Tale of the Fluffy Blue Jacket

I know that the idea is in no way original. There was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and there are many bloggers who have done similar things. One that comes to mind is here: The Traveling Red Dress.

I got the idea from a lovely lady Kate, who writes a blog called Eat The Damn Cake. If you are not yet reading it, I suggest you put it in your favorites and do so right away. She is a fabulous writer, who tells lovely tales that every woman, and pretty much every human, can relate to. This post here started a conversation between she and I via email: http://www.eatthedamncake.com/2012/01/11/i-want-to-look-like-a-pirate-queen/.

She had said she never really wore bold items of clothing, and she wanted to start doing so. I told her of a really fun baby blue coat I have that always gets a visceral reaction from folks, whether that reaction be good or bad. I sent a picture of the coat, and she said she needed it. Lightbulb over the head later, and I decided this coat needed to start traveling. I told her I would dry clean and send her the coat. She can keep it as long as she needs, then she must pass it on to someone else. I am also including a journal to tell the story of the coat and what it has meant to me. The coat goes to Brooklyn tomorrow!

Many thanks to my lovely boyfriend Rich, for putting up with my insane behavior and making this little doozy of a picture for me.

Back story of the coat: A friend of mine was doing a W.E.A.V.E. clothing exchange at one of our local haunts. You brought 10 items of clothing, and 10 dollars, and you got 10 chips. Each chip entitled you to one clothing item on the racks or shoes and purses strewn about on tables. If you chose an item someone else also wanted, you had to do a runway like walk-off, and the crowd decided who got the item. Great idea because it was fun, W.E.A.V.E. got an item for every item someone chose, and they also made a bit of money. I immediately spotted this coat and walked up to it as another gal walked up to it as well. I looked at her and said, "You REALLY don't want to have to do a walk-off with me. I'm made of super sass." She said, "I do believe you are." And thus, the coat was mine.

Not only is the coat warm, but it always gets a reaction from people. From, "You killed Grover!" to "That is the greatest coat ever!" It has helped me get over some of my anxiety because random people will pet you in this coat. I HATE being touched by people I don't know. But with this coat it's pretty much impossible to get mad. If I saw someone in this coat, I would want to pet it too. I just wouldn't, 'cause I have this weird thing called manners. Haha.

I once had a hairdresser misunderstand what kind of cut I wanted, and I ended up with 1" of hair all around, with bangs, and long side pieces. Like an old skinhead fringe or a chelsea cut. I was so sad because it made me look even more butchy than I already do. Wearing this coat got me through that haircut. It was the only time I didn't feel manly sporting that hair.

So off the coat goes, and I wish it well. I don't care if I never see the coat again, but I do hope to see stories of it here and there along the internet, and I do hope no one keeps it. But hey, if someone needs to keep it, than they need to keep it. I know I have had it about eight years. It has served me well. Live on and prosper baby blue huggy bear pimp coat. I hope Kate has many an adventure with you.