Writing this TALE is a serious task for me-- how to tell a life story about being a girl and a woman -- attracted to adornment, to play, to fantasy; how to make this story personal and yet universal; how to relate it to social and political realities that influence our lives and choices daily and yet keep it simple and happy!!!

Well--having set forth my purposes--here I am, 53-years old and slowly evolving, I hope, into better and better versions of myself. If you are younger than I am you may think 53 is quite old, if you are around my age you know that time has gone by faster than you expected it to, and if you are older, you probably think 53 is still kind of early in the game!!! But no matter. The reality is that we are all here together at the SAME time and that we share at least one common bond -- our love of Blue Fish!!!!

What I can see from my "advanced" perspective, is that, for me at least, there has been a common thread in my life -- my love of baubles, of colors, of fabrics, of art, of dress-up, goes back as long as I can remember. The first "toy" that I really recall playing with as a toddler was the contents of a cylindrical Quaker Oats box that my mother had recycled into a treasure chest for me, filling it with her discarded, broken costume jewelry. As "Uncle Quaker" beamed his bountiful smile upon me, I would sit on the floor and gleefully dump the contents out, marvelling at the shiny glass gems all conspiring to transform me into a fairy princess!!! Such is the power of adornment!

Within a few years my fantasy life as a princess was in full swing! My pajama bottoms were transformed into bolero jackets. I pirouetted about in my petticoat believing it was a glorious ball gown. Scarves, tied dramatically to every limb, flew about me like a flock of delirious birds. I think I frightened my poor mother. Any flights of fancy she may have harbored within herself had been long suppressed. The realities of her life had hardened her and my little girl antics must have caused her many internal conflicts. She tried to convince me that I was a "sensible girl" and as I grew older my light-hearted fancies gradually faded.

Perhaps it was also the weight of coming of age in the early 1960's. Being a teenage girl at that time was very hard on one's self image. We slept with our hair wound about giant rollers which dug into our heads, we wore girdles to make us look thinner and to hold up our stockings, we held our "sanitary napkins" in place with elastic contraptions beneath our underwear, measured our skirts a precise number of inches from the floor, couldn't wear pants or sandals to school -- hardly a free-spirited, creative environment! But we survived and that terrible repression gave birth to the freedom and exuberance of the late " 60's". And it is from that freedom that I believe the spirit of Blue Fish was born! I feel a special kind of kinship with Blue Fish because that spirit is so precious to me. And also because I LOVE Blue Fish clothes!

But it was still a long journey from 1969 to 1993 when I first discovered Blue Fish. There were lots of suits, lots of pumps, lots of "smart tailored looks" in my life. There were two marriages, one short and painful, and the other still in full-swing and glorious! There was a first husband who thought it was cute to call his size 14 wife a "tub of lard", and a second husband who seemed to hardly even notice if I was a size 12 or a size 18, and who would NEVER DREAM of making me feel bad because of a size. But the world is not so easy on us, is it? We are constantly bombarded with messages about youth and thinnness, the absence of either being a sure-fire ticket to feelings of self-doubt!

The 60's and the Women's Movement told us to be ourselves while all around we were bombarded with pressures to be the "Cosmo Girl". Hard stuff to integrate. The little "fairy princess" in me was taking quite a tumble. Then something really really special happened. Blue Fish was born! And even though I didn't know about it til years later, there were already women out there reclaiming their birthrights -- HAVING FUN -- LIGHTENING UP -- BEING THEMSELVES!!! Before Blue Fish was born, there was really no notion of actually dressing oneself in the Blue Fish way (and going out in public!) And the notion that size didn't matter was a new idea too!! Imagine -- women of all shapes and sizes and ages shopping for the same clothes in the same place!!!! That was NEW! That was freedom and liberation! And this was not just clothing, it was ART too!!!

