Good question. Where did most of them go? They disappeared out of daily life and were replaced by t-shirts. At least that is what I have been told today.
It's a quite typical story for me, strange people like to tell me their stories, in the park, at the doctor's and on the train.
I usually take the train home at 4.02 pm. And usually there is a train acquaintance riding this train with me. Today she must have been late and gone to the next wagon because ours was quite full because I saw her when I got off the train. So I sat alone in my two-seater until the train had its first (and only one for me) stop. An older lady, maybe around 70, entered the train and asked me if she could sit beside me.
I threw her a short smile and then went on crocheting when I suddenly heard her asking if she might ask what I was doing there, if that really was wire. I guess it's needless to say that from that moment crocheting was over. She looked at my little bag and the few items in there and started telling me that she used to be a seamstress and of course still loved sewing. I told her I couldn't sew if my life depended on it (my favorite sentence when the subject turns to sewing)
Her grandmother had been a seamstress, her mother had been a seamstress, she was a seamstress and her son, imagine! No, he was not a seamstress, but he actually made stuff from his jeans and the cuffs he made, oh, she was so proud of him.
Now this sounds as if she disturbed me, but really she was quite nice, only I had intended to finish something on this ride. It wasn't gonna happen, though.
She got lost in memories of handmade clothing, starched white blouses, fancy jackets, chic little pencil skirts, and how young people today (ah, she looked at me and made me feel as if I were a 20 year old hippie) only wore t-shirt and jeans because it was comfortable. I almost felt a little guilty for wearing a tiger t-shirt and blue jeans and sneakers, so what could I do, but tell her that handmade was indeed coming back. Then she told me about a few ideas she had for crafts projects and - oops, no and. The next station was mine.
She clearly was disappointed that I got off, but I had an "appointment" with the customs office. When I got out, I took one last look at her. A lady-like hairstyle, a starched white blouse and a fancy little black jacket with a woven-in pattern that looked adorable on her.
I wish I could have listened to her a little longer - it might have been interesting ...
If a story on a subject which doesn't interest me, manages to hold my interest, I feel it has the makings of a good story. I felt there were a few loose threads which could have been snipped.
ReplyDeleteJohn
Ah, but I said I can't sew - maybe I don't know which loose threads to snip? ;-)
ReplyDelete