Last night mom and I stayed up pretty late cleaning out her closets. It had been years since she really went through all her stuff, and she decided it needed a good purging. Grace and I sat on the bed and watched her pull everything out one at a time, giving our enthusiastic nod of approval or pointing to the donation pile.
It was actually quite hilarious to see some of the stuff she still had (and occasionally wore). My favorite mom quote of the night was said after I told her a particular outfit needed to be donated, “But that was my favorite outfit in 1993!” Um, mom, that was 16 years ago. She had stuff from the mid-80’s as well as a few moth-eaten things from the 70’s. Imagine my delight when my middle school/high school wardrobe was lovingly pulled from the back of her closet!
I love lists, so here are a few of the things I was able to convince her needed purging:
- several pairs of stirrup pants in a rainbow of colors
- tons of lovingly sewed tea-length wrap skirts with buttons all the way up the sides
- Chic jeans (“But they actually fit me again!” mom declared. Um, mom, those are classic “mom” jeans. “What are ‘mom’ jeans?" she asked. sigh…) For a great explanation of the “mom” jean, click here.
- Outback Red shirt collection, complete with a brocaded upholstery vest
- tons of walking shorts from the 80’s (i.e. short culottes)
- sweatshirts with appliqued apples and hearts, complete with matching sweatpants with the elastic band around the ankles
- baggy linen blazers from the 80’s with huge shoulder pads and roll-up sleeves
- puffed-long-sleeve dresses that have tiny buttons running from neck to tea-length bottom
- circa-1986 polyester pleated slacks with tapered legs in a variety of colors
- baggy “boyfriend” shirts/sweaters that were worn with stirrup pants or Gloria Vanderbilt jeans
We had a lot of fun reminiscing about various items of clothing. She seriously could open a vintage clothing store. But now she has extra closet space and a healthy donation to a local charity.
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3 comments:
this cracked me up, and totally made me think of all the pairs of stirrups (and slouchy socks!) i wore...
I am totally disappointed that you all did not model these clothes and get pictures of ya'll looking like the Designing Women! Too funny - she had some great clothes back in the day! And I totally know your frustration with Hobby Lobby - it's like every person you try to get help from acts like they just started work that very hour, and they are clueless!
I'm busting up... how funny! This reminds me of every Christmas as a kid when we'd have to clean out my grandmother's refrigerator... and somehow things would still be in there that were like 3 years out of date. CRAZY!
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