People Tell Stories By What They Wear

Today I spent the day on the beach in Sydney watching the sand traffic go by. There was a near perfectly blue sky with a little bit of a Humbolt haze hanging over the harbour. We lay our new Country Road towels out and creamed up and gazed out at the bathers which hung close to the shore whilst some further back swam across the baths closer to the nets. It was a typical day on Nelson Park with the smells of summer permeating the air.

I turned to my lady and made a comment about a woman in her thirties who pranced the beach with the top crease of her arse just showing above her bikini line; oiled and tanned, she struntzed from here to there with her yellow lensed aviators and talked loudly in bursts on her iPhone. Then another couple showed up, his hat was made of straw, he was full-bearded and he carried his child. He had no attitude at all and his wife or partner looked very cerebral and was also dressed plainly.

Afterwards we showered and we walked towards the car and there came the afternoon throng of people walking towards the beach as we walked away, each one telling a different story by what t-shirt they wore, what they put on their feet, their hair style, the hats they chose, the bags they had on their shoulders. It is amazing how much these things speak to you, you pass someone by but they are in fact, even if unintentionally, telling you their story.

There was a man with two children that wore an old t-shirt from some festival or tour he attended before he got married, before he took on the mortgage and responsibilities of life. It was old and almost threadbare and it was a nostalgia piece. He was a good father and dutifully watched on as his children played and he guided his daughter back to where the rest of the family had gathered but you could tell he missed those former years just by the t-shirt.

It was a great summer day in Sydney today and it was very enjoyable to gather these small, at times barely perceptible vignettes that each person was offering as they too lay about to enjoy the sun.