Last post on
this subject matter asked, “What do you treasure most?” I wrote that what I
treasured most in our family museum was my Barbie Dolls. Having told that
story, I asked myself the same question again. Since that April posting,
several keepsakes have been added to the museum, but would I say they are
treasured pieces? Of course the answer is yes. Otherwise, why would I put them
in the museum? So, what shall I blog about today? I get up out of my chair and
take a short walk to the family museum. I open the doors, put on the light and perused
the collections there that spans over 60 decades.
Each and
every one of those keepsakes has a story to tell. When guests see the museum,
it never fails to amuse me on what item they pick out to either ask me a
question about or share with me their story, having had and/or remember having
the same thing. For example, the Dell pocketbook of 75 Hairstyles, and how we
tried with all our might to get our hair to look like those pictures in the
book, but never could.
I wore
glasses starting in the second grade. Those early pairs did not get saved but
the black tiger eye frames with mother-of-pearl inlays, did. I can’t remember
what year, but I think I was in either seventh or eighth grade. I even have the
original eyeglass case. Since then I have saved just about every pair of
eyeglasses. I will share with you all of them in a future post.
In 1967, I
was seventeen years old and followed “Twiggy’s” career from the first day she
graced the covers of all the teen magazines. Like her, I was tall and skinny,
but not that skinny, and loved all the mod fashions. Many of those coveted
fashion magazines did not get saved and I regret that, however, when I found this
one at an antique paper shop, I grabbed it and another that had Cybil Sheppard’s
face on the cover. She was another one of my idols. When I carefully turn the
pages of these fragile tome’s of teenage life of the 1960’s, it brings back
many of the dreams I had, one of which was to be a famous fashion model. Living
close to a big city like Chicago, I thought it would be a piece of cake. Just
get some pictures taken, visit as many modeling agencies as you can, and then
sit and hope (like the room full of other gals) that the agent likes you enough
to send you on go-sees. I jumped out of my seat when she called me, handed me a
ticket that told me where to go and who to see, and then report back to her. No
problem. Right! Big problem and lots of them. But I won’t go there now, maybe
later.
It is a kind
of time-travel you take when you look at what you have saved from your younger
years. Remnants of quests to conquer, careers you had set your heart on becoming,
and the next steps you took to get you to new experiences in your life.
Some of these memories are happy, some sad. But they are your memories and they
made you the person you are now.
Some of my other
keepsakes tell the story, such as the steno tablet from one of my first jobs, first-ever bowling trophy , even my first cell
phone. Now how many people you know still have their first cell phone? Not many
I am sure.
One very precious
item is my bottle of real perfume š L’Air
du Temps š by Nina Ricci in a single dove vintage Lalique Bottle. It
was given to me by my hubby Keith on our honeymoon. The scent is still strong
and takes me back to fond days and dreams. Another fragrance I adored was Halston’s Classic Cologne in the
tear-shape bottle. Though the scent has faded a bit, it is still wonderful.
From cat eye
frames, to a hair-do book, fashion magazines, perfume and cell phones, my
collection of oddities still offer me and all who share this array of memories
with me, plenty to talk about, laugh about, and feel good about. I hope you
have saved some of the things from your past and though they may not be
valuable antiques, they are all none-the-less valuable to you and me.
Next Post:
Wednesday Wishes
Hot Pants came in many styles, from conservative short to short-short. The rage of the fashion runways and top models, such as Twiggy, Hot Pants took the world by storm. At first they were hard to accept as clothing to be worn in the work place until Southwest Airlines adopted the style for their stewardesses in 1970. The Hot Pants fad, rage and craze dominated fashionable society. Hot Pants and miniskirts were also a gage on how good or bad the economy was doing. The old maxim was when women's hemlines rose, so did the economy. When they went down, it was a sign of difficult times were coming. Be that true or not today, fashion is still an indicator of cultural musings. 
When I modeled, I did my fair share of print work
posing in hot pants. From inside the studio to outdoors, it was the fashion. Great when the weather was
pleasant, especially in Chicago, but not very warm in the frigid winters. But
the boots helped and where an integral part of “the look.” 
