Monday, December 13, 2010

Nana Breaks Out the Holiday Sweaters


My daughter hates themed clothing, yet I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame.  I am a teacher.  It is practically required for teachers to own seasonal clothing.  Even now that I am retired it is difficult for me to pass up a sale on Christmas sweaters.  Last year when I was shifting my wardrobe from winter to spring, I actually tossed several holiday sweaters in the Goodwill bag in an effort to move my wardrobe to retirement wear.  Remembering this, it was a surprise to me to find that I still had at least five Christmas sweaters when I opened up my sweater storage box last week.  Unlike some of those hideous sweaters that you see on the Internet, I like to think that my sweaters are tasteful and classic.  My daughter rolls her eyes and says "Mom, are you trying to look like a teacher?"


As I searched google images for a picture to go with this posting, I began to rethink my daughter's position on themed clothing.  Page after page of red and green sweaters adorned with reindeer and sparkly stars assaulted my eyes.  Maybe my daughter is right?


But, there's something so festive about wearing red during the Christmas season.  And, if there's a few sequins...even better!  I didn't buy any new seasonal sweaters this year.  I did, however, find a turtleneck with a small, tasteful, candy cane embroidered on the neck.  It will be perfect under one of my red sweaters.  So I guess one of my adjustments to retirement is transitioning my wardrobe to non-teacher style.  I'm cutting back on holiday "professional" wear and adding more jeans. 


As I curb my dependance on gaudy sweaters, I can always embellish with accessories.  Teachers also have accessories, usually in the form of chunky wooden jewelry.  I have quite a collection of seasonal themed pins ...my daughter hasn't said anything about not wearing seasonal jewelry.

9 comments:

  1. Every holiday I wish I had even one seasonal outfit. All I have is two pairs of Christmas socks.

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  2. LOL! I had enough themed sweaters etc. to wear a different one each day for the two weeks before Christmas Break when I retired. I have only kept three of them. I only wore one last year and have not broken any of them out this year. I guess you could say we are recovering from our tenure themed outfits.

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  3. I got rid of all my seasonal teacher clothes quite a while ago, but have not been able to part with the hundreds of pairs of earrings that no adult woman who wasn't a teacher would be caught dead in. Personally, I think sequins are classy for anyone. :-)

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  4. I hate to tell you this, but EVERYONE thinks THEIR holiday sweaters are in good taste, and they almost never ever are! But, then again, who can turn up their nose at sequins!

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  5. Well, it was our uniform, after all, to live within the seasonal colors and themes. How else would those little birds know when it was time to put away their princess outfit and come to school dressed as esquimos?

    This reminds me of the time when a child was sent to my office in flip-flops in the middle of winter. We called her mother to get more appropriate shoes and she proceeded to berate the secretaries, how we had nothing better to do than bother her at the manicurist!

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  6. I LIKE Christmas sweaters on other people, but I would never wear one. They are definitely dorky looking to me. :-) But hey don't let me stop you!

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  7. I use to have tons of Christmas sweaters ...guess I should go try to find them. Wonder if they still fit.

    My girls say the same about them...must be an age thing.

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  8. Ohhhh....that's another one of those Teacher things. That explains my sister's sweater collection.
    There are a lot of those Teacher things...

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  9. I too used to be a seasonal sweater kind of girl, in the 80's that stuff was all the rage (if it had enormous shoulder pads, all the better!) but somewhere along the way I ended up coming to own a Santa hat so cool that I had to get rid of the red and green. The hat is standard Santa shape with a big white fuzzy end but the hat is cranberry velvet & the rim is leopard print (OMG too cute for words!). Once that little gem of awesomeness arrived at my door the former holiday sweater glory went right out to Goodwill. lol But I do like to look back with fond nostalgia from time to time...this post brings me back...

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