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Fading Fashion

My oldest, most over-worn jacket is the most trending color of the year it sounds like. I usually wear it when I am working in the yard on a chilly day and after I am done the jacket is often left among the tools and wheel barrow. Maybe its time to give it a whole new lease of life since its still in one piece. My mother used to have a leopard print coat when I was a child which was accompanied by a bag of the same print. 

I remember the smell of mothballs combined with remnants of her favorite perfume, the olive green faux-silk lining of the bag whose zipper was a bit capricious. In winter she would wear her zari-bordered monochrome silk saris with this coat - usually to some special occasion. I liked to see her in the silk and leopard print and thought she looked very fancy. The leopard print fell out of favor a long time ago and I don't recall seeing her coat and bag even in my tweens. If she has preserved them knowing fashion is cyclical, I could have been completely on-trend right now. 

Over the years, I have maintained a bin of clothes that have sentimental value for me but don't wear anymore. Reading this story about a woman who wore the same dress hundred days in a row resonates with me. Whenever I look at my wardrobe, I think about what is the fewest number of items I need to get by and that is not at all a large number for me. Taking that to its logical limit would mean asking the question how long can I keep wearing the same basic outfit until I feel the need for change. 

Both my grandmothers wore handloom white cotton or silk saris with beautiful borders after they became widows. They had maybe dozen such saris in good condition at any point in time. The older ones they wore at home. They looked well put together despite a very monotonous and sparse attire. I could not imagine them wearing anything else though I had seen pictures of them in younger years where they were colorfully attired. Their white sari style never went out of fashion. Each puja they would receive gifts of such saris. Since the inventory of what they had was well known, they always got something with a novel border color and design.

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