Attribution: Marcus Kaiser 【 MqaTalk 】, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, reminds the keeper of his responsibility in guiding the Easter style dress parade, an honor which he earned many years ago by purchasing the very last double-breasted men’s suit in the Midwest, maybe the entire country.
Double breasted suits were a common option in men’s clothing until they disappeared around WWII time, perhaps as a wartime conservation measure. They went completely out of style in common men’s clothing markets as much as men’s garters and spats.
The keeper, being mindlessly dressed by the military at the time, suddenly needed civilian attire to be a part of his sister Norma’s wedding party. On a solo shopping trip to downtown Indianapolis, the keeper bought a navy-colored double-breasted suit from clerks who may or may not have been over aggressive.
Back at the barracks, the keeper’s friends fell off their footlockers in fits of ridiculing laughter as the keeper modeled his new double-breasted suit.
It came slowly and forcefully to the keeper that he had made a backwards fashion statement and a fool of himself in one fell swoop.
Norma’s old wedding photos preserve the evidence and the keeper is not sure Phyllis has seen them. It is probably just as well as she has been known to comment on the keeper’s keen sense of style and dress, not always in a complimentary way.
Happy Easter from them both.