So on that eventful day in 1993 (I think) when I wandered into the Blue Fish store in Taos, New Mexico, magic happened. I already knew about Blue Fish, but I had never looked at it for myself, never tried it on! That afternoon was so wonderful. But I walked out of the store without buying anything. I was unsure. I so admired the women I saw wearing Blue Fish, but was it really me??? Well--I wondered about it for another year, til we were back in Taos, and that time I made my first purchase. There was no going back to the straight and narrow. This was finally me!!! This was the way I wanted to dress all along, but it had just never been there before. My husband loved it too. He had never really taken much interest in my clothes up til then, so this opened up a whole new realm of sharing for us!!!! An artist himself, he seems to thoroughly enjoy the Blue Fish artwork and my delight in being a Blue Fish Woman! Comfortable clothes, comfortable shoes, comfortable with myself! Having fun dressing up, dressing down, having a way to dress that felt like ME and not some formula for success or whatever!

Now, over 100 pieces of Blue Fish later, (many bought at the famous Blue Fish sales), I am known by my distinctive look even tho' I am usually a "single layer Blue Fish Woman"... I work at a conservative government job peopled mostly with non-artsy male civil engineers. They had never seen anything like my wardrobe before me (or since me), but they seem to enjoy my fanciful outfits when I walk in the door, and always take a careful look at the "walking tableau" as I enter the room. I feel like the spirit of creativity embodied in my Blue Fish garments enriches the atmosphere around me. Blue Fish is now a "common household name" in my office! While Blue Fish has had its ups and downs financially and creatively, I have always felt the need to hang in there, ready to offer my two-cents worth to help make Blue Fish a collaborative experience for all of us. We ARE Blue Fish -- we buy it, we wear it, we live it. I think this web site is a marvellous opportunity for us to express our beliefs and desires both among ourselves and to Blue Fish so that they can better come to know their customers. We are a community, and our visible presence sensitizes those around us to art, to color, to freedom of self-expression in an otherwise sometimes very drab world.

My world is a much jollier, much more colorful, much more fun world because of Blue Fish. Each trip to a Blue Fish store, each new catalog that arrives, each new Blue Fish friend that I meet enriches my life! Last summer we were shopping at the store in Frenchtown when a fairly large RV pulled into the parking lot. As we were leaving, the occupants of the RV passed us and we exchanged a few words. This woman and her devoted husband (!!!) had driven across country to visit all the Blue Fish stores!!! And their license plate read "BLUFSH" ! That's love, and that's what it's all about!!!!

I am already wondering what surprises are in store for us for summer!!! I bet you are too!!!!

Sheri
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MY BLUE FISH STORY BEGAN WAY BACK IN 1988 WHEN I SAW AN AD IN THE BACK OF WHAT I BELIEVE WAS VOGUE MAGAZINE FOR THE COOLEST OUTFIT I HAD EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. MY SISTER AND I SWORE THAT WHEN WE GREW UP WE WERE GONNA WEAR THOSE CLOTHES!!!

WELL, I'M 28 YEARS OLD NOW, AND I AM COMPLETELY SMITTEN! I WEAR BLUE FISH ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY AND I'M GETTING CLOSE TO EXCLUSIVELY....I DON'T FEEL LIKE "ME" IN MY OTHER CLOTHES. I'LL NEVER GROW TIRED OF THE RESPONSE MY CLOTHES GENERATE OR THE WAY THEY SEEM TO PUT MY INNERMOST SELF ON DISPLAY. I LOVE FINDING VINTAGE PIECES AT RESALE SHOPS AND MIXING THEM WITH NEWER(IN MY OPINION SLIGHTLY LESS EDGY) PIECES. MOST OF ALL, I LOVE MEETING OTHER WOMEN WHO LOVE BLUE FISH AS MUCH AS I DO.

MY HUSBAND IS SUCH AN ANGEL ABOUT MY OBSESSION, AND I HAD A STROKE WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THE CHAPTER 11. I WILL SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE NAKED-I SWEAR IT!!

Christine
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I still remember the first time I saw Blue Fish clothing.

It was at a Nordstrom's department store in California, and I thought it was the coolest clothing I had ever seen. But, being a college student who mostly survived on fifty two cent white rice dinners from the local "Best Bowl", it was WAY out of my price range. I would visit it regularly and try it all on, but I could never afford it, and I always thought, SOMEDAY....

Well, my school hopping hobby took me to a few cities in Texas and Massachusetts, and I managed to find Blue Fish to admire in all those places, but still could not afford it When I finally finished school and went in search of that elusive "Real Job", I returned to Nevada and promised my self that as soon as I became gainfully employed, I would go on a Blue Fish shopping extravaganza.

