Another Woman's Treasure

Z is only allowed to watch movies on Sundays, so yesterday he and I sat on the couch and watched the 1957 classic Old Yeller. This is a screen-grab from the scene when the dad returns home after being away for weeks. After embracing and kissing his wife, he gives her a new pair of shoes and a dress he has bought her as a gift. She was almost as happy with her new outfit as she was to see her man. I felt a little giddy in the same way today.

This is my friend Elle's deck at 1pm, where she had invited a dozen women for a clothing swap meet. I took two bags of tops and shoes and pants and dresses I have been meaning to get rid of for ages.

Clothes! Women! I called out in excitement to PJ after kissing him goodbye. If the afternoon had been bastardised by Hollywood, we would have been portrayed as bitchy, greedy and shallow. But the real version of the day was simply beautiful.

There was much laughter at the garments some of us had brought and much amazement that some of us had held onto old fashions for so long. There were clothes whose histories could be traced from one of us to another, via everyone in between; handed down and garage saled and donated. There was much encouraging to try things on – this is your colour, this would suit your boobs, this would look great with that skirt. And there was much feeling pretty darn lucky that we live in such a community of women.