52Questions | Week 2

 

This week's prompt made me think about what pieces of clothing have been my favorites over the years and what made them favorites. I've found that all of my favorite pieces of clothing have actually been thrifted items that I've come across along the way from resale shops or things that have belonged to other people. Nothing is anything that's fancy or expensive. 

Lately, my favorite piece of clothing is a navy blue and red ringer style tank top that I got several years back at a thrift store while in a town I was just passing through. It's the absolute perfect weight and super soft. What makes it a favorite though is probably the fact that since it's so comfy, I grab it to wear during most of my most fun and memorable outdoor adventures. I've worn it during several mushroom forays, numerous hikes, on treks searching for waterfalls (pictured below - hence the reason my face is so red from all the exertion required, ha!!), and it's my "official" work shirt for messier chores that are done around the house. It's almost on it's last legs, there are two fabric runs along one side now, there are faint aqua blue paint flecks around the chest from when I painted the ceiling of Zoey's clubhouse, and the fabric is worn so thin now that if I wear the shirt in public I now have to be aware of what color bra I'm wearing underneath. I recently discovered too that there is a spot where the red trim is pulling away from the blue fabric under one arm so you could say perhaps that this prompt inspired a bit of an ode of sorts to my favorite adventure tank. 

A few other honorable mentions include a pair of stove pipe light wash jeans, a light honey colored pair of calf high boots with a wood stacked heel and a v-neck men's white tee (all thrift shop finds from my UW-Platteville days) - man that was a good outfit. I have a memory of walking in a grocery store with my college roommate and best friend (Cherity) on a Saturday night before going out on the town and feeling pretty dang good wearing that outfit, haha! Another favorite is a red Miller High Life tee that belonged to my best friend's (again, Cherity) boyfriend which I borrowed when we were all camping together and for whatever reason, I somehow kept. I cannot stand that beer but that tee-shirt was so soft and worn-in just the perfect amount. I wore that until it was sheer in parts! Another item that I have and love simply for sentimental reasons is my dad's dress coat with tails that he wore to art shows. It's decorated with some crazy designs (it was altered by another artist, my dad bought it at an art show). My dad called it his "spirit coat". 

(Back of this week's art journal card...)

I've got two pieces of jewelry that are meaningful favorites, both from my parents...a tiny pair of dime store silver-plated elephant earrings were given to me after I went to the circus in Wabasha with my mom and dad and ended up with a crush on the boy tending to the elephants. Everyone was so excited about everything happening in the tents and I was fascinated with what was going on outside of the circus grounds behind a chain link fence. My dad being my dad, mortified me (my pre-teen/teen self) and walked on over and introduced himself (and then me!) to the long, dark-haired, handsome boy that was washing and caring for the smaller elephants. My dad kept me there talking for what seemed like forever asking how he came to be working with the circus, what were the challenges, what were the takeaways for him, did he enjoy his work and traveling, etc., etc., and then a couple weeks later I got these funny little earrings. We never talked about it but I always felt that there was a lesson in that moment for me, that my dad was filling me in on a little secret just in having a conversation with someone who seemed so not like me, but perhaps really was...hence the earrings to commemorate. The other piece of jewelry is my brown bear pendant that I wear almost every single day still (I've had it since high school). It's meant to be protective and healing and is associated with great strength, power and self-knowledge. When I take it off to wear a different necklace for special occasions I will sometimes place my hand at the base of my neck and panic thinking it's gone...I'm so used to having it on it's almost become a part of me. 

This was a fun prompt! I can't really say that I think or put too much thought in my clothing most days...was kind of interesting to think about different things in this way. 

Here's the prompt for next week...