#21 High School letter sweaters

My friend Nancy is amazed that I was able to have a “vintage clothes closet” in our former home of 34 years. No attic. No basement. And the cleanest garage in town in which both vehicles were parked.

Among my vintage clothes is my high school letter sweater. It is a wool, deep red cardigan with tiny moth holes, and no block-letter black “M,” which was probably removed if I wore the sweater in college.

We also still have my husband’s high school letter sweater--a deep hunter green V-neck with a bold white block “T” sewn on the front. The difference being, he was actually an athlete (cross-country) and I was in the pep club. And his high school was larger than my home town.

In the early 80’s it was popular at our daughter’s school for the girls to wear their father’s clothing--blazers, top coats and sweaters. It wasn’t the grunge or the baggy look, but I don’t recall what that fad was called.

One day she wore her dad’s letter sweater to school. She was (and still is) very striking, with a “build” as we used to say. So you can imagine what the boys said about that letter “T” on her chest.

She got a little flustered, and couldn’t remember the name of the high school (Arsenal Technical High School), so she assured the young men that it stood for “Arsenical High.”

It killed them, I’m sure.