Sparkles forever
Recently, someone in one of my many creative social media groups posted a wonderful picture of a woman in a gold, sequin kaftan. In the picture, the woman has her hair up in a pink, fluffy turban and is sporting pink sunglasses and dangling earrings that appear to be made of tinsel. She is holding a sign that says ‘Stop Saving Sparkles for Special Occasions’ and I really want to be her.
My interest in shiny and sparkling clothes and accessories goes back to the times of playing dress up when I was a little girl. My grandmother, Virginia, was a very frugal and very smart lady—a doctor—who never would have spent money on fancy clothes. But she had rich friends who bequeathed her with their last season cast offs and, as a result, a very elegant wardrobe containing colourful dresses that were the perfect size for two little girls to play in (Virginia was a small person). I remember, vividly, a silk dress with a rainbow pattern on the bodice and a bell-like blue skirt. Or maybe the top was blue and the bottom was rainbow. Either way, it was fabulous. I liked to slink around in an off the shoulder, black get up, which had a ruffled collar. I wore that one for the camp costume party and a mean boy told everyone that I had come as a ‘hooker’ which kind of tarnished the look for me. We had a flowy, fairy princess-like piece in pink and mint green and various other expensive cast offs, which we would wear to grace our front porch in pretend beauty pageants. This was the American South and beauty pageants were a big thing.
Fast forward a little bit to my teens. I ditched the finery for cut offs, holey jeans, Doc Martens and flannel shirts but kept a little bit of every day bling in the form of jewellery: A big Jade turtle; some large sterling silver airplane earrings; a giant cross; a wire wrapped crystal. I saved my sequins for prom, wearing a basic black sequin dress for one and a white sequin dress for another.
It was when I moved to New Orleans for college that I really came into my own in the sequin and sparkles department. New Orleans culture requires that one glitters as much as possible, so I soon amassed a great quantity of boas, sequin tube tops, chain mail tops, wigs of many colours, metallic pleather trousers and high platform shoes and glitter. I donned my sparkles for parties and at concerts. I danced the night away in micro minis and sparkly tops. I marched in Mardi Gras parades in the previously mentioned chainmail, a cowgirl hat, a tiny sequinned skirt and a blue wig. I wore a slightly subdued but still sparkled dress to celebrate New Years Eve and the year 2000. And for many years, I moved from city to city with a big crate full of all my sparkling memories.
As an adult, my sparkles are a little more sophisticated. In my current collection I have a pair of black sequin, flared and cropped trousers, a black sequin dress, a skirt of many coloured sequins and, my favourite, a long, fringed silver sequin vest. I also have a number of shimmery shirts and sweaters and more than a few pairs of metallic shoes. I don’t have a sequin kaftan yet, but that’s definitely on my ‘to get ‘ list. I look forward to aquiring a sequin jump suit which I will wear to the grocery store. Because, really, why save the sparkles for special occasions? Life is just too short.
