Memories

Vintage Shops, Postcards, and Dementia

Realizations always happen at the most random moments

Photo by Ellen Tanner on Unsplash

I was parsing through my rack of old clothes looking for memories, and I did not find any. I passed through the clothes and said, “Oh I wore this the day I fell and broke my glasses” but the dress meant nothing, I remembered that day nonetheless.

This is why it is always so confusing to me when people comment on the eeriness of vintage stores. While yes, they had it on, did they really leave their memory behind? Or did they just give us an opportunity to make some more with their clothes? I like to believe the latter.

I am an avid thrifter, and while vintage shops are very hit and miss, I make sure to visit any that I find appealing. This led me to a vintage shop in the fall of 2023, and it was very special.

I was with two of my best friends and we spent a long time there, not really buying anything, but simply chatting to the owners of the shop, who happened to be the two loveliest women I had ever met. They were blunt with love and raw to their core, and we missed the last bus back to campus to hear all of what they were telling us.

We talked about education, parents, love, people, and everything in the middle. “Call your moms every day”, they…