This was really something we only did for school and it was a big splurge - very different from the way people shop now. I haven't changed much - I hate shopping - so I go maybe once a year and if I find anything I like I buy 8 of it just so I don't have to go back.
We planned how many of each type of thing we were going to get, and we didn't get much, and we didn't shop anywhere expensive.
I remember how the prospect of new clothes for school was exciting for about 5 minutes before the ennui of trying things on endlessly and hating them all set in. And when you're that age, you have all that anxiety about showing up in the wrong thing or being teased endlessly about wearing some less than ideal brand - in Bryan, TX in that decade, there were definitely brands that made you an outcast. For boys - it was wearing Toughskins jeans - the Sears version of the infinitely cooler Wranglers. Personally, I think kids clothing shouldn't even have branding visible on it - it's nothing but trouble. But I digress.
One item that we bought that year has burned the whole trip into my memory - I even remember precisely a shirt we bought from that trip - a bright plaid shirt with little gold threads in it. But forget the shirt.
The item I whined and cried about and had to have was a blue coat.
Mind you - a child in Bryan, TX doesn't have much use for a coat. However, stores in Texas have buyers in New York, and so each fall to this day, we see sweaters and coats and scarves and a million other impractical things we'll push past in the vain hope of finding something we won't die of a heatstroke in in December. Like shorts. And flip flops. And bug spray.
But this coat was spectacular.
It was a soft, almost periwinkle blue suede, with that fluffy lining that is now in Uggs. It had huge, fluffy lined pockets, and the cuffs were the fluffy lining too. It was basically like wearing a large, blue, stuffed animal.
It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. And my mom got it for me.
I loved that coat so much. I was so excited the first day I actually got to wear it at school and I was petrified I'd leave it somewhere.
I don't know why that blue coat crossed my mind today - maybe because I'm listening to the Longmire Mysteries on audiobook - (I highly recommend them if you like the series they are based on) - and Longmire was enjoying the last day without a coat before the snow started, and my mind turned to coats.
I realized when the coat crossed my mind why exactly it is that trends - even horrid trends like stirrup pants and mall bangs - come back around every so often.
It's because some woman who loved her crazy blue suede coat when she was 12, gets older, stops caring what people think about what she wears (one of the real benefits of getting older), and she says - I'm going to get a coat just like the one I had in fifth grade, dang it.
She finds one, or has it made, everyone her age wants one too, and BOOM - we are back in that decade.
(Thanks a lot to whoever missed their stirrup pants, you psycho!)
Glad to have that mystery solved! :)
Today's card is another Brusho leaf - I only did one 9 x 12 sheet of these practicing for my retreat, but I have gotten so many cards out of that sheet. Each one is so different and fun.
This card was actually for Teresa's Hope You Can Cling To Challenge earlier in the month to make a freestyle collage card.
Teresa has SUCH a beautiful, airy style on her cards, and collage is something she excels at.
It is hard for me because I'm kind of a minimalist, so I worked on this card for a long, long time before I liked it. All the supplies are listed below.
I love the little (probably unintentional) pops of yellow in with the pink.
Don't forget that $5000+ of crafty prizes await you if you enter the challenges before November 7th!
And don't forget that my mini retreat before OnStage Live in Dallas is just a week away - we have a few seats left so don't delay - I will close registration soon!
Loveyameanitbye.
i had a shearling lined coat when i was 5 or 6, i loved it so much that i slept in it every night--but i also wore it when weather permitted
ReplyDeleteSee - you even know special coat words, you Yankee! :) Love ya.
DeletePlease dear Lord, let's hope no one missed their quiana shirts that would burst into flames if you got within a city block of a lighter or burned into your skin if you were around a campfire.
ReplyDeleteHa! I love your analysis of trends and think you could be right. Nice. This card is gorgeous, Lydia. The leaf is perfect - I shall never see another Lighthearted Leaves maple leaf I love more.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful card, it turned out great. I loved, loved, loved velour shirts, and they've made somewhat of a comeback. A trend I wouldn't want is see come back is hip-hugger bell bottoms, especially when paired with a tube top, but I did love them back in the day.
ReplyDeleteLove those yellow pops too. But especially the pink leaf against the woodgrain background. Question: Do you still have the coat???
ReplyDeleteOh Lydia, When I see one of your posts in my inbox I save it to read when I am able to pay full attention and savor your words...! You always crack me up and make me think...in equal amounts. Had a giggle at the memory of Toughskins and their unfashionable status, (and that memory of stirrup pants made me shudder) I share your dislike to clothes shopping, and when I find something I like, I wear it forever...and in every color. My adult daughter tries to modernize my wardrobe every so often but I'd much rather shop for and buy craft supplies! I bought my first small set of Brushos this last month and can't wait to make up a few sheets of color to use with stamps and dies. The pink and yellow colors in your leaf are wonderfully non-traditional and look just lucsious against the neutral background. Just WOW!
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful card! Love the coloring on the leaf!
ReplyDelete