MOTHER'S "HAT SCARF"

Mother in the backyard

Back in the ’50s, when we went out on cold winter evenings, my mother pulled from a dark closet this pillbox hat with attached scarf. The hat lent style to the scarf, which she tied under her chin and tossed over her back. Now, Mother didn’t mind being different, but I did. The “hat scarf” was very different in my book, and since it was the only one I had ever seen, I was pretty sure it was "out of style." I was secretly mortified when she wore “that old thing.”

Now that I’m “more mature” and more practical about my clothing, boy do I wish I had that “hat scarf!” Researching online, I found one on Etsy. “Only one in stock; order soon,” read the description. “Yeah, right,” I said to myself, knowing that no one except me would want that hat. I needed to think about buying it, though, because I wasn't really sure I wanted to wear some unknown person's old hat. Two days later when I finally decided to place the order, it was sold. The shop owner told me that it had been there since she opened. KW