My Second Skin

I have always worn my favourite clothes for many years. I have a suit I first got in 1987 and a very garish Hawaiian shirt I got in America during my summer there in 1986! The first piece of clothing that I took to was a jumper that I wore throughout my teens and into my twenties.

I am the taller of the two figures wearing the jumper I called Old Faithful. It was a black and white jumper which fitted like a glove whatever my height or shape. My tendency as a child, and as an adult to this day, has been to become very attached to inanimate objects and to give them an almost talismanic quality. I wonder if it’s connected to my Asperger’s. Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, whenever I wore it I always felt better because it was like a comfort blanket. As a teenager it was much needed given how difficult things were at school in particular.

It went missing in a move, one of many I had in my teens and twenties. I was sad at the time but I now look back with wry amusement at the way I was determined to associate it with things being better for me. It worked it’s magic then and I was very grateful, but I realise now that I had the control because my mindset changed when I wore it and that was down to me not the clothes.