"Baggy" Clothes
© By Grady L. Duncan
2/16/04
There was a time, not long ago,
when nothing went to waste.
Fashions were formed by hand-me-downs,
and not by fads or tastes.
If you got something new,
you really had room to brag,
even if it was homemade,
from an empty chicken feed bag.
Mother made her selection,
depending on her needs,
from prints of floral patterns,
and colored bags of chicken feed.
She used solids, plaids or stripes,
to make men folks their shirts.
The others were for the girls,
making blouses and pleated shirts.
The ladies liked the florals,
but enough was hard to find,
to make those pretty dresses,
with their sashes tied behind.
They'd go from house to house,
inquiring among all of their friends,
swapping bag for bag to match,
'til their had enough to begin.
Solid white was very common,
but we really didn't mind.
They were made into underwear,
with those "XXX"s across the behind.
Clothes were seldom store-bought.
so we wore those chicken feed bags,
and what we couldn't wear,
we used as dish-towels and rags.
