October 17, 2018 Article

Coming to you from Bikefest, 2018...Daytona Beach LOL

The Old Coot loves old clothes.

By Merlin Lessler

We all have them, old clothes that are treasured old friends. When we put them on they make us feel good about ourselves - more confident, more secure and more prepared to face the world and take on the day. But, inevitably, they, like ourselves, begin to age, lose their vigor, their presentability. For some people, it’s that special T-shirt, for others, that faded, broken in pair of Levi’s. For me, it’s an off-white, crewneck sweater I bought in the mid-1980s, at the long gone, Champion Outlet on Upper Front Street in Binghamton.

It survives to this day, in surprisingly good condition.  And, I get to take it out for a day every now and then. But, most of the time it sits in limbo, patiently waiting, with a few other “favorites” I can’t let go of. Most of them are on a closet pole in the attic above our garage. More than I care to admit, including a silk, patchwork, Jamaican party shirt I “had to have” when I saw it at a flea market in the Bahamas. It’s never been for a ride on my back, yet it still beckons me, so it remains in wait.

We get stuck in a fashion mode too. For me, it’s the fifties: Levi jeans (though we called them dungarees back then), crew neck sweaters, oxford cloth, cotton, button-down-collar shirts, dusty bucks, kakis, long, wool winter overcoats and argyle or colored socks. I added river driver shirts (now called henleys) in the 70’s and rugby’s in the 80’s. They’re all on “stand-by” in the attic.

When an item becomes too old to wear in public, it leaves the attic and goes to a “work clothes” rack in our garage. Every once in a while, I’ll give a “work clothes” item a new chance at life, and attempt to restore it to its former glory, so I can parade it out for a public appearance. It’s become easier, now that stained, tattered and paint splattered casual ware is in vogue. (Pricy too; you pay extra for the worn-out look) So, my horde of work clothes is slowly moving to the “stand-by” rack in the attic and now, more than ever, back into the house. I may look like a bum to many of you, but the hip crowd knows I’m up to date, but best of all, I’m walking around in the good company of treasured old friends.

Comments? Complaints? Send to mlessler7@gmail.com