This is my rainbow scarf. It’s my favorite scarf, not only because… well, it’s a rainbow, but because it reminds me of who I was with when I found it: one of my dearest and oldest friends, Laura Howell McQueen.
For me, the sight of this scarf always evokes the mental image of Laura and her daughter Anne Parks as we giggled through the Fondren, Mississippi thrift store that summer day trying on hats and purses. That’s where I came upon this scarf. And what more could I ask for on a dreary winter day? Wearing this is like wrapping myself in a hug from one of my favorite people. All my second-hand items have extra meaning to me. I always remember exactly where I was and who I was with when each one came into my life.
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It turns out that either I’ve always loved Muppets or I’ve always loved purses. Maybe both.
This purse, marked © Henson Associates Inc.1981, has a special story… My first experience with school of any kind was as a giraffe, that was the animal of the three-year-old class at our church preschool. The class teacher was Mrs. Glusing, and while I don’t have a whole lot of specific memories of her, I do remember that I loved and admired my very first official teacher. Fast forward 25 years… Ms. Glusing, now Ms. Godbold, is retiring and runs into my mother at church. She says she has a present for me and gives my mom this Miss Piggy purse. Apparently this purse has been in giraffe classroom all these years, and while it wasn’t actually mine (it was meant for all the children to share), she felt that I should have it. Why? Because I’d written my name on it! Looking closely, you can make out JESSICA A, my full first-name and last initial, complete with a backwards E on the back of the purse.
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I’m a sucker for analogous color palettes, especially warm ones, thus this $10, Brooklyn Flea, red and magenta, impulse purchase. And why would I even try to resist a hat that still has the original “Liz Claiborne Accessories” tag attached? Now that it’s been photographed, I should probably remove the tag. Wish as I may, I don’t think I have what it takes to rock it Minnie Pearl style.
I’m wearing this hat for the first time because I’m participating in one of my favorite Brooklyn summer activities this evening: Movies with a View.
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I have a major thing for turtles and my ears haven’t been pierced since I was twelve, so when I spotted these at a favorite antique shop in my hometown of Starkville, Mississippi, my thought process went something like, “Oooh, what are these? Shiny turtles? So cute. Huh? They’re clip-ons? Score! Wha? Only two dollars? Mine, mine, MINE!”
Thanks to our talented intern Aymie for this photo.
This may be my favorite inanimate object, although I guess it’s sort of animate since the transparent disk on top rotates to produce a full spectrum every 60 seconds. It’s certainly my most frequently worn object. This watch has become an important part of my identity because on days when I accidentally rush out the door in boring jeans and a grey t-shirt, at least I have a rainbow on my wrist. In fact, if I look down and it’s not there, I experience a mildish panicky sensation. Creighton gave this to me on our first anniversary, so I guess he knows me pretty well. My greyscale-loving colleague Josh likes to point out the impracticality of my watch (he doesn’t think I can actually tell time on it) by asking, “Is it rainbow o’clock yet?” I love to respond, “Always.”
Recently, a very sweet client asked where she could find such a watch for herself. I was happy to point her to the Metropolitan Museum Store...
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