I am a vision in red.

More or less. I'm going to Memphis to speechify this afternoon, and the black ladies in Memphis love me in red or purple (I wore purple yesterday), so I'm wearing red just for them. Red/pink tweed suit, red three-inch ankle-straps, fused red glass pendant (made for me by a friend), pinkish-red pillbox wrapped in dark red georgette, red wool swing coat, red leather tote bag, red leather gloves with pleated cuffs.

Something about my style must appeal to black women of my generation or a little older, because 9 times out of 10, if a stranger compliments my clothes on the street, it will be a black woman around my same age. I was shopping in Kroger last Thursday for the reception I catered at church Friday night, and I had on a high-waisted black/white polka dot dress with a decollete` wrapped bodice and a gathered skirt, a shiny black handbag hanging in the crook of my elbow (I dislike shoulderbags, as a rule), and a pair of high heeled black peep-toe pumps with big white buttons on the toe. A black woman came down the aisle toward me, and, as she passed, she practically gushed, "You look so beautiful!"

Now, it's a cute dress, it has the added advantage of making me look like I have really nice breasts, and the shoes matched perfectly, but I wasn't even wearing a hat! @):-)