personalexpressions

In 1963 I was in the Army and had been sent to SHAPE Headquarters in Paris, France. Before I left the US one of my sergeants had told me I could not wear civilian clothes in Europe, that I'd have to go everywhere in uniform. I had taken all my clothes home to my mom and arrived in Paris with only my uniforms and my pajamas. I then learned the sergeant had been teasing me and that it was the other way around. I HAD to wear civilian clothes on the economy. I had nothing to wear! The British military women loaned me enough clothing to get by until I could get my clothes shipped. BUT....my mother had given them to a friend who was my size but 6 inches shorter since she felt I would think them out of date when I returned to the US a couple of years later. I literally had NO clothes! Nor did I make enough money to buy ($75.00 a month).

My roomate was French Air Force and was of the era where middle class French girls had to do an hour's worth of needlework every day. She made everything except stockings. There was a sewing machine in our dayroom and Bernadette gave me the best advice I have ever heard about learning to sew. She said that I should spend twice as much as I could afford on my fabric because I would then take my time, read directions, ask questions, and rip out mistakes to redo. Cheap fabric would end up in the garbage and I would learn nothing. I've not looked back since.