The Estate Sale Diaries- continued.

My late benefactress, Mrs H. , who died a year ago, bequeathed me this silk scarf. I bought it for a few dollars at Mrs H's estate sale last fall. She bought it at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, for its label says it was made specially for them. Mrs H. was a wealthy woman who owned a string of stores in Nashville. She never threw away a shoe or a skirt, and her wardrobe- all of it for sale- covered the years when she expanded from a size 8 to a 14, a trajectory I followed myself. Her clothes were good. But not too good, though it may be that her Chanel, if she had any, never made it to the sale. Leave it to heirs to always skim off the cream.

I am grateful to this women for her size 12 and 14 skirts with their elastic waistbands and forgiving contours. What freedom for a woman- to make peace with her hair, her face, and her dress size. It is a victory hard won, and I wonder if it is ever won before fifty-

Mrs. H was also a shoe woman. There were hundreds of pairs, and I doubt some had felt her feet. I bought a pair of boots from Macy's- a $300.00 pair- that still rested in their box. Did I mention that this woman had size 7 1/2 medium feet? Just as I do. Ah, but that sale was a day of good luck.


The boots were five bucks. Their career with me is much the same as it was with Mrs. H. They still live in their box waiting for the day someone invites me somewhere where I must only walk short distances.