Willow Tree

Favorite Things

One of my favorite outfits that I wore when I was young (read in my early 20's) was a red shirt, black skirt and a black cap. Loved the outfit, the feel, the look. Put together, but relaxed. A splash of color, but controlled. The cap was a plain, baseball style cap. The skirt, well I don't remember anything special about it; just plain black, hanging just below the knees, button on the side. Where those two are is anyone's guess. Trash bin somewhere? Is someone else wearing them? I have no idea what happened to them.

But the shirt, the shirt still hangs in my closet. A bit threadbare in spots; one of the buttons needs to be sewn back on, but all the original buttons are still there. Age has softened it; once it was no doubt crisp and bright. Now it is soft, the color faded

It was so common to me, so much a part of my closet that I really didn't think much about it. A great anywhere shirt;perfect for when one didn't know where one would end up. Dressed up, it was nice and appropriate for a dinner in a nice restaurant. I could wear it over or under a sweater, toss on a blazer, put on a more colorful skirt. It held me. I could go from the beach to the museum. That's why I chose it for my suitcase when my parents visited here last year and we all toured Israel together.

A perfect little item.

And I hadn't given it much thought at all, nor did realize how much I enjoyed it till that trip when my cousin fingered it and said "What a lovely shirt!?|?

I thought Oh, this old thing?

And then realized how much this "old thing" did for me.

And realized how much I would miss the shirt when it did finally bite the dust.

Shirts are of course replaceable, and a red button down shirt shouldn't be too difficult to come across...

But it would take twenty years to get it nice and soft and perfect again.

Posted by Rachel Ann at February 28, 2006 01:21 PM | TrackBack