I Know Because I Got the Coat

Blouse: ModCloth
Pants: LOFT
Shoes: Gianni Bini via Dillards, gift from mom
Belt: Thrifted
Earrings: Thrifted
Purse: Shop in Florence, Italy, gift from parents

Okay, so I generally won't post about non-academia-related activities unless they're really interesting, but this one was really interesting. Cary and I had a date night last night, and this is what I wore. I built the outfit around the shoes, which I love but don't get to wear very often. (My mom and I joke that these are the Shoes of Salvation - check it out.) We went to a fancy restaurant in a nearby town that we have enjoyed in the past, but they were having an off night. We'll give them another chance because we know they're great normally, but last night wasn't our best experience there.

We wanted dessert but were kind of done being at that restaurant, so we came back to town and went to the Clock. The Clock is one of those small-town dives that is open 24 hours a day, serves what could loosely be described as food, and is the only option after 10:00 pm. When we were walking to our booth (which, not kidding, was held together with duct tape), we passed an older lady - in her 70s, gray hair, African-American, reading the business section of the USA Today. She saw my shoes and commented on how much she liked them, I said thanks, and I thought that was the end of our conversation.

15 minutes later, we were eating our ice cream sundae and she got up to leave, but first she came by our booth to talk more about my shoes. And boy, did we talk. Highlights of the conversation:

Her: I like those shoes. I know because I got the coat.

Her: Story about getting bullied for wearing a kelly green coat with leopard trim at a rural school in Georgia in the 50s (which I thought sounded kind of fabulous).
Me: I think you were just too fashionable for them.
Her: I know, I was!

Her: So anyway, I saw this girl with purple boots, because I'm a Red Hat Lady, you know we wear red and purple? And I said where'd you get those? And she said I might not be able to walk in them. And I said, girl, don't let the gray hair fool you. I'd be out to the club right now if I didn't have to go to work tomorrow.
Me: I believe you would.

Our ice cream was kind of meh, but this lady was a gem and I'm glad I got to talk to her. Any woman who believes she can rock purple boots at a Red Hat Lady meeting at the age of 72 (which was her age, she told me) is okay by me. Plus I'm kind of curious if anyone still makes that kelly green coat. I might need one.