Business, Gatherings, Stories, Travel, Uncategorized

My London Jumper

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Last week, on what may very well have been the last below-freezing day we have this winter, I pulled what I lovingly refer to as “my London jumper” out of my closet. I bought this sweater over 30 years ago; it is black with various bright-colored threads woven through out – yellow, turquoise, red and blue.  It is a turtle neck and very warm so doesn’t get worn too often each winter.

When I went to London about 5 years back, I packed the sweater, thinking it might be a good thing for a chilly British evening (and, of course, it goes with anything). I did end up wearing it on the evening we visited the Aqua Shard, a restaurant on the 34th and 35th floor of The Shard, the tallest building in the U.K.   The group I was with had a few drinks and were coming down in the elevator when a young man (probably in his early 30s) noticed my sweater, or “jumper” as they say across the pond.  He gushed over my sweater, made sure everyone in the elevator noticed it and eventually put his arms around me and asked if I wanted to join his little group.  Obviously there was some alcohol involved.  I said no and at the end of the elevator ride, his group and mine went our separate ways.

I’ve told this story to a few folks over the years but last week, when someone asked me about it, they were horrified about the fact that I was “assaulted” (their word) on a work trip. Had I reported it in London?  Did I report it at work once I got home?  I feel strongly about the MeToo movement but I don’t believe that every time one person touches another, it is “assault”.  I was in a large group of people in the elevator, some of whom were with me, the young man was not aggressive, his hug did not include any kind of groping and importantly, when we got to the ground floor, he didn’t make any attempt to force me to go with his group.  I didn’t feel a moment of anxiety and I actually laughed at the time – not out of nervousness, but because I genuinely found the whole scenario funny.

So I still think of this sweater fondly as my “London jumper” as it reminds me of an amusing experience on a nice trip.

Does any of your clothing have a backstory?

33 thoughts on “My London Jumper”

  2. Husband has a grey wool vest that he says is his souvenir from London. He and I and our son searched in London for a suitable looking little shop and son got a wool cap and Husband got the vest. He wears it for very special occasions.

    Husband has a hard time getting rid of clothes as they age, and they are moved into other wearability categories such as “gardening clothes” or “cooking clothes”. That is why he has two clothes closets and I only have one.

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  3. Daughter got a lovely, extremely warm, and very oversized sweater for me in Iceland. It is the typical Icelandic design in white, and dark grey, with touches of burgundy. I could wear it as a tunic with leggings if I wore such things. It requires a turtleneck underneath as it is so itchy scratchy, so I can only wear it on the coldest days of winter. The cats are drawn to the sheepy thick feel of the yarns.

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  4. I have a brown cardigan somewhere that I bought in Scotland back in 1990. I haven’t worn it much because Robin says it makes me look like an old man. Well, guess what?

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  6. My clothing these days is pretty boring and without back stories. That may be atonement for some of the quirkier sartorial choices I made when I was younger. For example, the first garment I made when I was teaching myself to sew (as an adult!) was a pair of green corduroy bib overalls. I’m sure that some of you who sew or have sewn have made similarly indefensible choices…

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        2. I don’t remember actually wearing them that much anyway. And to tell the truth, green overalls were almost the least of my offenses.

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        4. Well I’ve talked previously about how for a while I was making myself shirts in the style of the singing cowboys, with fancy yokes and piping, pearl buttons, and curved slit pockets with little arrowheads on the ends and that the fabric I used was uncowboylike. One shirt was made from a print with carrots over all and another was eggplants.

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  7. The sweater I am wearing has been my favorite for many years now. Got it from a client’s discard pile when I was doing my organizing biz, so it had to be before 2005… Up till then I would wear only natural fibers, but this was when I started going for cozy. it is 100% polyester, is an icy blue color which can be worn with almost anything, and has a loose turtle neck, making it warm when I desire, but not too warm. I’ve mended it repeatedly, and I ignore the stains on the cuffs that will not wash out. No doubt any of you who have been to BBC when I attended have seen it.

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  8. This will be short, as I can’t see what I’m doing. Surgery went well, but now that the anesthesia has worn off, it hurts a bit and I can’t see because I can’t wear my glasses over my eye patch. Patch comes off tomorrow.

    My once favorite sweater is one I won in a raffle. It was an artsy wool with an abstract design in blue, green and brown. I wore that thing till it leterally was disintegrating on my body. I’d be surprised if I don’t still have it around here somewhere, it was so comfy that I just couldn’t get myself to toss it. Taking my cue from the folks wearing ripped and torn jeans, what are a few holes in a sweater? Hope this is readable.

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      1. Well, I do, although it’s not what most people would think an eye patch looks like. It’s am oval, convex plastic disc with a couple of holes for ventilation that is taped over the eye, more like a protective shield.. I was sent home with two bottles of different kinds of eye drops, but was told not to remove that patch until I see Dr. Pfaff tomorrow, so not exactly sure what to do with the drops at this stage. Hans tells me there’s some slight bleeding, which the nurse told him might happen, but since I can’t get to the eye, I can’t dab at it. Have a call in for advice on what to do. Guess I’ll just have a cup of tea, and wait.

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  9. Hey kids.
    Been out as election judge all day. Had 22% turn out. About what we expected.
    65% of votes were Democrats.

    I have mentioned my ditch jacket before. Didn’t even get it out this year; wasn’t cold enough long enough.
    I’ve got some T-shirts and sweatshirts that were swag from lighting places. Those always make me smile.
    And once upon a time I wore red pants.

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  10. I have a pink blouse that was my mother’s. It has a matching tie that is monogrammed with her initials. Her first and last initials were the same as mine; only the middle initial is different. I haven’t worn it for awhile, but when I do wear it, my middle name is Alice.

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