I’m definitely a polka dot knickers sort of girl-always have been. Now I leave that sort of thing to the young and wear silk polka dot palazzo pants instead. But my heart still is flirty and full of fun.
Spring has officially arrived here in the UK and this weekend we spring forward to British Summertime. This means that Aunty Mu will be putting away her black shoes and handbag and getting out the navy. I know she will be doing this even though she rarely leaves the house these days.
Here in the Warren I will be following my own ritual. I will put my winter clothes away in the cedar box, where no moth dares to go and get out my summer stuff. I’d like to say that this includes a selection of tea dresses but I find that I spend my days in trousers, like Katherine Hepburn. I don’t seem to ever come across the perfect dress, though I look year after year. I did once have one , a light gauzy pastel plaid, with cap sleeves and a waist that sat right on mine. But Mimi left it on a bus when she was using it as a nightie and travelling back from an overnight with a friend. That was over twenty years ago and it’s still not been replaced. Ah well, there are more important things in life than the lost things. The found for example. Like the little wooden sailor boy I found in a charity shop this week. He’s got that 30’s vibe and I love his sweet open face and arms. Life’s like that, full of comings and goings. Rituals are the antidote to anxiety, apparently. My mother always attached her knickers to her corset with a large safety pin. It used to revolt me as a teenager. The knickers were pink and silky, though not silk. The corset, which I’ve mentioned in previous posts, was also pink. The pin was partially rusted. I remember it as if it was this morning. Pinning up her drawers was my mother’s antidote to the fear of losing them at the bus stop. And a lot more.
Wearing my ever reliable Sloggis, but with a polka dot heart, I’m off to get my summer gear out of the box.
The World of Allie Allbright 