Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Hanging Clothes 101

                                       

French Style, daily art!

My Mother would never hang her clothes like this! Her clothes are hung in order and with precision. The underwear and bras were placed in between the rows of other clothes, discreetly. "There is a right way to hang clothes!" I was told as a child.

Through the years I have noticed clotheslines, the expression of the person lifestyle hangs freely…the stories the clothes can tell as they wave in the sun.

Do you see art in the way these clothes haphazardly are pinned to the make shift line, or is it just me?

My Mother took pride in how she hung her clothes, this would have been an embarassment in her opinion.

How do you hang your thoughts? Is your heart of your sleeve and your bra strap showing? Are you the type that tumble drys, wrinkle free?

*Photo of clothes hanging in the village, down by the river.

ps. I would never hang my clothes this way.

Comments

37 responses to “Hanging Clothes 101”

  1. mary ann

    art is everywhere you look…if only you take time to look, muse…such as you have here!
    & i tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, which at times has served me well & others, not so well…
    but…there are times that i feel “wrinkle free” too!
    🙂 mary ann

    Reply
  2. Shannon Lewis

    You crack me up, Corey. The picture is worth a thousand words.
    I tend to wear my emotions the way you hang your clothes 🙂
    But then I start getting wrinkled and I have to straighten everything out and hang them correctly.

    Reply
  3. mab (formerly sage)

    oh how this photo took me back; and, yes, there is a proper way to hang clothes, oh my! such a lovely photo, so evocative.
    And don’t I wish I had the magic wand…lolol thank you for your visit, hon.
    I wish you a sunny day!
    hugs,
    mab aka sage

    Reply
  4. Penny

    There is definitely ‘art’ on this clothesline — look at the colors and the stripes placed in between. I was always taught to use one clothespin to hang two pieces together — I guess the purpose was to save both clothespins and space but I myself like to see each piece hanging freely.

    Reply
  5. Nicole

    What bra strap?
    I’m mostly a gentle cycle/air fluff kind of person.

    Reply
  6. Paris Parfait

    Definitely art in this picture – but that’s because you have the artist’s eye and take the time to look around you. Reminds me of my grandmothers – they would have disapproved of the way these clothes were hung too. It’s been so long since I had a clothesline (always living in cities), I’d forgotten about all that. Thanks for the reminder. And I wear my heart on my sleeve, although sometimes I try to hide it. I don’t think I’m ever totally wrinkle free!

    Reply
  7. Maggie

    Oh how I love to hang my laundry out to dry. Mine are hung in an orderly fashion…colours with colours whites with whites. This is probably the one thing I love about laundry day. There is nothing quite as wonderful as climbing into a bed with freshly laundered sheets that have dried with the help of a gentle summer breeze.

    Reply
  8. blackbird

    I love to hang clothes – but alas, here in Tuvalu, it just isn’t done…
    ah, but when I am away on vacation! I hang everything!

    Reply
  9. gracie

    I’ve written a few songs while hanging out clothes… perhaps it is a creative pursuit! In summer here the clothes dry on the line in less than 30 minutes!
    I’m with you, Corey, I would never hang clothes out like the ones in the pic. Very fussy I am…

    Reply
  10. Kristy

    I always hang my thoughts, like my clothes, semi-organised. Except for lingerie that should always be aired in private.

    Reply
  11. Fortiesbaby

    My mother was very discreet about how she hung her washing too. When I read your post this childhood rhyme came back to me.
    “My dearest, my darling,
    I love you almighty,
    I wish your pajamas were next to my nightie..
    Don’t be mistaken, don’t be misled…
    I mean on the clothesline…NOT IN MY BED !!”
    Could it be that neighbours observations dictated what would be hung where..?

    Reply
  12. kathleen

    when our dryer broke, and I had to resort to hanging my clothes outside, I used to joke they had a “fresh garden smell”… I loved to watch the pant legs kick in the breeze.
    Great photo! 🙂

    Reply
  13. Annie

    20 years ago all I had was the huge communal clothes line that was a major part of the married student housing landscape. My sheets and towels would go up together but after that it was whatever came out of the basket first. I remember clothes smelling so fresh on my mother’s clothesline. Somehow, mine never smelled as sweet. I think the air, atmosphere, and mental state contributed to the lack of sweetness twenty years ago.

    Reply
  14. andrea

    I would hang all our clothes if I had a view like that one, wow!
    Hmmm, how do I hang my thoughts? I know, on a skirt so I can show a little leg every once in awhile just to keep it interesting, lol.
    a.

    Reply
  15. onecrabapple

    ohhh , I think I definitely tend to hang it all out there and wave in the sun.
    I could use a little order and precision from your mom !

    Reply
  16. naturegirl

    Of course I wear my heart on my sleeve as many bloggers do!:) When my bra strap shows I just make an adjustment centre myself and well the wrinkles…they show character!! Oh I’m sorry were we talking about laundry:)
    The photo takes me back to my childhood when I had to remove frozen icey stiff as cardboard laundry from the clothesline in winter!! Why mother did you hang your laundry outside in the winter!!! I see my “best” friend visited today!

    Reply
  17. jann mumford

    I wash them,fluff them dry and out the door I go……my lifestyle at 100 mph!Maybe I should hang them outside sometime?

