GOOD: “Strange is always good… to me.”

 

Somehow along the way and during my many hurried, tedious trips to the Midtown garment district I have become friendly with a very unusual character.  Elliot is a middle aged man with the characteristic mid-age traits – silver hair, receding hairline, distinguished beer gut – as well as some features that are all his own.  Every time we have crossed paths he has been wearing tall black boots (almost knee high) with white laces all the way up.  They are allegedly unisex but feigning on the side of feminine.  He favors T-shirts with catch phrases, and prides himself on being a snarky and quick-quipped conversationalist.

Elliot works in the downstairs upholstery section of Mood, the famous fabric superstore from Project Runway fame (although lately it has not been living up to its reputation).  He has helped me locate and obtain swatches upon swatches of velveteen, raw silk and multiple courderoys. I think our idiosyncrasies are drawn to each other so over the past month or so we have established an easygoing and enjoyable repor.

I did not realize we were more than acquaintances until one day on my way to pick up finished dresses from the factory I passed Elliot on the sidewalk, leaning against a building having a smoke.  It wasn’t even on the same street as Mood.  I stopped for a couple of minutes and we had a little chat and then I continued on my way.  Of course my relationship to Elliot consists solely of small talk and sarcasm, but it is more stable than some of the other new friendships I have started into with peers.

Today I was at mood to get some swatch of 1/4″ well courderoy.  My boss didn’t yet know what it would be for so I was kind of at a loss.  And as I paced the aisles I noticed that I was not the only one looking quizzical.  Elliot sauntered over, looked down at my legs and said, “Now THAT is weird!”  I was wearing a pair of Cynthia Rowley tights that had one black leg and one blue one.  ”That is one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot.”  I found that hard to believe that my mismatched legwear was more unusual than other over-the-top New York street style but I took his word for it.  I replied, “I don’t know how I should be taking that.”  He chuckled as said, “Strange is always good… at least to me.” I laughed because I totally agree.  Let me rephrase that, I USUALLY agree.  I’ve soon too much troubling situations in NYC to make that blanket statement.

Maybe I was asking for the remark, because throughout the day my legs kept grabbing attention.  At one other fabric vendor, two employees who did not speak English very well kept pointing, trying to flirt with me and then insisting that I was from a different country.

My stockings really turned into a social experiment of sorts.  I did reckon that New Yorkers (and our visitors) could be so easily shocked.  I must say it was a strange discovery.  But as we have learned, strange is good.

UPDATE: I googled images of two-tone tights and when I dragged the black and blue one to my desktop, the file name was my birthday.  STRANGE!!!!

 

My tights (not my legs)

 

M