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I received a clothing catalog last week and opened it expecting to see the usual too tight tops, too short sweaters, crop pants. In my day we called any pants that hit above the ankles “floods,” so I do have a slight aversion to crop pants. To my great surprise, there were dozen of items in that catalog that were variations (or copies) of 60’s and 70’s styles. Okay, I’m going to age and date myself. I am a product of that era and loved the clothes.
So hot dang, they’re back. Wide legged Palazzo pants, cute jeans jackets, sweater vests--all right, all right, there was also a mou-mou and a couple of really bad crocheted vests, one replete with pom-poms. (Way back when, I actually could crochet those things and knot macramé belts and those hanging flower pot thingies.) Anyway, the catalog also had thong sandals, embroidered peasant tops, hip-hugger, bell-bottom jeans, JUMPSUITS, and A-line dresses in rainbow colors!
Not trusting one catalog for the current trend, I headed for the mall, where Dillard’s and Macy’s confirmed the new fashion--yep. Just about every rack. Retro! My credit card was about to suffer.
Grab armloads of clothing articles, head for the dressing room. Try on the first one--and yes, I had the good sense to select a larger size (okay, more than one size larger) than I wore back then.
Must be a mistake. What’s wrong with this A-line dress? Why does it look more like an O-line? That tummy bulge, what's that all about? When did I grow those puffy knees? Hey, whose body is this!
Then reality hit--the style might be retro--but my body’s not!
I drooped home, faced with the fact that by the time I could possibly do any of these clothes the least justice, my favorite fashion trend would be long past--AGAIN!!! But I couldn’t resist. I grabbed that catalog and ordered the cutest little T-shirt dress in wild paisley! In my old size. If I never get into it, so be it. I’ll just look at it and remember....
Do you have any clothes in your closet that you just can’t part with? Is there a style era that you particularly love? Wonder who has the oldest dress in her closet? I have a few from the 70's. How about you?
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
I have never thrown any
I have never thrown any clothes away, so if I had it, I still have it. BUT, the problem will be fitting into it.
"Saving the future, one presidential edict at a time."
March's Member of the Month--2008
Clothes
I used to be really bad about keeping clothes I could no longer wear. I would tell myself that I would loose a few pounds and it would fit again. Well I finally gave up and got rid of all my old clothes that don't fit. So now I have more room in my closet and I don't have to be depressed when I look at the size I used to be able to wear. I'm from that era too. I only wish I had kept my platform shoes.
Linda Henderson
no trends
I've moved too much to hold on to clothes that I didn't wear much. I have some cute little T's that are in the back of my closet I know I need to get rid of. I will - when I need the hangers!
I go with the standards - for work it's polo shirts in the summer and turtlenecks in the winter. It would be interesting to see what I'm left with if I'm ever on the TV show "What not to Wear". Which is probably why I don't watch it!
Marcie
Oldest clothes
Well, I have a jacket from the 1950's but it was originally my mom's. Now I am saving it for my daughter as I am too big for it. I long ago parted with my size 5 / 7 clothes. (I will never be that small again!!) I have some old T-shirts from the 1980's but that is about it.
Tammy Y
June 2009 Member of the Month
not so retro
"Then reality hit--the style might be retro--but my body’s not!"
Elaine, I'm in the same boat! I love all of those old styles, but my body just doesn't look the same in them now that I'm three sizes larger.
It's funny that you are talking today about all of the old clothes in your closet. I just decided this weekend that, this week, I'm going to get rid of all the old things I've hung onto for far too long. After a while, it just starts to feel like too much 'weight' hanging around.
There's a certain freedom in 'slimming' down the old wardrobe. I'm looking forward to it ;-)
Mary
A COWBOY'S PLAN
Harlequin Superromance
April 13th, 2010
www.marysullivanbooks.com
Love the 50s...
Those pencil skirts and short jackets... grr just love them. I have several in my closet already ;-)
I don't keep anything though, so as soon as I realise I've stopped wearing a piece of clothe I throw it away. I don't keep things in general.
Fake Frenchie - <lol>
I wish I'd never thown some of mine away, too. I have dreams of going through "my" closet sometimes and there are lots of great clothes in there--but it's only a dream <g> BTW, your kitty picture looks like my "psycho kitty" Shukie. He's a mess!
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
Seriousreader - Platform shoes
I never got into the really high platforms. I would have broken my neck even then. I do however have a pair of red snakeskin spikes that I won't part with. And BOOTS--I loved boots. I have 3 pair of my old boots that I love and could probably still wear if I could drag them out from under all the other stuff.
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
Marcie R - Trends
On the days--which are most-- that I can't even push my way into my closet to find the 4 pieces of clothing I wear most, I wish I didn't keep ANYTHING. And swear I'm going to "clean closet" one of these days and get rid of it all. But when I try, I end up throwing away recent clothes before the old ones. What sort of vitamin deficiency causes that? <g>
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
Yenastone -- oldest clothes
Ooohhh, don't even mention Mom's gems! My mother has her heels from the 40's and 50's and 60's and well, you get it. Clothes, too. Magazines, too. Photos, too. And knick-knacks and books---oh cases and cases of books. WHat an adventure cleaning out that house will be!
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
Msullivan - cleaning out the closet
Mary, you want to come clean MINE out when you're done? I'll have chocolate waiting <lol>
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
Emmanualle - the 50's
Isn't it interesting the differences in people. Some who don't keep anything past it's use, all the way to those like me who keep everything, including my ds's baby clothes and baseball jerseys, and well--just about everything. In the genes, learned behavior, or a combo of both?
