… I unpacked my meager wardrobe: two woolen dresses, one brown serge and the other navy blue, the fabric cut from bolts of cloth that had lain for years on shelves in my grandfather’s general merchandise store … A skirt from a remnant, another that I had made from a pair of my father’s old gray pants. I had cut them off at the pockets, ripped the seams, washed and turned the fabric, which was perfectly good on the wrong side, and made myself a four-gored skirt to wear with a pink sweater I had knitted. A couple of cotton dresses; a bathing suit; a badly made skirt and jacket left over from high school; my precious bias-cut cream-colored satin formal, which made me feel like I was slinking around like Jean Harlow in the movies …
Beverly Cleary (1916-1921), American children’s literature author.
This quote is from Ms. Cleary’s memoir, My Own Two Feet (Morrow Junior Books, 1995).
I truly enjoy sartorial detail like this in a memoir.
At the height of the Depression, 1934, Ms. Cleary moved from her small hometown in Oregon to Ontario, CA to attend Chaffey Junior College. In those days, most people didn’t have big wardrobes. Nor did they toss away clothing like it was a used Starbucks cup. Clothing was kept and mended, altered, and refashioned. My great grandmother, who was a whiz at the sewing machine, made all of her daughters’ clothing, and anticipating future alterations, she always allowed for generous seams and hems.
Ms. Cleary’s sewing talents and thrift would be much appreciated today as we struggle to fight climate change while trying to find a path to sustainable fashion. I think one place to start is with this old goodie: Make do and mend!
OverDressed for Life 
Some of us do this & have been at it for decades. It is spiritually knowing When to LET GO & ALLOW SOME NEW IN- QUALITY ONLY! Ha ha.
JG
I love that quote. I have that book somewhere. I read her books as a child and especially liked the parts that mentioned Pacific Grove because I lived in Monterey and she did too. I had the good fortune to meet Beverly Cleary when I was a senior in high school and took a creative sewing class at the Junior college. I sat next to her and seemed to be the only one who knew who she was. Or maybe the other students, all older women, knew to not make a fuss over a celebrity. She and I became very friendly over the weeks of the class. She gave me a pattern for a japanese style apron that was very popular then. I returned the gift with a large bag of apples off our tree.
Hi Nan. What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing. I’m a fan of Beverly Cleary and I read both her memoirs when they were published. After her recent death, I wanted to read My Own Two Feet again as I found her time at UC Berkeley and Library School interesting. She was a spirited young lady for her era!