Dipping into the Embarrassing Picture files, I present for your ridicule more thinking-I’m-stylin’ clothes from the 70s. Here, my sister Ann and brother Mike are striking a pose holding what was known back in the day as "real milk." Not 2%, not 1%, not fat-free, and certainly not that scary skim, oddly-blue milk. Real, fattening, practically-a-milkshake milk.

Observe carefully. Our attire might have been described back then as nouveau Austrian chic, or now upon further reflection, more likely answered the question ‘How can we make an outfit with all these leftover scraps of mismatched fabric?’


I actually didn’t mind being clothed in things that matched my sister’s outfits. We are only two years apart, so we were often dressed like twins (same style, different colors). But did they have to be THIS hideous? I don’t even remember having this outfit. I may have been so traumatized that it was stricken from my memory. I’m curious if these were dresses or if there were pants that went with the tops. Best left to the imagination….. or not.

Reader survey: Our mother took us clothes shopping in downtown Easton at a place called The Surprise Shop, aptly-named, since apparently what we bought was quite a surprise. Does anyone remember this store? I have faint recollections of it being a long and narrow shop with creaky wood-plank flooring. It was located a block or two west of the old Woolworth’s on Northampton Street.

Stumble it!