See that polyester vest Mom's wearing? Well, I sewed it for her, and it has matching pants, but....you prolly guessed that.
The picture is a little abused...since my middle sister tossed it out in the garbage and I retrieved it.
This was a picture of her at 56, which is the age I am now.
My mom used to make a lot of my clothes when I was tiny...we didn't have much money when we first moved to Napa County, her being a single mom. The words of the Dolly Parton song,Coat of Many Colors, are special to me, since I do remember the homemade clothes I had, and I remember one girl at Yountville Elementary making fun of my homemade dress. That girl was the only one who ever made fun of me...she made fun of a few kids and their homemade clothes. Stupid Brat.
So....
In the early 70s, my mom bought a polyester pantsuit at Mode 'O Day, and when she went back to get more, they were all sold out. So....since I know how to sew, because she taught me how, and bought me my first sewing machine, a Nelco, with cams!
I offered to make her more pantsuits. It was pretty easy to make the pattern from the set she had. Polyester stood up on its own and laid down flat, so I just taped some newspaper together and traced around the set. Polyester was a godsend to the ladies...Everything before that had to be bleached, handwashed, drycleaned, hung up to air out, stored in mothballs, starched, ironed and...it was torture to take care of clothes in the old days...it was a part time job! That's why, vintage clothes were well-made...they had to last. Things weren't meant to be disposable.
To get the polyester material and notions, we went shopping at Trade Fair (only Napa people know what the hell I'm talking about), and bought several yards in all different colors. Like Hillary Clinton, my mom had pantsuits in all different colors!
here's me with most of my kids and grandkids...
My mom loved Country Music, but especially loved Ray Charles. So Mom, I love you and miss you everyday. I wish I could pick up the Heaven-Phone and talk to you right now.
Dolly singing Coat of Many Colors. gee I love her dress!
and always playing on the jukebox in her bar...Ray Charles, singing her favorite RC song, Born To Lose. It's the theme...of our lives. Thank god polyester lasts long, and comes in all the colors of the rainbow. It's dependable, which is more than mom and I can say about...some people!
