still going - though I usually wear them around the house or in boots as they're so bulking they only fit in boots.
By the way, I was talking to a woman today who agreed - it's so much more fun to have 'unique' items and ones w/ stories!
Posted by: Mara | February 21, 2005 6:13 PM
Me too, but my stories usually consist of "Heidi gave it to me." I find that I really hate to shop, and won't shop alone. My friends don't have time (and neither do I) to shop together and my daughters live far away. That leave Daddy. Fortunately, he has risen to the occasion. We went to Dillard (75% off) on Sunday. I had walked about 200 feet and was ready to go home. Daddy found a rounder and from that rack found 4 pairs of pants that work. I don't "love" them, but they will do until the style change or (God forbid) I gain weight. But without Daddy there, I would have turned around and left frustrated and empty-handed.
Posted by: Nannie | February 22, 2005 8:24 PM