I am old enough to remember the Sear's catalog*. For my mother, who was raising kids #6,7, and 8 single-handedly, Sears and K-Mart provided what nowadays we would maybe go to Target or Wal-Mart for. Sears also sold things like tires, and mopeds, and house paint, and had a great candy department where you could buy Maple Nut Goodies by the pound. If Mom had her mason jar of iced coffee in her hand and asked if we wanted to go to Sears, we couldn't jump in the AMC Gremlin fast enough. We would get the latest Sears catalog by mail and go through it page by page, putting our names on everything we wished and hoped for. At Christmastime, it was how she shopped - looking for those catalog pages. She was making $5 an hour as an XR tech and paying $500/month for her mortgage. There wasn't a lot of wiggle room in the budget for extravagance. But one Easter I remember wanting these white basket weave patterned clogs so very badly:
At $10 pair, I was shocked that she gave in and ordered them for me. They weren't what you would call really practical for someone who rode the bus to school. I was only in 8th grade. Can you imagine? They had a 2 inch wedge heel on them and went perfectly with every dress I owned, all sewn by my mother. I recall that I outgrew them very fast. Same as childhood, come to think of it.
Oh the places your memories can take you. All the way back to Weis Middle School, in Galveston, Texas, 1973. And to my Mother, who was smart with money and creative with a sewing machine. And it doesn't take much more than an old Sears ad to remind me of how much I miss her.
What a sweet memory of your mother. And p 602 is so tame now!
ReplyDeleteThere was a song about it, and my mother would sing it and laugh like a fiend.
Delete2nd grade in 1973 and I do remember that Sears catalog. My kids ooohed over the Fleet Farm Toy catalog. That was very sweet that your mom found a way to get you those shoes.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had told her thank you more often for these seemingly small things. They made an big impact on me.
DeleteI was very "into" shoes in the 1970's. I had a large babysitting business and used my funds for shoes and shampoos that promised glossy hair.
ReplyDeleteWe often shopped at Kmart, Sears was the more fancy store.
I worked at K-Mart for a couple of years in high school and bought clothes there, too. Ha!
DeleteI remember the Sears catalog and all those magic marker circles around the items we wanted Santa to bring! That's a very sweet memory of your mom. ❤️ I love when the good ones pop up!
ReplyDeleteI'll never hear of Sears and not think about my Mom!
DeleteHi Gina what a fun post, I remember the Sears Catalog too. I loved coming home from school to find the new catalog had arrived! I especially appreciated it during Jr. High School, as my mother and I had got into a bad car accident and she was unable to take me shopping. I bought a lot of my school clothes from the catalog. It was such a big help. I also loved to look at the bedroom sections and all the pretty sheets and bedspreads. I would look at those pictures and dream of the day when I could have a pretty room like that with all the decorative pillows on the bed. ;). I just restarted my blog this month after some time away, and I am having a lot of fun writing it and meeting so many nice people. I am 63 years old and I like to write stories about growing up and my family as well as sharing my knitting and crochet projects. I also enjoy making toys. I hope you have a lovely day ahead! :)
ReplyDeleteHow sweet! I will for sure look you up. (:
DeleteOh yes. The Sears catalog was the source of many things. My Mom sewed my clothes as well and reading about the shoes that your Mom got for you I remembered the pedal pushers that I saw in the catalog and wanted so badly. This was an extravagance since we didn't have a lot of money for extras. It's not like I could wear them to school ( it was dresses only!!). I loved those pants. I guess they'd be called capris now.
ReplyDeleteI loved those, too. Also culottes - remember them? Any girl who ever got her jeans caught in her bike chain looooved culottes and pedal pushers. (:
DeleteMy mother was such a talented seamstress. I was her Barbie doll, as I was the tagalong spoiled baby of the family, and all my sisters were gone from home by the time I hit 6th grade. I loved, loved, LOVED platform shoes!
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh about page 602. That was the big story the week my husband (who I didn't know well) asked me for a ride home as his ride had left without him. I said sure, but I had to go by my sister's house on the way to borrow some baking tools. He wanted to come in her house with me, so I parked him in her living room to play with my nephews, while my sister and I went to the kitchen to whisper and giggle over page 602...I mean gather the baking supplies I needed. LOL The next day he showed up at my door with a spatula with a ribbon tied around the handle and asked me out.
PS: We were married within a year, and one of my sisters (not the one with the catalog) said it would never last, because all I cared about was wearing pretty clothes. Well, we showed her! (And now all I wear are jeans and t-shirts!)
Ha! I love this story! And platform shoes just made me feel pretty.
DeleteI can smell those maple nut candies. I've bought several as an adult just because of the memory. Hard to find now.
ReplyDeleteThe Sears and Penny's catalog was a Christmas magical moment.
I haven't seen those candies for years. They tasted great - pure sugar and you could lose a filling if you weren't careful. (:
DeleteI love this memory and those clogs too!
ReplyDeleteAnd they would still be in style!
DeleteGina,
ReplyDeleteI always wore shoes with high heels and loved doing so but then arthritis set in along with Plantar fasciitis and that was the end of me wearing any type of heels...Thanks so much for stopping by!! I use the tree I have in my upstairs hallway as a night light at night....
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie-Dabble blog
Oh yeah - I had to part with all of wedge heels that were over 1 1/2 inches. No way am I breaking my ankle (or my neck) especially out in public!
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