When I first wore this coat out in public, it was on a Broadway weekend with Mom, where we dined with Suzie and her Mom and then took in ‘The Cher Show‘. That was back in 2019, which in many ways feels like a lifetime ago. It merited the sparkle from the crystals I so painstakingly sewed on. Beneath the lights of Times Square, it made an especially dramatic impression, but garnered only a few compliments, almost all from women.
When I made a recent trip to Boston to see my spirit animal (shout out to Riley and the snack batch!!) I donned this spring beauty for her sake, and after walking through the city with it on, I collected a wide range of accolades, the majority of which came from what seemed to be straight men. That was a cultural shift in my experience of fancy coats and sparkle, the effect they had, and on whom the effect made an impression. Back in Albany, the same strange thing happened. One guy driving by my office building on Broadway actually slowed down to shout out the window that it was a sharp coat.
For far too many years I averted my gaze from straight guys in fear of how they might take it, and how they might attack. Maybe it’s ok to let down my guard. Maybe there have already been changes made for the better in spite of what the news and the media would have us believe. Maybe I need to be open to accept the joy that exists in the world.
