While touring the Oasis Bordello Museum in Wallace, Idaho –fascinating place btw– the tour guide said, “We’ve got a basement that is self-guided, as well as some clothes for sale that used to be part of the bordello. Are you interested?” All of us, surprisingly, said yes, so down we went.

It had some small interesting tidbits and a large box full of jumbled clothes. I began picking through the box and found that it was typical thrift store fare, except for the last thing in the bottom of the box– a flawless, grey tuxedo jacket. With no price tag on it. I was delighted to discover that it fit.

After taking it up the the front desk to ask about the price, I also discovered that it might have belonged to one of the gambling parlor workers who ran the poker tables. I bought it on the spot.

It was one of my favorite items of clothing for the years when I was a married college student. It was just the two of us in our apartment, and we had a very active intimate life. At one point, I wore nothing but my tuxedo jacket to show off my amazingly flat stomach.

I no longer fit into that jacket because my shoulders widened somewhere in the process of bringing our first child into the world. It now resides in my dress-up trunk for our kids to play with.

And, I have to admit, I wore it for Halloween this year as I dressed up as a ringmaster. I can’t let go of it completely; it has such a rick history.

I wore J. Crew men’s rollneck sweaters all through college. I still like the look!

I wish I could wear his clothes. I would totally borrow his sweaters and button-ups. Only then my realtor’s joke about his-and-hers closets being mine-and-mine-too closets would really come true!

Also…grammar police moment! :) It’d be “myriad tuxedo pants”…you don’t need the “of”. In any event, I’d love to see what those black skinny trousers look like if you get all DIY on them and add a stripe.