The Ides Of March

The word Ides comes from the Latin word "Idus" and means "half division" with regard to the passage of days. It is a word that was used widely in the Roman calendar to indicate the middle of the month. Originally, the Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars. In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date on which Julius Caesar was killed in 44 B.C. A soothsayer had foreseen that Caesar would be harmed no later than the Ides of March, and on March 15 Caesar joked that the Ides of March had come and he was yet unharmed. Well, we all know how that turned out. Caesar was stabbed (23 times) to death on his way to the Roman Senate by a group of conspirators who wanted his senate seat. Fortunately, politics today are not quite so violent, although from the sound of some of the commercials airing right now, they could be!

My fancy turns preferably to the weather. Here it is, only the middle of the month and the temperature reached 83 in Washington D.C. today, which broke records for this time of year. The cherry blossoms at the White House are starting to bloom -- almost a month early. Typically we still have a little snow on the ground in March!

Such warm weather gave me an opportunity to break out an adorable pair of lavender straight-leg jeans, by Playmates, which actually have an embroidered trademark Playboy bunny on the front pocket and the brass snap front. I don’t recall where I got the jeans now, it’s been too many years, but I know it was in the 1970s when I lived in northern California, and I know that the jeans were intended to (and still do) conform to one’s figure in the most flattering way possible. These vintage pants were in the boxes of favorite clothes I stored away in the 1970s and 1980s as I moved across the country from one state to another, gaining a little more body weight with each move until all those favorite clothes were way too small for me to wear. I couldn’t bear to part with them, though, and entertaining the fantasy, as all overweight gals do, that I would one day lose the excess poundage, gave me a perfect excuse to hold on to them for decades. So I did.

Once in a great while dreams do come true, and last year when I lost all that weight, I remembered the boxes of old clothes stashed in my cellar. As I opened the crumbling cardboard containers, I was stunned to find an unbelievable treasure trove – a veritable boutique of vintage fashion – and I have had so much fun ever since putting outfits together based on old favorites from my youth.

Like today, for instance. These lavender Playmate jeans originally came with a belted, tight-fitting lavender sateen body suit, also with the Playboy logo. I no longer have the body suit, but I did manage to hang onto the belt, so I wore it today, along with a lavender ribbed-knit Lucky Girl tank top by Cowgirls Don’t Cry, a western-wear clothier. To that ensemble I added a lavender beaded fashion ring, some vintage amethyst-colored glass earrings that I’ve had since I was a teenager, an ear cuff with an uncut amethyst stone hanging from a long chain, a silver-metal filigree cuff watch and my trademark "L" initial necklace which was a gift from my employer three years ago to honor my 15^th year of service to the company.

A pale blue, cream and lavender neck scarf that belonged to my grandmother and silver-

beaded flat gladiator-style sandals completed my fun look as I stepped out into the fine summer-like day. Although I would be making my way close to the senate building today, I did not particularly beware the Ides of March, as I know of no one vying for my humble seat at the Library of Congress. Instead, I thoroughly enjoyed this Idus Martiae day.

Cheers!

Lynell