I’ve been sitting, contemplating change. Sometime in the pre-ebay days I found a skirt like the one pictured in a local thrift store. I think I paid $2 for it. At the time, which would have been the late 1980s … Continue reading →
In my last post I said that I ought to write a guide to helping those caught up in a disaster. I truly hoped it would be a long time before this type of thing was needed, but unfortunately I … Continue reading →
First, thanks to all of you who have checked on me, especially after the Helene flood in September 27. For those of you who don’t know my little town of Clyde, NC was overrun by the Pigeon River on that … Continue reading →
In one of those odd twists of the rules of the universe, a woman receives credit for doing something the male protagonist in this book actually did first. The woman is Coco Chanel, (who, by the way, is not mentioned … Continue reading →
This is a story about historical research, and how sometimes you just get lucky. When I first started volunteering at the Shook – Smathers House I noticed there were three pieces of homespun textiles in the house. Among them was … Continue reading →
Last fall I found this handbag at a bargain price in an antique mall, so of course I had to buy it. I had always read that this type bag was made in the 1940s from surplus telephone cords, but … Continue reading →
This brochure for the Cole of California saleswoman is not dated, but the styles are about 1956. I’m sure there are people out there who will recognize one of the styles and who can tell me the exact year. Or … Continue reading →
“The only mail order company selling cottons exclusively.” Today it would be hard to imagine a company that made products made only of cotton, or of any natural fiber. And in spite of the company’s name, there was not an … Continue reading →
I spotted these pants on Instagram recently, and to be honest, if not for the hangtag, I’d have not given these a second look. The D-ring closure is nice, but these are pretty generic slacks. But the hangtag gave me … Continue reading →
One of the most asked questions I got while teaching was, “How do I get my kid to read?” My response was, “How much do the adults in your house read for pleasure?” I usually got a stammered response about how … Continue reading →
