Bootsie's Coat

The coat is a vibrant lipstick red cashmere. The heavy red satin lining makes it so easy to slip into. There are three large embossed red buttons with a small rhinestone in the center of each. The pockets are at the perfect slant for gloved hands. The label says “Goldrings” which was an elegant women’s store on Canal Street in New Orleans. 

My grandmother, Bootsie, bought this coat in about 1942 for about twenty-five dollars which was her first paycheck from the Whitney Bank. When my mother and aunt were ten and eleven, my grandmother went back to work, something my grandfather wasn’t too happy about. My aunt remembers my grandmother coming home after the first week and throwing her money on the bed and saying “Look girls, we’re rich!”.  And with that money she bought this red cashmere coat. 

When my grandmother died, the coat was passed to me. My grandmother was a woman of elegant style and when I wear the coat, I feel my connection with the past and I feel close to her. And I wear it with the hope that I am continuing her legacy of style.