Fashion In My Family

My grandparents lived on farms – both sides of my family. My mother’s parents and my father’s parents. Overalls and button down shirts with pockets Work boots for grandpas Except my single grandpa did get dressed up fancy For Saturday night dancing with his girlfriend. He smelled wonderful too, wore a lariat with a turquoise stone Shined his shoes as if he was going to church My maternal grandmother was the only one I knew. She wore a navy dress with large white polka dots When we had weddings or funerals, and low heel shoes The rest of the time I remember her wearing aprons over dresses My mother was the first woman I saw who wore pants. She preferred them to dresses, and took to polyester in a big way. Remember the pantsuits of the seventies? I swear she invented those. Matching tunics with wide legged pants. My father wore plaid shirts or camouflage jackets Unless he was going to work; then he wore a dark suit. He was a salesman with a skinny tie. He always looked crisp and clean; mom used starch on his clothes. My style was wide bell bottom blue jeans that we called hip huggers. When I was younger, and tops that looked maternity in the seventies. This was the real style which horrified me in 1974, as I had to wear these blousy tops two years in a row because I had a baby at twenty and twenty-one. My new style is comfort. I am sixty-eight. I wear tennis shoes. Elastic waists, soft clothes that are not tight, I love feeling free. My husband is the same way – comfort clothes, elastic waists. We like eating tasty foods; no blue jeans for us now. We have three children. They dress according to their lives. One has six children, but she dresses fancy and so do they. Another has no children, she’s a professional. She dresses in suits. Third child alternates between casual and fancy; working mom of three. Our grandchildren are eclectic fashion displayers also. Super controlled grandchildren wear traditional clothing, Approved by mom or they do not leave the house. The ones who are wild like our middle daughter have pink and blue hair. I see dresses that are too short - the same as I wore in middle school. I see pants that are too tight on boys, like we saw in the eighties. I see boots not as cute as Nancy Sinatras or or go-go-boots. Masks are the new fashion statement for the younger generation sadly.