This morning I got up and put on my mithril sweater. It isn’t metallic or even colored silver–it’s a big, blue, Irish woolly thing, cable knit. My mother wore it for warmth and comfort on winter days like today. And when I put it on, I feel completely safe.
Could scientists study the magic of favorite clothes? Clothes magic is private magic, quirky and secret.
When I was little I needed two kinds of magic. I had rough-tough-roaming magic shoes and shirts that made me strong in the world of tree-climbing and mudfights. I also had pretty-party-magic dresses that made me feel light and lovely and ready for fun surprises. Even today, when I see white polka-dots on pale sky-blue, I think of my favorite silk sixth-grade party dress.
Grown up now, my fears and ambitions need different magic. I do have a couple of pairs of far-walking shoes for ambitiously long days of exploration. But my most magical garment now, my elven cloak, is an old London Fog black silky raincoat. It was almost free because I bought it in the wrong season for raincoats (how can there be a wrong season for raincoats?) and it was on “deep remainder.” The hood keeps off rain, the pockets are huge, and the cut is so simple I feel deliciously invisible when I wear it.
Now, warmly girded in my mithril sweater, I’m off to struggle with my book again.
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1 Betsy Devine: Now with even more funny ha-ha and peculiar » “In retrospect, it always seems to be summer…” // May 25, 2007 at 6:28 am
[…] At this very moment, it seems to be spattering down some gentle rain–and that’s ok, because I love my old raincoat. […]