Pop Beads and other Fashionable Thoughts.

I awoke this morning remembering my Nana's Pop Beads, which I used to play with in church.  Her Pop Beads were olive, silver, and copper (this was the 70s) and very much resembled artificial grapes - in size and construction.  If you've ever pulled a faux grape from its vine, you noticed the grape was attached to the vine by a "plug".  Pop Beads plugged into each other and could be attached to form various bracelet or necklace lengths.  Connecting and disconnecting the pop beads made a pop nearly as satisfying as jumping on bubble wrap.

Fashionable Thought 2:  Barbie Doll Clothes - Some of my Barbie Doll clothes had real buttons, miniscule, and there was usually a thread loop opposite the button.  Some Barbie Doll clothes had snaps, which were a little easier to manage - but the buttons made the clothes seem much fancier and real.  I was very disappointed when doll clothing manufacturers began using hook and loop tape.  Hook and loop tape stuck to the flimsy fabric of Barbie's wardrobe, snagging her sheer ensembles - making garments fuzzy - and also creating an unsightly bulgy silhouette at the closures.

Fashionable Thought 3:  Purple Polyester - My mother created for me, when I was maybe 7, a purple and lavender polyester pantsuit... try to imagine it.  This purple polyester pantsuit, which was hot and itchy, was a short-sleeved trapeze tunic over bell-bottom trousers.  My left body and right leg were lavender and my right body and left leg were purple, like a court jester or harlequin - parti-colored.