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
I still have clothes from
I still have clothes from the late 60s-early 70s, but my daughters are wearing them. They also love the styles--it's so cool.
Nancy
January 2009 Member of the Month
Participant in Date with Destiny 2009
Participant in Pass the Plot Spring 2009
Boots!
I have a pair of old Frye boots from my college years - older than my children by a bunch of years. They're a lovely shade of orange, but I couldn't bear to part with them. One of my daughters found them in my closet last year, and now she's wearing them. The classics never go out of style :)
Margaret
Margaret Watson www.margaretwatson.com
Mother and Daughters
Sheandean and Margaret, how great that you have daughters who appreciate "vintage" clothing <lol> Have you noticed the rebirth of our music too? Yea, us!
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
Yes! I love hearing all the
Yes! I love hearing all the old tunes, too.
Nancy
January 2009 Member of the Month
Participant in Date with Destiny 2009
Participant in Pass the Plot Spring 2009
Everything that goes around comes around
Oh, yeah! I grew up with the 60s and 70s being my high fashion years. I remember that I once owned a pair of jeans with 27" bells at the bottom. Man, I loved those things!
Whether it's nature or nurture, I'm one of those who hangs onto clothes (and most everything else) forever and a day. As for my own clothes, I have prom dresses I wore in the 10th grade (that would be 1970-71), and a great red velvet jumpsuit but with short-shorts instead of the full leg. I also have several shorts and crop top sets and a pair of white jeans. And we called the pants that were not quite long enough "high waters", so we were thinking along the same lines. In my day, capri pants hit just slightly below the knee, which was short enough to realize it was intentional and long enough to not be mistaken for shorts. The capri pants of today are much longer but just hit at the top or middle of the ankle. Especially when they are flared or belled at the bottom, it really makes me wonder whether the pants are intended to be capris or just aren't long enough.
I also have lots of clothes that I wore in my early 30s (starting in 1985), when I was the smallest I ever was in my adult life. I have lots of sundresses that my DD, who is now 19, loves to wear.
The oldest piece of clothing I have, though, is the outfit my mother wore the day she brought me home from the hospital in 1955. I wore it, too, but not right after childbirth. Of course, my mother only gained a total of 14 lbs. when she was pregnant and left the hospital weighing 87 lbs. (having had a pre-pregnancy weight of 94). Different era.
Adopt a shelter pet. Save a life; gain a best friend for life.
View my DD's very public video acting debut at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-v05kMucw.
July 2009 Member of the Month
JV - Prom Attire
Wow, you do have a nice collection! I'm envious. Over the years, I guilted myself into giving away things that now I wish I'd kept. Like the very "Mod" British Chelsea style cranberry dress with cute matching cap that my mom brought back from NY one year--and I still am a little stewed that I never got the promised white go-go boots.
But I did make a mark at my dh's Sr. Prom (I was a year older and already in college in the big city...sooo cosmo <g>) and for the prom I had a white lace sleeveless tunic top over wide-legged lace pants (unlined legs, mind you--oh, the scandal!). And fancy sandals. I still get a laugh out of the photo dh's mother (future MIL) made that evening of the two of us. My handsome boyfriend in his tux with a burgundy vest standing in a classic pose with one hand on his hip and the other arm across the back of the chair I'm sitting in. Great torso shot of him--and my HEAD. She managed to finagle the rest of me out of the photo. I'm sure she wished she could get me out of the picture altogether (Yes, pun intended <lol>).
Ah the good old days!
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
My old wedding dress I
My old wedding dress I still have it in my closet no way I can get into it now but I still have it there. my kids use to play in it. it is a peach color with lots of flowers all over it. And I still have some long sweaters that were my Mom 14 years ago. I keep them as they were her best.
Penney
Happy reading!
Penney
Penny - Wedding Dresses
Ah how fun for your kids.
My wedding dress was never finished, but it was flimy white material with tiny pastel flowers embroidered on it. Long story, but we ended up eloping and the dress hung unfinished in my closet for years, and I finally did away with it--don't recall how now.
But funny, funny--I was watching Coal Miner's Daughter with Sissy Spacek and just gasped--in one of the final scenes at a concert, she was WEARING MY WEDDING DRESS! Well, one almost just exactly like it. Every time I watch that movie--I'm one of those people who watches her favorite 10 movies over and over and over--I think of how beautiful that dress would have been.....
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
PENNEY -- Oops
Penney, sorry for the typo on your name! I hate when that happens <g>
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
Where did my body go???
Indeed. Over the weekend we went to the island & I brought along a cute little dress I'd bought on sale & saved just for this weekend.
I put it on. Looked in the mirror.
Asked DH "Do I look pregnant in this dress?"
He answered, "You look beautiful no matter what you're wearing. Did you bring anything else?"
He's a master of diplomacy and tact. I put my shorts back on & packed up the dress. I should've left it there.
So what's on my email this a.m.? Free month offer at WeightWatchers! *Sigh*
tappity -- nice hubby!
Hey, that tact goes a looonnnggg way, doesn't it? Good for him!
Elaine Grant
www.elainegrant.com
NO HERO LIKE HIM Harlequin Superromance -- July 2009
AN IDEAL FATHER Harlequin Superromance -- October 2008
MAKE-BELIEVE MOM Harlequin Superromance -- RITA FINALIST-- September 2007
A-line now O-line!
I've also moved lots so it's a good Feng-Shui opportunity. I make it a rule to toss whatever I haven't worn in the past 2 Navy moves/climates. What I want to know is how I fit into only one size larger (since college) but weigh about 40 more lbs? Does wisdom and experience have weight?
Superromance Author
www.gerikrotow.com