51�Թ�

I painstakingly fixed the torn prairie skirt, kept it with me for years, never wore it again, and wept each time I saw it, Finally, I donated it to the Salvation Army, hoping someone would love it as I had.

I was wearing a long skirt; Mom had collected my grandmother’s quilt pieces and made a prairie skirt for me the year before.

Leather is expensive: a Lauren prairie skirt costs $1,000; a leather blazer from Yves St. Laurent also carries a $1,000 tag.