A few of my favourite things

Last week I threw away a skirt I've owned for more than a decade. It was a reversible double skirt: the inner skirt formed the lining for the outer skirt, either way it was worn. It was a truly clever design, and I've never found anything similar since. You might recognize one or both of the patterns in the image below. (I bought two of these skirts, with different colour palettes, when I originally found them; I threw the first one away a few years ago.)

Throwing away clothing (there was no passing the skirt on to Goodwill: it was in very poor shape) got me thinking about other clothes I've loved and lost. So this week's Throwback is a short list of faves (sadly, with none of my own pictures).

• Denim duster: I bought a distressed-denim duster during my first year in university and loved it to pieces — literally. A couple of years ago I gave away the fabric, which had been taken apart as the potential, but unrealized, pattern for a replacement. It looked something like this (but longer, at least on me):

• Black balloon skirt: It was a gift for my seventeenth birthday and is still tucked in a closet, although long unwearable. It was satiny and swishy, but never quite as balloon-like after the skirt was mis-washed once. It looked a lot like this, minus the bodice and bow belt:

• Red bolero hat: I'm not normally a hat person, but I loved my bolero hat and wore it often during the last year of my undergrad — once with a Flashdance–style cutoff t-shirt and a pair of men's jeans. I also had a black bolero jacket and a red-satin basque (with black polka dots) to complement it. The hat looked something like this, except the body was brilliant red and the band and braid were black:

 • Granny boots: After slouch boots in the early '80s, I owned several pairs of granny boots and loved them all. My favourite pair had kitten heels and silver hardware; I wore them until the heels were ground down to almost nothing. Wish I still had them! They looked a little like these, minus the detailing on top and with delicate, ornamental hooks; and they were all leather, not leather and suede (although I did have another pair very similar to these):

 • Band jacket: Inspired by Sgt Pepper et al., I bought an old-fashioned, navy-and-gold marching-band jacket, complete with braid and brass buttons. Sorta retro, sorta punk. I gave it away when we moved out of St Albert. My parents once had pictures of it.

As I type I'm thinking about so many other clothes I've loved over the years. My wardrobe on the boat is limited, to say the least, and the purging will continue over the next few weeks (I chose many of my clothes assuming that they would remain in BC after we left). Looking forward to rummaging in my closet — and buying a few new things — in a few months' time.