Fashions

I don't spend much time thinking about fashions and clothes. I don't know what designer clothes are in style. But I do know rich and famous people wear things created especially for them that cost thousands of dollars. They take great pride in what they wear and would not wear the same thing twice in public. Being as ignorant as I am of such things, Google helped me compile this list of clothes worn by some of our American First Ladies.

• A $2,190 Roksanda "Margot" dress from Net-a-Porter paired with $675 Christian Louboutin heels.
• A $995 cobalt-blue dress made by Siriano and silver Jimmy Choo heels that cost $675.
• A $51,500 Dolce & Gabbana jacket and bag that cost $1,630.
• A $1,150 pair of Rene Caovilla sandals.
• A $540 pair of Lanvin sneakers.
• A $188 J. Crew sweater. 
• A Hermes Birkin bag estimated to cost $13,000. 
• A Michael Kors black blazer that cost $5,000 and a matching skirt priced at $4,600.

The average American woman can't afford these kind of clothes. But there are many who would pay extra for a garment that has a designer label sewed on it even if it is identical to a cheaper one that has no label. That is the mindset of the society we live in.

Now Mennonite women are a subculture and have a different mindset. We would never spend  $675 for a pair of shoes or $13,000 for a handbag. We buy used and shop at thrift stores because we are interested in how much we can save. Last evening I complimented a friend on the pretty sweater she was wearing and she promptly told me she got it at the Salvation Army store. I don't think she meant it as bragging but it made me wonder if we aren't as guilty of pride as the rich and famous. "Look what I got and it was only -----." We can almost make a sport of thrift store shopping and brag about our bargains.

We Mennonites have our own styles and fashions. I appreciate the long dresses our young women are wearing. It certainly is a lot better than the short tight skirts that were in style when I was a teenager. But when the skirts went down to the floor I made a conscious decision not to follow. I do make my skirts longer than I used to but they are not floor or ankle length. I'll tell you why. I  have lived long enough to see styles come and go and wondered from the start what will happen when short skirts come back in style. If I was going to make my skirts ankle length, then they would have to stay there when the style changed. Guess what! Skirts are getting short and tight again and, just like I thought, fashion-conscious Mennonite girls are beginning to wear shorter skirts.
I am aware that dressing in layers is now the way to go. The younger women will wear one or two tops over their dresses. Even in summer when it's hot, they wouldn't dream of going without some kind of top over the dress. It reminds me of a line from Little Women where one of the girls was torturing herself to get ready for a party, "let us be elegant or die!" I'll wear a sweater when I need one to be warm but I'm fashion-free of tops and comfortable in the summer.

About a month ago the women at sewing circle said collars are coming back in style in our circles. Coming back? I didn't know they went out of style. A young girl had asked where she could get a collar pattern and they told her to ask her grandma. Really? I don't always put collars on my dresses but have never stopped using my collar patterns. But the next Sunday I looked around the Sunday school class and guess what! Nobody had a collar on their dress. Am I going to stop wearing my dresses with collars? Nope. I don't care if nobody else does. I'm much too tight to put dresses away that are still good.
I am hopelessly out of style and I don't care. I dress the way I do because that's how I want to dress. I wear a bandanna in the winter because I tend to get a sore throat if I don't cover my ears. A couple weeks ago I was putting my bandanna on at church and a preschool girl asked, "What is that?" She didn't know because nobody wears bandannas anymore. Does that bother me? Nope. I don't care what anybody thinks. I'm the one who will suffer if I get a sore throat. Out of style or not, I'm wearing my bandanna. When you're almost a great-grandma you can be dowdy if you want to. That's one of the perks that comes with age.