Wacky Wednesday #64—Clothespins

Clothespins don’t get much attention--at least not from me. I don’t think about them very often—but this makes them an ideal subject for a Wacky Wednesday theme. WW often involves elevating the ordinary and using something in an unexpected way. Today’s the day to let clothespins shine.

Literally. Because I bought some sparkly clothespins at a thrift store, and they do shine. The sparkly pins are pink, turquoise and fuchsia, and they are in their original wrappers. I’m curious about why they were never opened. Baby shower props never used? Or were they a gift from Liberace to Dolly Parton? Much as Dolly loves sparkles, I’m pretty sure she’s not doing her own laundry these days. Although I like the image of a clothesline stretched over Dollywood, decked out with Dolly’s sequined outfits…

Actually, we have quite a collection of clothespins right now. Some are the plain wooden kind, left over from a school project last year—and it was a big package! Turns out you can’t just buy ten or five or one clothespin. These critters are pack animals and if you want one, you’re taking home one hundred. Needless to say, seventy five of them have been in the hall cabinet since the day after the school project, waiting for the day when I set them free to play with their peers.

So now I have more than enough clothespins. But once the plain wooden ones were next to their glittery counterparts, the contrast was giant. The wooden ones looked as drab and unflattering as a mugshot, compared with the spangled Vegas show girl clothespins. This would not do. I decided that the plain wooden ones needed some love. And some paint. And rhinestones.

Clothespins are practical. They aren’t intended to be flashy or sexy or the star of the show. But today I’ve put some fun into this functional item. They’re FUNctional!

This outfit is particularly amusing to me because of the irony of clothespins going on top of clothes, as an adornment. These pins aren’t attaching clothes to a line—they’re covering fabric. They’re not hanging the laundry out—they’re just hanging out.

And if you’re going to wear clothespins on your clothes, you might as well make a clothespin mohawk while you’re at it. A few months ago I made a Minion mohawk, which was great fun, but today’s mohawk is just as delightful to wear. Sometimes a mohawk makes the person wearing it look intimidating, but when it’s made of colorful clothes pins, I think the effect is more playful than scary.

Cost break down for this outfit:

Clothes pins (wooden ones I already had)             $      0

Glittery clothes pins (from thrift store)                  $ 2.99

More clothes pins (wooden)                                    $ 2.00

Hot glue sticks                                                             $   .70

Dress (I already had)                                                  $      0

______________________________________________

Total                                                                              $ 5.69

 

You know, this costume has had an unexpected perk: it’s made me consider how to put more fun into laundry time. Maybe it would be more enjoyable if I called it “laun-dress up.” The next time I’m doing laundry I’m going to put on a Dolly Parton wig, jewelry, sequins and stilettos and listen to Liberace….

                                                               

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