Editor's note

Thursday, October 23, 2008

When I worked at a fabric store, I could spend an entire eight-hour shift wandering the aisles of fabric, contemplating which hue of taffeta or which pattern of fleece best captured my essence as a human being.

My boss, Karen, was of a much different mind-set regarding work. Karen was in her 50s, rigorous and resolute, and a strict disciple of the manic rhythm of retail.

She scolded me for sitting on the counter to rest my feet, even when there were no customers in the store. She wouldn’t let me wear a sweater over my short-sleeved uniform, even when the store’s temperature seemed to dip near arctic lows in the winter.

And, of course, I wasn’t allowed to shop while I worked—a reasonable yet nearly impossible decree, I couldn’t help it if, while paying ever-so-close attention to vacuuming the dingy brown carpet beneath me, I happened to be distracted by the new fashion prints just begging to be transformed into dresses and drapes and anything in between.

The maddest I ever saw Karen, though, was when I asked a young couple what they planned to make with the 15 yards of brown fabric they were buying, to which they replied that they were dressing up as “shit” for Halloween. I laughed hysterically for a good 10 minutes, then suggested the couple use textured moleskin fabric to up the authenticity of their poo look. The conversation horrified Karen, as well as the three other older women in the vicinity.

Most of the store’s customers happened to be older women, and this often presented problems. A jittery woman with a heavily powdered face once complained that I looked like a “tart,” while another woman refused to let me cut her fabric because my nails were painted black, apparently a clear sign that I was affiliated with the devil and intended to curse her Winnie the Pooh flannel.

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Crocs Craze Comes to KU

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Malicious Intimacy

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Eco-Chic

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Brew: Ads that belittle women ruin their ...

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Minor decision, major impact

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To hell and back

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Gwynn: The insincerity of Valentine's Day

What is Valentine's Day really supposed to mean?

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Head and shoulders, knees and toes

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Fear, interrupted

How one man’s love helped undo the damage of another.

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Shopping vintage

A guide to buying fashion from another era.

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Letter: Sexual conservatives cannot have their cake ...

Letter was offensive.

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Palin costumes popular this Halloween

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Smith: Gender equality works both ways

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My Name Is Jason

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Five Wardrobe Essentials for Men and Women

Timeless clothing options that can improve your everyday look.

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Jeweler turns simple metals into treasures

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Medium Rare

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Overstocked store seeks expansion

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The Invisible Children of Divorce

College students deal with their parents separating.

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Taxidermist gets down and dirty in raw ...

Taxidermist Cindy Cunningham owns her own shop in Bonner Springs and continues ...

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Pins and pompadours: The return of rockabilly

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Editor's note: Feb. 25

Jayplay associate editor Kelci Shipley's take on this week's issue.

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The Art of Masculi-knit-ty

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Personal essay: Growing pains

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Businesses strive to make Valentine's Day great

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