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Sue Spitulnik

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It’s National Dress Day. The calendar says to recognize the day by remembering your favorite dresses and the events you wore them for and/or post a picture of you in one.

I’ll give away my age by admitting when I was in school, girls had to wear dresses or skirts. My senior class held a sit-in to have the rules changed so girls could wear pants to school. It certainly makes sense for students to wait for the bus in pants instead of skirts during the winter months, but the sad part is, unless you work in an office, so few ladies wear dresses anymore, we have lost some of our femininity. My husband, in recent years, has made the comment, “Wow, I’d forgotten you had legs.”

I love TV shows and movies that showcase the beautiful clothing once worn; Downton Abbey, Victoria, and My Fair Lady are some examples. I happen to believe women’s clothing styles have evolved backwards. In the old days we should have worn pants and t-shirts because they are easier to take care of. Now days, when we have all the modern tools and techniques, we should be wearing the frills and hoops of the 1800’s. Please don’t throw a tomato at me, I know we wouldn’t be comfortable, but we sure would look good! Now that I think about it; can you imagine trying to drive to the grocery store in a long full skirt. I guess I need to rethink my fantasy.

When I was younger, I loved to get dolled up in a dress and heels. Then the back gave out on me. I have worn nothing but sneakers or flats since 2000. I feel silly in a dress with my ugly shoes. Oh well, better to be comfortable. I also remember, way back in grade-school, waiting years to grow into a dress my older sister had worn. When I finally did, it was so out of style, my class-mates laughed at me, but I didn’t care at the time, it was my sister’s dress and I loved it.

I love to drive by a church in the inner city as the service lets out just to admire the ladies’ outfits. They still know how to dress to praise the Lord. And their hats add something special. I wish I knew where they shopped.

 

 

 

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Buttons, Buttons

Do you remember your grandmother or your mother snipping the buttons off shirts that were headed for the rag basket and then collecting them in jars? Maybe you even played games or strung them for ornaments and crafts.  The buttons were fun to stack into piles, sort by color or size, or scatter/slide across the floor or table making up different games each time.

My mother had a tin of buttons; we called it the button box. And yes, my friends and I got it out every so often and sorted through it just like the above paragraph says. I remember a set of four little blue bows made out of plastic that were buttons. They were so pretty, but I never found a use for them. There were also coat buttons, a couple of buckles that had been saved from  belts, and lots of little white buttons off men’s shirts. To this day I still cut the buttons off of shirts I am discarding, or off clothing I am making a memory quilt out of.  I can’t help myself, they may come in handy some day. Most of the clothing I buy has an extra button attached in case I lose one. I keep each one of those buttons in a specific drawer in a jewelry box my grandson gave me. I have even used one of them once. They are pretty to look at all jumbled up together in a pile and I can picture each piece of clothing they belong to.

When my husband gets dressed in the morning he often grumbles about the size of the buttons on his shirt collar and cuffs. I often remark I don’t know why, with men as top fashion designers, they don’t effect a change in the size of those little tiny buttons. Sometimes I button them for him and I have trouble with them; I’m sure the public would accept the change graciously.

My mother died forty-six years ago today. At the time I didn’t know it was National Button Day. I still think almost daily of the part she played in my life. Now I’ll think of her every time I see a fascinating button or any kind of button for that matter. She would love the fact buttons are now used on purses and as quilt decorations, not just on clothing.

 

 

 

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National Thrift Shop Day

I know someone who would never dream of wearing another person’s cast off clothes (because of germs.)  My feeling is if you give them a good wash, your body will never know the difference and your wallet will be happier.

I am jealous of the woman who can eat all day, and not gain any weight; or the one who no matter what she puts on, looks great.  I don’t fit in either category, and I like to eat.  Therefore, when I go to a thrift shop, the clothes that have the best selection are the size I have grown out of.  I didn’t get the exercise gene either.  I need to learn portion control, but what fun is that.  I am also short, so finding a pair of pants or dress that I don’t have to hem is almost unheard of.  The result is, I really don’t enjoy shopping.

In my locale we have Goodwill stores and multiple privately owned thrift stores.  We even have one that caters to the crafting crowd whose proceeds go to help local senior citizens.  I know some people who buy all their business clothes in thrift stores so they can afford to have more outfits to wear.  They are mostly those thin ladies I find irritating.  They are also the ones who stop at the second-hand shops on a weekly basis to make sure they don’t miss something good.

Last summer I bought a beautiful needle felted sweater at a craft show.  I was told the original sweater came from a thrift store.  It’s a beautiful maroon and has a huge dragon fly and flowers on the back.  I wear it proudly.  I also have a couple of blouses that I always get compliments on, an old leather coat that is going raggy on the cuffs, and a “new” one waiting for this winter; they are my “finds” from second-hand shops.

Every once in a while I get into a sewing project that requires nylon, leather, or silk.  Rather than try to find new pieces of fabric I go to the thrift store and buy something inexpensive that I can cut up then put the remains in my rag bag to wait for the next idea to strike.

If you are looking for bargains in the clothing or household area, visit your local thrift shop.  You may find an unexpected treasure.

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