I’m not an educator or a parent of school-aged kids anymore but I still enjoy that feeling of back-to-school preparation. My personality always lent itself to organizing, the novelty of new supplies, and a sense of a fresh start. That included pencils, smelly markers, and, of course, clothes! At one point Mom and Dad had 5 kids who needed new shoes, socks, underwear, jeans, and cool outfits to start out the school year. She was able to satisfy all our needs and wants through layaway.

 It was the greatest concept in the world for retail! Just to clarify for my younger readers, layaway is a purchasing plan when a retailer agrees to hold your merchandise when secured by a deposit. Mom used to make payments on it and, of course, paid the balance on the designated pick-up date.

It was a mid-summer ritual. Mom took some of us girls for a whole day to shop at either Hills Department Store, founded in Youngstown, OH in 1957, KMart with their famous Blue-Light Specials, or Zayre. There was no way my older brother would participate in this adventure. Each of us would get to pick out one or two whole outfits, maybe a pair of shoes, tube socks, and other odds-and-ends. There was lots of time spent in the store dressing rooms figuring out my choices.

After all the painstaking decisions were made between denim gauchos, corduroys, and Earth shoes, we would make our way to the Layaway Counter. Our final choices would be packed in a big white box and put in a storeroom. 

It was exciting to pick up our box before school started but at the same time, I felt anxious. Would I still like the outfits and colors I chose a month ago? Our new back-to-school clothes were folded carefully under sheets of white tissue paper ready to be revealed. I don’t recall regretting any of my choices. 

Mom was always strict about not wearing our new clothes before the first day rolled around. I suppose it was something to look forward to as we started a new school year. Now the issue was, what the heck should I wear on the first day? That’s a whole other story! 

To those sending your kids off to school, whether it’s kindergarten, college, or somewhere in between, enjoy the ceremonial back-to-school shopping. What I wouldn’t give to put together a hip 70s outfit and organize a pencil box this fall! 

The picture above is a Google Image. I only wish I had these Earth Shoes like these!