“I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the make-up made me feel the person he was. ”
-Charlie Chaplin
A couple weeks ago, I bought a new winter coat. Having been back home in Indiana for a couple winters, what I had was adequate, but I wanted an everyday garment that was heavier and warmer and long enough to cover me below the waist. I envisioned something similar to the parkas boys wore when I was a little boy. Navy blue. Hooded, with faux fur. Orange lining.
I don’t think I ever had a jacket like this. I didn’t particularly like them then. They seemed ordinary. Nonetheless, I had my eyes open for something like it long before I became frustrated the first time the zipper on my puffer came undone from the bottom, because, for some reason, I felt drawn to it.
As the zipper got worse, I became more determined, and eventually found something very close to what I saw in my memory, or in my mind’s eye. Navy. Faux fur. Gray lining. When I paid for it, the cashier cut off the tags at my request. I put it on, wore it out of the store, and, in the Eddie Bauer shopping bag, carried out the black jacket I walked in wearing.
It quickly became my favorite garment. It feels like a warm blanket hanging over my shoulders and comforting my upper body.
I could say more about how, and why, finding this coat and buying it for myself felt like a healing experience. It’s just the most recent example of the meaning I attach to the clothes I wear, like the fleece I’m wearing now. I bought it at an enormous truck stop, with a cartoon beaver for a logo, on my way home from a road trip to see my son. One that I’ll remember forever.
This week’s journaling prompt is about clothing. Please feel free to share your thoughts or a story in the comments.
Glossary of Feelings entry IV
Confident (adjective)
full of conviction : CERTAIN
having or showing assurance and self-reliance
This Week in History
January 28, 1912 - Jackson Pollock, American expressionist painter (Lavender Mist), was born in Cody, Wyoming.
January 29, 1595 - William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" is thought to have been first performed. Officially published early 1597.
January 30, 1661 - Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, was ritually executed after having been dead for two years.
January 31, 1847 - After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
February 1, 1587 - Queen Elizabeth I of England signs death warrant for her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots.
February 2, 1882 - James Joyce, Irish novelist and poet, born in Dublin.
February 3, 1783 - Spain recognizes US independence.
What I’m Reading
Cities of the Plain, by Cormac McCarthy
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, by Dan Kindlon & Michael G. Thompson
Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002, by David Sedaris
How to Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back, by Jeff Tweedy
What I’m Watching
Barry on HBO
Hemingway, A Film by Ken Birns & Lynn Novick
What I’m Listening To
Harlem River Blues, Justin Townes Earle
Z, My Morning Jacket
Journaling Prompt for the Week #5 of 2024
Write about your favorite article of clothing. What makes is special? Where and when did you buy it? Why is it your favorite?
Check out “The Manifest Mixtape,” a community playlist on Spotify.
Have a great week. Thanks for reading.