Again

SHOPPING. The very word sears fear into the depth of my being! The feeling is only approached by my fear of heights. I will never forget the panic I felt trying to do some shopping standing in the middle of a jammed packed Sears (guess something happened to Roebuck) during the Christmas season. I felt like I had just wandered into quicksand and figuratively feared for my life. It was there I learned to appreciate panic attacks.
Fashion is somewhat associated in my mind with shopping although I don’t loathe it like shopping. I am married to a tastefully stylish (but amazingly resourceful) “bride” who seems to have been wonderfully bred into fashion and good tastes. In addition, a very close friend is a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate. Although I love beauty and color, my wife and my friend may be as close as I ever come to fashion and good tastes because of the proximity to the “shopping thing.”
I grew up as the oldest child and the only boy in our family. Possibly because of that, I remember few hand-me-downs as far as clothing goes. Clothing revolved around two life events--school and, to a lesser extent, church. I am sure that the annual school shopping trek has various but significant memories for most people. Perhaps I have blocked them out but there are few memories for me.
One thing I remember is that my size stayed a consistently easy-to-remember “grow into it.” (although I later learned that most folks have individual numerical sizes) The other thing I remember is how important durability, value, and the ability to last till the next school year were. Some kids seemed to live in regular fabric pants and actual leather shoes. Perhaps because of my ability to routinely puncture and stain any newly acquired material, I lived in denim dungarees (a step up from overalls) and blue Keds or black Converse sneakers (whichever brand was on sale). There was little anxiety involved in the straight forward process and life was generally good.
I have, as an adult, now advanced to the ability to join the “leather shoe and fabric pants club”. Oh, I still spill and tear almost as much as I used to. Because of size 14 feet (actually one 13 and one 14) and other growing parts of my anatomy, sizing is difficult because “growing into it” isn’t acceptable anymore. I usually buy one of every color and style available in my size so I can again escape my phobia for a hopefully extended period of time.
I have noticed an interesting phenomenon over time. Denim and Converse are no longer limited to back to school and working class kids. Oh, they disguise the dungarees as something called designer jeans but you can’t fool me on fashion. It’s amazing that I (excuse the me; we) set a dormant trend back in the fifties that has finally re-emerged unbeknownst to me. Now if I just work a bit harder perhaps I can afford denims and Converse whatever they call sneakers now for my fashion statement. As some say, “What goes around, comes around.” Perhaps as an extension of that thought, I am reminded of something better than bringing back the old. I think it goes “behold I make all things new.”