I was addicted to new and stylish clothes from the time I moved away from home in 1964. Up to that year, I disliked almost everything I was told to wear, including Jr. and high school. Fortunately, I was able to change my wardrobe when I got a job. I wasn't aware of how much clothes meant to me until I read my old 5-year diary and looked at some old photos.
When I was a child, my mother made all my clothes and we, along with my sisters were often dressed alike. I always hated that. Evidence of her work is below. But in her defense, she probably loved sewing because she graduated from Skidmore College with a degree in textiles, and had a nice sewing room.
Eventually, I found my own style because I learned to sew, not from my mother but from a school class and a Girl Scouts troop. When I was in high school and had a little babysitting money to buy an outfit or two, or even purchase material, I grew away from clothes my mother made. In one of my journals, I wrote the following, I always remember wearing a girdle, even though I was about 110 lbs., a garter belt to hold up my stockings because pantyhose hadn't been invented. I always wore a slip, wore leather gloves a lot, and my pocketbook usually matched my shoes. I remember my grey and very thin striped white coat, my red pocketbook, and red shoes, this was a favorite outfit of mine. I must have worn red shoes in my senior year because it is mentioned in the yearbook!
When I went out to a fancy place, I wore a Jackie Kennedy-style hat.
I didn't do any dating until after high school, so I wasn't trying to impress anybody with what I was wearing. I just loved clothes. My favorite colors were blue and pink, but I wore other colors, solids, and flowery prints. My favorite two outfits were pink and white checked-tight pants and the first dress I ever bought. It was a long-sleeved straight dress that fitted me all over like a glove. The only problem was the long zipper at the back. It was made of thin wool fabric and came with a short cape that I sometimes wore.
When I began my 1964 diary I wrote faithfully every day, except when I took vacations. My purpose for sharing this is to share pieces about my obsession with clothes. I had no idea I wrote so much until I wrote this blog and looked at the diary, which had been packed away for 40 years. A few entries are:
April 1964 2, bought a light blue spring wool coat.
A parka with a real fur hood was bought on Dec. 18, 1964.
The cranberry two-piece wool outfit, jacket, and pants were bought on Aug. 6, 1965.
On May 31, 1966, bought a light blue raincoat.
In March 1967, bought my 3rd spring coat, a green one
In October 1967, I bought a Navy pea coat at Lempkins.
In April 1968, I had a tailor shorten three of my spring coats. (Yes, the styles were getting shorter, I had to be in style.)
November 1968, I had the real Persian trimmed grey winter coat shortened, that bought on Jan. 16, 1967.
I also wrote about the Christmas dresses I made, I think I made a dress for four years in a row. In November 1968 I made a navy wool dress (no memory at all of that). Another dress was green.
My two friends and I were waiting for a bus on June 4, 1964, to take us to NYC for four nights. We went to the Ed Sullivan Show, Macy's, Greenwich Village, RCA Music Hall, Central Park, World's Fair, Chinatown, and the Empire State Bldg. My diary indicated I bought this lime green spring coat at Lempkins in April 1964.
My roommate, Merilyn for two years before she got married, and I were on a double date. I bought this cranberry two-piece outfit and my roommate bought a set in green. But, of course, I had to buy a suede jacket (above) and below, the white boots for walking!
In 1967, I spent a few nights with my best friend in Cambridge, MA. This dress came to my knees, so it wasn't too short. It was a Jackie Kennedy-style dress, I thought. It was all lined, which was unusual.
A girlfriend took this photo of me in Montreal when we went to Expo 68. We didn't wear sneakers and pants in those days.
I had a lot of boyfriends and did a lot of dating as as shown on the above list. I don't know when I typed this up, but probably more than 25 years ago because I haven't had a typewriter since then. The above year was 1968, and the information was taken from my 5-year diary. This was done to help me remember what I was wearing and with whom. Nope, I couldn't wear the same outfit two times in a row! I love knowing when I saw "The Graduate."
This beaded bag was a purchase from a Lowell store in the mid-1960s. I used it when we went to formal dances. I also had two black ones, one a clutch and the similar to the above one, but no beads.
The date on the side of the photo is April 1971. I loved this camel coat, it went to my knees, and I wore it with matching lined pants. This was my favorite date outfit for the winter. My then-boyfriend, now husband, took this photo.
The oldest outfit I still have and frequently wear, is this cotton Nehru style jacket, by Jones New York, shown below. It came with matching pants that I no longer have. The second photo shows how much it faded, by looking at the belt that I never used. I bought it while I was in the service, so it was purchased before October 1976....Best purchase ever.
The above are ordinary black heavy dress pants. I wear them out, but have to hold in my stomach! If Liz Claiborne had only put elastic in the waistband, I'd be happier.