Vintage

Last week Clare called to ask me what I wanted for Christmas. I gave her a few suggestions, but then told her that what I really want is to replace my old ragg wool balaclava. The problem, I said, is that my old balaclava has a brim, and I can’t find one like it.

Clare knows that I have no patience when it comes to shopping, so she immediately started her own online search. Later that evening she called back to say that I might be right. She’d found ragg wool balaclavas, but none with brims. She’d found balaclavas with brims, but none of them were ragg. I told my daughter that unless she could find a balaclava with my exact specifications, I’d just keep wearing my old one until it was more rag than ragg. Even with its occasional holes and thin spots, it still keeps my head warmer than any other hat I’ve ever worn.

A wool vendor used to come to La Crosse every Christmas season. He’d set up a temporary booth in our mall’s main corridor and sell scarves, mittens, and hats. His hat collection included ragg wool balaclavas with brims. The guy doesn’t come around anymore, and I should have stocked up when I had the chance.

More and more I am having difficulty finding replacements for my favorite worn out clothes. For example, it took longer than it should have to find a functional swimsuit. All of the stores in town carry Speedos and multicolored surf shorts, but not much else. I am too old to be wearing Speedos, and knee-length baggy beachwear bunches up between my thighs when I swim. I wanted something less revealing than Speedos, something shorter and more snug than surf pants.

When I finally found the swimsuit I wanted, I realized that my trouble finding it was because my style of swimwear isn’t even marketed as conventional swimwear. It is in its own category called “vintage swimming trunks.” Vintage. Out of curiosity, I looked the word up in the dictionary. One definition of vintage is “outmoded and old-fashioned.” Another is “classic.” My swimsuit has an outdated look to it, but my balaclava is definitely classic.