    Reply
  18. carolg at PB

    John Singer Sargent did the most magnificent watercolor of white sheets hanging on a clothes line…he found the subject worthy too 🙂

    Reply
  19. Jeanne

    I miss having a clothes line darling one.
    Can I come over to hang my clothing on your line.
    French Laundry a restaurant I eat at too!
    Giggles!
    Love you darling one!

    Reply
  20. Bev Hammer

    This picture made me smile because it reminded me of a camping trip and three young teen age boys who hung their wet clothes to dry on a makeshift line. When I saw the shorts hung by the crotch and t-shirts hung by the neck I couldn’t control my laughter.
    Yes there is art in this picture too. What is art anyway?
    If it brings pleasure to the soul, a smile to the lips, It’s art in my book.
    I love clotheslines. I had one for many years and yes, for my mother and grandmother and for mee there is a pattern for hanging clothes. Like articles together, color coordinated if you please. But not everyone does it that way and it would be a boring world if we were all the same.

    Reply
  21. Britt Arnhild Lindland

    I never hang my clothes like this. But on the photo I find it charming 🙂 Could be a funny postcard.

    Reply
  22. amber

    Mine are not even hung! They are flung out over rocks in the sun for all to see! Bra straps and all. 😉
    I wish you would post more pictures of your town. I LOVE to see them. *sigh*
    🙂

    Reply
  23. Marilyn

    I was giddy seeing this photo (since I ADORE clotheslines…the only one we have here is in the garage…we have the FRONT yard in this duplex)…but then I saw your P.S. Oh, poo, I was hoping you were a clothesline renegade. 😉

    Reply
  24. jennifer

    Hopefully I’m wrinkle free! I like the thought of Mom hanging her clothes “discretely”

    Reply
  25. Jeremy

    I teach adult evening classes in drawing/painting. I remember taking my washing in to hang up for the students to draw. I think I selected things for their colours. Hopefully there was nothing too holey.
    I must admit to a slightly pathetic smugness when I manage to hang our washing out so early that I steal a march on the lady who lives next door. It doesn’t happen very often.

    Reply
  26. Lee

    It even ‘looks’ like French laundry. How odd!

    Reply
  27. expatraveler

    Corey this is so funny because at first I was stunned those were your clothes! I guess I was right. We have never hung out the clothes, even while I was living in France and Switzerland. Dryers work good for me but I’m well aware that if I had the ability I’d hang them up.

    Reply
  28. Susan

    Hmmm, I’m a toss-em-in-the-dryer kind of girl. I’ve never hung clothes on a line to dry, Birdpoopaphobia I think…
    (I’ve always wondered how people avoid that problem)

    Reply
  29. eurobrat

    In Australia we hung our clothes out to dry (in rows between fruit trees- so it looked quite idyllic!). However, in Canada, I rely on dryers.
    I love how clothing looks, strung out in front of people’s homes.

    Reply
  30. Mary Jane

    Love your thoughts today…I don’t hang my thoughts on my sleeve…I keep them locked up…my husband hangs them all over the house…and I sometimes iron them out for him….

    Reply
  31. snowsparkle

    your fresh ideas and observations never cease to delight and amaze me!!!! i love the way these clothes are hung… in beautiful handstands and syncopated dancing rhythms! i may never be able to squeeze the toothpaste in the middle of the tube, but i would most definitely hang clothes just like this. i just love this post corey!

    Reply
  32. Rebekah

    Definitely art – art that transports me to another place, and certainly another time. I haven’t hung clothes for a long time, but I remember loving it, and loving the feel and smell of the clothes when I brought them inside. I don’t remember that I was taught to hang them in particular ways, except for shirts, which had to be from the bottom, because the clothespin marks in the shoulders were hard to iron out. Yup. I’m a pretty wrinkled, staps showing kind of woman.

    Reply
  33. la vie en rose

    no matter how you hang them they still get dry…

    Reply
  34. ~michelle~

    Love love love this post. I enjoyed how deep it touched me. My husband and I grew up only knowing that clothes were hung on a line to dry. As adults, we have never hung clothes on a line. However, we were JUST discussing putting out some lines and fishing for dry clothes. Thanks for the encouragment to hang our “art” outside! 🙂

    Reply
  35. herhimnbryn

    Lovely image Corey. Funny, when living in the Uk and working all the hours in the day , I used a drier for our clothes. Now working part time, I enjoy walking through my bush garden and hanging out our clothes to dry in the Australain sunshine. Still don’t have a drier and last year bought an old wooden ‘pulley’ drier for the ceiling and in the winter dry clothes there!
    As to thoughts, definately a bra strap showing kind of person! The Bear is a chuck them on the ever growing pile on the floor kind of person!
    Thankyou so much for sharing your thoughts…you always get me thinking too.

    Reply
  36. cruststation

    Love the carefree look of it all. Clothes lines is art, there’s even a Flickr group devoted to it: http://www.flickr.com/groups/69472994@N00/pool/
    It’s interesting how they tell a story, whether people are organised: do they sort clothes in colours and sizes? Thanks for sharing this, it is thought provoking and funny!

    Reply
  37. katie

    oh I love your blog –
    Hung out orderly like I was taught by my Mum in summer, tumbled in winter
    and as for my emotions they are out there for all to see even when I want to hide them away…… have had to learn to live with it 🙂

    Reply

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