Black Jeans

Are you a person who always knows what is The Right Thing to wear? The only rule I know is: Don’t Wear White After Labor Day. I know that’s true because my mother told me. She also said that “smoke” was the correct color of stockings for all occasions. But who wears stockings? If I am ever invited to your house, I will probably wear a turtleneck and black slacks in the winter and a tee shirt and white slacks in the summer.

But what if you invite me in fall? What does one wear when it’s 60 - 70 degrees in September? I can’t wear the white slacks. So it has to be the black ones. It’s a bit cold for tee shirts, but not cold enough for turtlenecks.

So I actually made a trip to Talbot’s today. It’s An Occasion if I go into a store-that-doesn’t-sell-food-or-kitchen-toys. Or maybe plants.

We’re going to visit the Connecticut daughter. Her weather is about the same as Brookfield's. I need black jeans, and if it happens to fall into my shopping bag, a sweat suit that’s presentable enough to wear on airplanes. I only shop in one place. Talbots Petites. If they don’t have it, I don’t need it. Since I have no idea what is in fashion at this moment, it makes no difference where I shop. And, as I have no idea what color looks good with what (except in dahlias), I wear black. And I’m always on the lookout for printed tops or blouses that won’t show the cooking oil spills and airplane food. Though pretzels aren’t too messy.

Today I wore a kind of dark red denim jacket to Talbot’s. A clerk said, “You are really in style, with that color.” I looked around the store, and ... sure enough. Lots of the mannikins were dressed in the same red. With black. Wow. It’s my year.

What I like least about shopping is trying on clothes. All those mirrors... I needed black jeans and a sweat suit, and that’s what I took in the dressing room. The clerk showed me a sweater she liked with the jeans, so I tried that on too. It was patterned. Black and white. I bought jeans, a sweater, and a sweat suit. I was home again in less than a half hour. That’s this fall’s wardrobe.

When you invite me over, please make it an appropriate occasion to wear jeans and a sweater. Or a sweat suit.

Stirring the Pot