Dresses.

Grammy Sammy just called me, to make sure I got the boxes she left on my porch a couple days ago. It's she and Grampa's wedding anniversary today, awwwww. I did indeed get the boxes, with 70's fabric scraps peeking out of the dog-eared cardboard flaps, getting me rather excited as I lugged them into the dining room and dove in. Hellooooooo orange polyester! A time capsule! The dress Gram wore to MY parent's wedding, flowered in blue, yellow and white...I've seen it in pictures a thousand times. A black and blue, off the shoulder, puffed sleeved, full skirted gypsy frock, far older than I am. An eyelet dream in white, to the floor, empire waisted. An emerald green silk that wears like a second skin. And my favorite, a sheer white swing dress with pink flowers that twirls up in a perfect circle when I spin, that I plan on wearing to the Valentine's Cabaret this weekend. It's so 50's and classic, I feel lovely wearing it, and I love that Gram wore it too. I'm sure she danced in it, who could not?

When I think about my clothes, I'd say my relatives played the biggest role in any sense of style I might have, what I think is fashionable and what isn't...Both my parents have sisters, sisters up the wazoo actually. My Aunties were my idols growing up, they were all so pretty, with long straight hair, parted in the middle, big sunglasses, and they dressed like nobody's business. I'd say that every one of them was almost exactly the same size as me from the 1960's through the 1980's and some of them were serious pack rats. YES! And they really were pretty snazzy dressers. Still are. That makes for heavenly hand-me-downs, in my eyes. My favorite jeans were Aunt Dorie's when she was in high school, I could stare at my own butt in them all day long...why don't they make those anymore?! Dozens of my long, cotton summer dresses went to some groovy dance before they became mine, I had my wedding gown made from Aunt Deb's prom dress pattern, and when she sold her motorcycle, I got some kick-ass leather pants out of the deal. Their taste became my taste, no matter what year it is NOW, that's the stuff that I want to wear. Fits me, costs zip, most of it was made by someone I love, and if I can look half as good as they did...well, that's like, groovy man.