We Flawless, ladies, tell 'em | 16 Aug 1976 | Kyra & Liz

[Phoebe Bones]

16 August 1976

Today was a well deserved day away from her children. It wasn’t that she didn’t love them - she loved them dearly - but Gray had just turned one and Elle was only a few weeks old. She wasn’t even sure if she’d actually slept last night, even though Edgar had been the one to get up to try and calm the baby. They’d gotten incredibly lucky with Grayson, he’d been such a perfect little sleeper and he’d hardly screamed. Phoebe was incredibly thankful that Edgar had taken the kids for the day so she could have a break. And while her natural instinct to worry constantly about her children had already kicked in, she was determined to enjoy this day with two of her best friends.

“I don’t know how I let you both convince me to go clothes shopping,” she sighed, removing her sunglasses as they walked into the store. While she’d already lost some of the weight she put on while pregnant with Elle, most of her exercise was spent chasing her one year old around the house and walking with Elle to try and get to stop crying and sleep. “Besides, I’m determined to fit back into the jeans I was wearing before Gray was born, it just might take a while.”

[Eliza Thatcher]

Liz gave Pheobe a side-long glance, removing her sunglasses in the same fashion as her younger friend as they entered one of her favorite haunts, and the previous owner of the top she was wearing. She turned to share a smile with her sister as the younger Thatchers' best friend went on about baby weight and favorite jeans. To Liz, clothes were a fluid thing and she never saw the appeal of things like this, just buy new things that fit and forget about that body you used to have, that's what she had done and she was all the happier for it. But if Pheb's wanted to squeeze into a pair of ancient jeans to prove that she could or whatever, more power to her. And the best of luck. The model was dubious of this happening -bodies were never the same after babies- but because it was Phoebe, she refrained from stating that.

"You honestly weren't that hard to convince honey. You probably need the break more than you thought." The blonde knew if it was her with two small children, she would need something to help her de-stress; kids were great but they also took loads of energy and time. Pheb's was down for a relaxing day between the racks and that was good enough for Liz, besides, she was due for a shopping trip. This place was one of those places she visited every time she went out on excursions like this and she dove in eagerly. "Vintage is everything girls." She told them sagely as she pulled a shiny flapper dress from between two worn out leather jackets. Eliza held it out before her, deciding. She gave her head a quizzical tilt and went over to hold it up to her sister's body, and like she suspected, it looked promising for Kyra. "You have to try this on." Liz declared, draping the garment over her arm and going back to her browsing. She flew through the racks easily, her eyes trained well for the good pieces, and chatted with the Mrs. Bones. It wasn't often enough they got to spend time together anymore. "Speaking of, how is motherhood going love? Other than the diapers, you can leave that part out." She shot the shorter girl a teasing grin, then her attention was diverted and she yanked out a pair of jeans. To Liz they looked to be child Pheb's-sized, with large bell bottoms, and flowers embroidered on the front pockets and down at the hem. "I think it's more modern than some of the other stuff around here but in my opinion, these are just groovy. What do you think Pheobe?"

[Kyra Thatcher]

Kiki exchanged a knowing smile with her sister as Phoebe was so half-hearted about the current segment of their excursion, adding on, "You're perfect, Pheebs, don't let anybody tell you different. Ed's not putting that thought in your head, is he?" The implied if he is, let me at him was spoken with a raised brow. If Phoebe's husband had anything negative to say about his wife's figure, especially after she'd had two children in as many years, then he was to stay in their lawn writing apology letters and sonnets until he came to his senses. She looked about the shop with reinvigorated excitement as Liz spoke up, loving the turn their day was having. Time alone with this pair was sacred and little-had nowadays, and shopping with her sister was always an experience to remember. Letting the fashion insider style her like one of her peers was a luxury not taken lightly; while she loved her time in the library too, exploring the between-the-lines of stories stored in microfilm, couldn't she look good while at it?

And so she grinned as Liz held a flapper dress, all sequins and pearls, up to her body. "Just like your Halloween costume last year," she said with a wink to Phoebe. "How can I style it to not look like a costume, Lizzie?" She trailed behind her sister, observing this piece and that, eye caught by patterns and shine although most of what she picked up was black and white. Not having too much disposal income meant investing mainly in basics she could easily mix-and-match to make new ensembles, or creatively dress up-or-down depending on her day. She looked over to Phoebe at her sister's question, laughing at the mention of diapers. "Oi, no need to completely leave them out - I'm getting rather good at handling that part of things, thanks very much," Kyra said proudly, her skills having gone from zero to somewhere in the comfortable-alone-with-baby range within this last year of godmothering. "Ed with a little girl, though? How's he managing that?" Kyra grinned at her best friend, wondering just how tightly wound the big man was around that baby's tiny finger, and nodded appreciatively at the jeans Liz pulled out. Her inner flower child loved the embellishments, not too dissimilar from the patches on her denim skirt. "Those'll be keepers, I'm calling it now," she said with an encouraging look to Pheebs.