Irons and dresses ??

Today’s been a grey wet day; while the rains keep on coming, the grass gets greener and our ground absorbs much needed water. This seems like a good enough day to tackle a shopping expedition.  My Sunbeam iron, purchased in CA at Costco for $25 January 2005 ( this I know because I have found the original booklet and receipt)  has been hinting that its time is about to come to an end—spitting water when it should be heating it to steam, messing up clean clothes and finally offering only the highest heat setting. I iron more now in retirement than I ever did all my years in career land when I dressed for work in suits and the like that required dry cleaning. Back then ironing piled up on the extra bed until I needed something or I ran out of hanging space on the door knobs. But now I iron most everything. I press my cotton t-shirts and occasionally iron pillow cases, always the ones for the guest bedrooms. I do a fair amount of sewing and quilting that involves pressing seams and the like too so it is necessary to have a good iron. My board is up at all times downstairs so the iron can be used whenever needed.


I think back to my childhood in PA when Monday was washday and Tuesday was ironing just like in the nursery rhymes and I had the chore to iron pillowcases, hankerchiefs, underwear and other odd things; it made no sense to me to iron any of that and I would tell my mother that “When I grow up I will only have clothes that do not need to be ironed!” I despised ironing and considered it the highest torture.  Why couldn't people blow their noses into  something that was not ironed just the same!  The nose doesn't care.  Back then ironing was a loathsome task that started by sprinkling clothes, which had been dried on the clothes line—now does that make sense to dry and then wet again? These wet clothes were then rolled, bagged into a dampened pillow case and placed in the freezer to be taken out one at a time to be ironed. Surely this kind of work was dreamt up by the likes of my mother to keep me in slavery. Mom was not interested in my commentary and sat calmly at the mangle pressing sheets while I ironed while  I vocalized constant complaints. If I could drag it out long enough she would be done with mangling and then take over ironing which left me free to pursue my interests. Child labor laws were unrecognized on Catalpa Street despite my protests. So it is all the more odd to me that today I iron willingly and like my clothes to look pressed. My ironing board is up at all times awaiting use.

I had decided that when my Sunbeam gave it up I would replace it with a Rowenta, the best iron on the market to my knowledge. Rowentas are made in Germany and the model I desired has a stainless steel plate, vertical and horizontal steaming, as well as a tiny point to get into crevices and folds. It is the story of my life that a need to purchase replacements never occurs when sales are underway, as when a month or so back Hancock Fabrics featured all Rowentas on sale.

Hancock’s had a 10% off coupon in the recent mailing, and I thought Sam’s Club carried Rowenta so I planned my route. First to Sam’s and then over to Hancocks if needed; both are in the same area, right across the small shopping area from each other. My luck was matching the dreary day; after no seeing an iron in sight at Sam’s I asked an associate, who walked with me to the aisle I’d previously cruised and who then said, “Well we only had one brand, a Rowenta but looks like we have none now.” That figures. So I trudge back out through the liquid sunshine and over to Hancock’s where I found the Rowenta Professional model on sale for $99, but that’s not the one I want. First of all it does not have an automatic shut off, which I consider essential. Although it is advertised as “just perfect for crafters and sewers with no shut off keeping it ready at all times”, this crafter and sewer tends to wander off to other things forgetting and could burn the house down. I’m only a phone call away from distraction at any given time! The model I prefer because I am sure this will be the last iron I have to purchase ever, is $159. Phooey, even with 10% off, that’s up there. I wander around and decide that perhaps I can iron just a week or so longer with the old Sunbeam and by that time maybe there will be other sales.

But I recall that I saw Rowentas at Sears, last year when I was replacing the downstairs vacuum cleaner. Well might as well drive down the road and across the highway to Sears while I’m out and about. Sears is at the mall but today not many are out having done their shopping before Easter. So I park in the back and enter, of course I am at the far end of the store from where the irons are stocked. Let me add that I have recently yet again somehow reinjured a muscle on my right leg along the calf and under the knee and it is highly protesting my walking along today after my Curves workout this morning. But I trudge along and find the irons, not before browsing through the clothing on display.

I have long ago relinquished all hope of finding any apparel to my liking besides my jeans and t shirts and even those get iffy as to fit at times. But when I’m out like today I always check around. In addition to the ever hideous display of women’s clothes, I notice something like a wrap dress, but I stand there in amazement. At one time I wore Dianne von Furstenburg wrap dresses which were quite stylish and fashionable, of gorgeous fabrics. But here are some wrap dresses made from low grade cheap cotton that leave me gaping with mouth wide open and then bring me to laughter.

These “dresses” resemble a poor imitation of the factory dresses that my mother and aunt wore in the 1950’s when they worked at Pittsburgh Plate Glass. I know this because just last year when my aunt passed away and we cleaned out her house, I found several of her old “Du-plate uniforms” which they sewed out of blue chambray and denim for heavier wear and which had lasted down through the ages. I tossed my Mom’s in 2004 when she passed; back then I was amazed to find them stuffed into the back of her closet. The women wore these at work and then in later years at home to clean the house or when they had a dirty chore ahead. This is back in the day when women wore house dresses. My mother and aunt were Teofil’s daughters and never ones to toss out what was not used up, so the dresses lasted years beyond their original purposes. In 2009 the last of these found their way into the estate sale or to the Goodwill store. But here is a copy of the ad of these Sears knock offs of the factory uniforms, which are being sold as something fashionable for today’s juniors to wear. I continue to be amazed at the lack of design ability today and surely Helen and Virginia are laughing from the Beyond. Perhaps they are smiling down in pity that somewhere in India or China underpaid sweat shop workers are sewing factory dresses for today’s fashion conscious young women to wear. I will now be prepared to control my laughter as I begin to see young women wear these cheap imitations of factory dresses.

And by the way I did purchase the Rowenta iron I wanted at Sears, at a lower price than at Hancock’s. The Sunbeam will be on its way to dumpsite burial.  There is just no comparison between the two but here they are; dueling irons.  Really no contest!  A Mercedes next to a Dodge Colt or something less.