Fur coats in the closet

I know I've mentioned before that our home in Runnemede only had two closets. One was in the bedroom which was really a room that connected to the stairway that led to the attic, and the other was in the hall from which the two bedrooms and bathroom had doorways. That little closet -- and it was little, probably 2.5 feet x 4 feet deep -- held two fur coats and one coat with a large fox fur collar. The coat with the fur collar was the coat my mother wore for most of my childhood -- at least until I was 10 or 11. The other two coats -- the fur coats -- were stored in the closet and rarely worn.

One was a big, beaver coat -- man-sized -- I think it was a man's coat -- the type men wore in the 1920s to college football games. It was warm, though. I know because I wore it a couple of times. One time I wore it on Christmas Eve when the youth group at church was Christmas carolling around the town, and it was very cold that year, made even colder, I suppose because there was at least a foot of snow on the ground, and the streets were snow covered. I remember begging to wear that coat on other occasions, but not being permitted to do so. I loved the feel of the fur.

The other coat was a gray squirrel fur coat. I had that coat in Cincinnati, I think. My daughters would know. It sort of started to shed, though, and I had to get rid of it. It was beautifully made, when it was wearable, with the waist narrowed in and a single button holding it shut at the waist. It, too, was warm. It only fit me for a short while, because it was made for a very small woman -- and I was only small before I had children. After that, I was no longer small.

So, that closet held those three coats, my dad's overcoat, and the Electrolux vacuum cleaner -- which was on the floor under the coats. I think mom used that closet for storage for off-season items such as the coats that we weren't wearing. It had a very small shelf over top of the rod that held the coats, which held dad's felt hat, or was it hats, I'm not sure. I only know that daddy always had a felt hat of some sort. I recall one was gray, but I also recall he had a black one.


He went in for the type that Humphrey Bogart would have worn, not the type that a golfer would wear. I'm not sure what they're called, but it was the type that you imagine a 1930s detective wearing.

So, that's the story of the closet with the fur coats.

ttfn

Old Ladies Clothes

I remember growing up that older women, I don't know what they're ages were, but they were older than my mom, wore different clothes from my attractively dressed mother and other women who were the mothers of my friends. These women were the "church ladies" of the era. They were the ladies who were there first thing Sunday morning, and the last ones to leave on Sunday night. They were the ladies who always were around whenever there was a church "food" social.

Don't misunderstand, the women of my mother's age also helped with church socials, but it was these older women who did the most work and cooked the best food.

These are the women who wore the "old ladies clothes." I figured it out. It came to me out of the blue. They wore these clothes because as they aged, their bodies didn't shrink after having babies, they didn't care that they had gained weight -- at least I suppose the didn't. Being "overweight" back in the 40s and 50s wasn't something that women worried about.

I wondered about "old ladies clothes" all through my 20s and 30s because I saw some of my older family members beginning to don these misshapen clothes; and then in my 40s I found that I, too, was wearing, "old ladies clothes." And here's what I recently figured out.

Once you get over a size 14, there is nothing available but "old ladies clothes." They are polyester, shapeless, overly long, and have dark, ugly colors -- mostly brown, olive green, and navy blue with polka dots. The example picture is put on a beautiful young woman, and even on her it doesn't look good! And notice the print of the dress? Also, it's polyester. Do you know how polyester CLINGS to your body. Those of us who are amply endowed with flesh, do not wish something that CLINGS to that flesh as the material used in our clothing. That only reinforces what we're trying to hide. Also, notice the length. Now, this is long -- at least longer than I prefer -- on the model, who is probably 5'10", so that particular dress would come down to my ankles.

"Old ladies clothes" are clothing where the back is shorter than the front -- mainly because the designers don't consider that the backside of an over-size-16-woman hikes up the clothing causing the front to droop and the back to lift (I'm talking about dress or skirt here).

I know slacks/jeans have become the standard now for all women, but frankly, I still prefer dresses, especially now that stockings or pantyhose aren't a requirement. I mean, if TLC's What Not to Wear ladies don't have to wear hose, why should I? Aren't those women, in their final make-over condition, the epitome of style today?

"Old ladies clothes" became my mainstay when I blossomed to a size 16. Clothing manufacturers just don't make "pretty" clothes for those of us who are vertically challenged.

My friend -- she's 65 like me -- but she a size 2 -- and she wears young person's clothes and looks good in them. One of my neighbors is 80 and she is a size 8, and she wears "teen age" clothes as well but doesn't look like a teenager. At least these women can wear what's in style.

I have to admit, that finally they do make jeans for those of us who have matured into larger sizes, but the tops we have to wear -- yikes! I know that no matter where I go, I'll never find the cute top that my neighbor's daughter was wearing on Sunday -- and it would be a style that would be very flattering to me, and the colors were so nice.

This is not a negative BLOG, but a statement of fact -- those of us who have gained weight, for whatever reason, wear ugly "old ladies clothes" because that's what's available. And, yes, I was called on the carpet by a former boss for my dress -- and I was buying expensive clothing at that time, but all I could get for my girth was "old ladies clothes".

I remember when I was in my late 30s Alan asked me why I wore such ugly clothes. Well, first off, we had no money, so I was stuck with whatever Goodwill had on their racks, but second it was because no matter where I would have gone to purchase clothes, they would have been "old ladies clothes". After he asked me that self-esteem plummeting question, I started making my own clothes, and for a spell, I was able to get patterns that while too small for me, I could expand and make clothing that was youthful and pretty, and I had control over what fabric they were made from. But child rearing and a full-time job to boot, took away the time I could have to sew for myself.

So where am I going with this? Well, for those of you who are svelte, slim, and smaller than a size 16, be thankful, so very thankful. Take a gander in the Women's clothing section at Macy's, see what clothing is available, and be thankful for your slimness. Also, learn to sew, because you never know when you, too, will blossom, and become eligible for "old ladies clothes".