It must've been about 1972 and Grandma was going on 63. And it must've been spring. Because why else would Grandma be wearing pastel yellow? She definitely observed color trends.
It was at the height of Women's Lib. Stay-at-home Moms born in the 30s and 40s were starting to take full-time jobs outside the home much to the dismay of their husbands in some cases. My own mother honored my father's wishes to NOT do this for as long as she could but also felt strongly about a parent being home and available to the children to raise them.
Grandma was long past that; she was in her second marriage for nearly 25 years; had recently passed her driver's license at about 59 years old for the first time and bought her own car (a green Chevy Nova). She was on a roll. Next up for her--having the nerve to not wear a dress everyday, which also necessitated the undergarments each day to go with the dress.
I can only guess that she went shopping with her bestfriend, who we called Aunt Alice. I don't think you make this type of momentous purchase alone. And she came home with the pastel yellow polyester pantsuit, much to my grandfather's dismay. I'll never forget when she came out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. I'd never seen my Grandmother in anything but a dress with an apron over it, everyday. She always had heels on, too, with stockings that were clipped on. Yes, she showed me those, too. But here she was announcing her freedom of wardrobe and announcing that she may never wear a dress again. While that didn't turn out to be true, she did wear pants almost every day after that, and for the next 14 or so years that she was alive. It's funny to think about what liberation meant back then and what it means now...Grandma was a wardrobe pioneer at 63! On top of it, she got her driver's license and inspired her own daughter, my mother, to get hers shortly after that. Pretty cool.
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