Outerwear Fashion Show

Threat of snow here on Tuesday; forecast for 80 degrees on Friday. What a weird week. In honor of our hopes that coat season is soon to be behind us, here's a sampling of Georgia's surprisingly large collection of coats.

Also, in a nod to today being Earth Day, and the general idea of "reuse", I want to take a moment to say thanks as always for the immense generosity of our friends and family who have kept Georgia well outfitted since birth in hand-me-downs (some of which have gone from my Cousin Sara, to my sister Beth, back to Sara, and then to me!).

Is everyone fully appreciating the order of magnitude I'm talking about here? In case you don't believe me: We purchased none of the coats seen here. And if you look back at the prior 3 posts, the only items we've purchased are: 1 bee hat, 2 barrettes, 1 pair white sunglasses, 1 swim suit, 1 pair red shoes. Awesome, isn't it?

We really can't thank you enough.

"The Classic"

Coat courtesy of Georgia's great-grandmother and namesake, Gigi Cason; purchased circa 1973. Originally worn by Aunt Beth, and later by Georgia's mom, aka, little ol' me. Blue felt bird barrette was a Christmas gift from Aunt Sara.

"The Bee Hat"

Coat was formerly Cousin Alice's. You may recognize the bee hat from Halloween 2008. Georgia often selects it, and it makes for a nice neck-warmer, too. Purple flower pants arrived in a box from my Cousin Sara in Atlanta.

"The Muppet" aka "The Babushka" aka "The Elton John"

Fantastic hat courtesy of Aunt Beth/Cousin Alice. Crazy fur coat originally purchased by Pitski & Pa Tidmarsh and passed on by Beth/Alice. ("Purple coat" was one of Georgia's earliest 2-word phrases.) Black Mary Jane shoes courtesy of our neighbor Lola (who is 1 week older than Georgia) and her two daddies who live upstairs from us.

"Which way to the Politburo?"

"The Little Bear"

Adorable white coat was a baby gift from our friends Clayton & Emily.

"The Pink Bear Suit"

Oops. I lied. I forgot that we did actually purchase Georgia's snowsuit this year. But Beth found it on sale, bought it on our behalf because she was already at the store, and delivered it to us. Now that's service!

Can you tell how much she loved the snow?

"The Diva"

Who doesn't need a pink leopard print fur coat? Georgia's was a gift from her Gran & Grandpa Dave. (Unfortunately, the matching hat was too small for her ginormous noggin.)

And lastly, a late entry in this season's outerwear competition:

"The Bucket Head"

Miss Georgia decided that her metal Easter pail from Nana & Pop Pop would make a great hat. And since I'm aiming to give credit where credit is due, the fleece pj's were a hand-me-down from Alice/Beth.

These coats all helped Georgia survive the coldest Chicago winter on record in 15 years, and one of the snowiest. Spring seems to be giving winter a run for it's money, too, so thank you all!

[Wow. Suddenly after putting this whole post together I am feeling a real embarrassment of riches. Let's just say, I hope no child ever has to go cold, and we'll definitely be donating to Coats for Kids in the future.]

[EDITED TO ADD: Click here to see Georgia's friend Harry sporting the "Elton John." I think he may wear it even better than her.]