FROM THE CLOSET OF JULIANN WILDING : FRINGE VEST

Perhaps it sounds lofty to say I had a somewhat cosmic experience when I found this fringed leather vest by Mona Mode. 

Call it a testament to the power of imagination, or self-fulfilling prophecy, or coincidence if you prefer, but from time to time I experience what I can only explain as a thrift-shopping sixth sense. I imagine garments that I want to find, and then they appear to me in the real world. In this particular instance, I had conjured up the image of this exact vest in my mind about a week before discovering it. I imagined clearly the black nubuck leather, with no embellishments or buttons, and single row of long straight black fringe that would strike exactly at the mid-thigh. I could imagine the fringe swinging around on a dance floor, touching my legs, making it the perfect vest to wear with short shorts on summer nights. I fell in love with my vision of the vest, and I wanted it badly. 

I felt in accordance with the powers that be when I walked to a neighborhood Salvation Army and was compelled to look through the entire store despite it smelling quite awful and being in a horrible state of disarray. I finally discovered the vest tucked away among some sweaters and I felt the physical manifestation of a dream wash over me. I knew it was meant to be. It was the only thing I walked away with that day. 

-JW