The Written Wardrobe
Fiction
- The Red Fedora Jeanne Althouse
- 2:36 PM Kashana Cauley
- New Skin (for an Old Boy) Wayne Cresser
Non-fiction
- Reflections on the Height of Style: Surviving a Suburban 1980's Haircut Jen LiMarzi
- Grace Katie Marks
- Boat Shoes and Other Serious Considerations D.W. Martin
- Four Statement Pieces, One History Jenny Sadre-Orafai
- That's Just What They'll Do Emma Törzs
- The Red Sweater Collection Kayla Washko
Poetry
- At Weeki Wachee Springs Wendy E. Kaplan
- Vintage Clothing Tips Valerie Loveland
- Portrait in Sepia Sharon Munson
- Appalachian Lipstick Laura Sloan Patterson
- Not all things asymmetric are cubism Teresa Petro
Vintage Clothing Tips
Valerie Loveland
The world is filthy, so I am careful where I lean,
who I let hold me. Only cold water removes
blood. These clothes watched from the closet
while I was being born. Some even watched
my parents being born. Thank you, Pack
Rats. Thank you, houses with walk-in
closets. Thank you, compulsive shoppers.
Thank you, under arm shields.
The woman who sold me a 1940's dress
warned me to be careful—I bought a piece
of history— but I had to try it on. I ruined
history with my broad shoulders. Fabric chokes
when stored in plastic bags. Clothes commit
suicide on wire hangers. Moths are after my wool.
I leave out a more delicious outfit, a decoy.
I lure them with a poisoned sweater. I suspect
the best shop constructed a time machine. When I ask
directly, they squirm. There is no other explanation
for a 1920's party dress glittering blue like a waterfall,
every rhinestone water droplet still sewn into place.
Valerie Loveland is the author of Reanimated, Somehow. Her poetry is included in Best of the Web 2008 and was featured at the Massachusetts Poetry Festival. She is a regular at poetry events around Boston and Cambridge. She works as an optician in Acton, Massachusetts.
