What If . . . Everyone Knew Your Name by Ruckdeschel Liz & James Sara

Author:Ruckdeschel, Liz & James, Sara [Ruckdeschel, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2007-12-18T07:00:00+00:00

VINTAGING

Trying on old clothes is a bit like trying on other people’s lives.

“Cool jacket,” Irene said, leaning over Haley’s shoulder as she pulled an army green bomber jacket off a rack of used clothing.

Haley looked it over and then handed it to her. “You try it,” she said. “It’d look better on you anyway.”

“I thought we came here to shop for you,” Irene replied, dropping her book bag on the floor.

Jacks was Irene’s favorite vintage store, which was why she had suggested it as stop one on their mission to find Haley some new fall clothes. Not only did Jacks have variety, from lace Victorian slips to sixties minidresses to faded blue jeans, but they sold clothes by the pound, so everything was dirt cheap.

Haley sifted through a stack of beaded cardigans and said, “I’m more of a . . .” as she searched for the best way to describe her own style.

“Preppy New Wave meets boho California chic,” Irene said, finishing Haley’s sentence.

“Something like that,” said Haley. “I guess I’m still figuring it out.”

In the packed Jacks warehouse, hints of body odor, old leather, cigarette smoke, powdery perfume, mothballs and cedar chips culminated in the olfactory experience peculiar to thrift stores.

Irene held up a funky polyester shirt with a floppy butterfly collar and dizzying geometric shapes. “Good times,” she said. Haley stared at her. “What? I like the pattern.”

“Come on,” Haley said skeptically. “It’s a little chaotic, don’t you think?”

“Well, you’d never find anything like it at the mall. Who wants to show up for school looking like Coco De-freaking Clerq? And besides, it might work. For something. Sometime.”

“Like Halloween?” Haley added, taking the shirt from Irene and hanging it back on the rack. “Now, these, on the other hand, these you could live in,” she said, pulling out a pair of buttery soft blue jeans.

“Wait until you see what they have upstairs,” Irene boasted as she rummaged through a huge basket of miscellaneous T-shirts, pawing around in the rainbow of faded cottons until she found one from an old Kinks concert. “This would look good with them,” Irene said, and tossed it to Haley before picking out a shirt for herself that read, THINK ANIMALS. BECAUSE ANIMALS THINK.

“Thanks,” Haley said, slinging the shirt over her shoulder and holding the jeans up to her thighs. Just as she suspected, they were exactly the right length.

“I remember when I found my first pair of Jacks jeans,” Irene said wistfully. “It was like they’d been made for me.”

Just then, Haley’s cell phone began beeping with a new text message.

“Wow. It’s Gretchen,” she said, surprised.

“Who’s Gretchen?” Irene asked.

“A friend from California,” said Haley. “I was just thinking about how much she would love this place, and then she texts me. That’s so like her.”

“Creepy,” Irene said. “You should call her back.” She lifted a derby off the shelf, tried it on and wandered off to another part of the store, leaving Haley alone to read the text message.

“Just checking in . . .

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