Well, the only thing Blue in Nevada was me! I looked and looked, asked and asked, but no one had any or had ever even heard of it, so I tried to be happy with cheap imitations. Then I got married and had a baby and it soon became low on my list of priorities. I almost forgot about it!

Ebay came to my town when they were just getting started and did a big promotion, so I thought I would check it out. That was the first time I even TOUCHED my family's computer ( now they beg me to get off of it! ). At first they had no clothes, I used to buy old dolls and toys from my childhood to share with my daughter. Then they added clothes, so I thought I would check it out, but I did not find anything I thought was special or cool, or anything I would wear, so I stopped looking at the clothes.

One day I was sitting in front of my computer wondering "....hmmmm, what could I buy on eBay that I can't get here...?" And then it hit me, maybe people had some old Blue Fish they were selling, if I could not get any in a store, then I would take some that had been used! So, nervously I punched in the words " Blue Fish" in the search ( which has now become a daily mantra ) and said a silent prayer there would be at least SOMETHING.

Well, a lot of stuff popped up !! Like trolling for Blue Fish...okay, whatever THAT IS! And who is Denton and why does he make so many Blue Fish prints? And what was the SS BLUEFISH???? Steiff and lalique also make a Blue Fish, and there are those ever present Blue Fish lures, but then I saw it...Blue Fish Thermal...and I hoped upon hope as I clicked on it and Lo and Behold, I felt like the skies opened up and I heard a choir of angels.

I searched ANYTHING with Blue Fish in the title. Well, I picked out the best one I could find, and LUCKY for me it had belonged to Deb G. from Seattle. She e-mailed me and asked me how long I had been collecting, and I was embarrassed to tell her, but I was glad I did because right away she told me to get the catalog and gave me the phone number to ALL the stores. I NEVER KNEW there were stores OR a catalog, so a very heartfelt THANK YOU goes to the lovely Deb!!

The day I got my catalog I almost passed out with happiness, I started calling all the stores and bugging people, all of whom were very nice. Then, the madness began. My daughter really liked the clothes and complained they were not in her size ( she is 7 ) and we found she could fit into a Very small adult size and found a dress for her. Then I heard of a sale in Buffalo, and begged my husband to drive there from where he was working in Toronto, and bless his heart, he did. He brought my daughter ( who now has her own collection ) and I home a WHOLE suitcase filled with Blue Fish clothes ( which the airlines lost for 48 hours as I had a nervous attack! )

We have shopped the catalog and some of the stores by phone, had friends pick us up stuff at sales, and gotten some things on eBay, but the crowning glory came when I made it to a real Blue Fish store and got to pick MY OWN STUFF for the first time!

We just got relocated to Dallas ( where there is Blue Fish, by the way ) and we went on a short trip there to find a place to live. When I came home, my friends family and clients all wanted to know about the place I found to live, and I was like ?

Anyway, even though I was sick as a dog with the flu, my husband being the ETERNAL Blue Fish good sport that he is, drove me 193 miles to Austin while I was passed out in the back, so I could got to the BLUE FISH STORE, and they even had a sale!" Who cares where I will be living??? I will be looking good in my Blue Fish!!! Even the girls in the store noticed how patient my husband was.

So, thanks to Deb and Linda and all my friends on eBay who have made my Blue Fish dreams come true, and especially thanks to Jennifer for making the coolest clothes in the world

Christa and Cubby
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From the way I enthuse about discovering BF, you might think I'm about 20 years old. In fact I'm. . .well, ahem ahem, shall we say "in my middle years." But the fact is that I'm just now discovering my own personal style.

When I was a little girl until I went off to college, my well-meaning grandmother (who owned a clothing store) always picked out my clothes. Now, these were very good clothes; but they were *her* style, not mine. (It was only about a year ago that I discovered that pink is definitely *not* my sister's favorite color. My grandmother just loved the way my sister looked in pink!)

Anyway, it seems I've spent much of my life not being in touch with my own style. But, in recent years, that's been changing. So it's not surprising this would be the time when I'd start learning how to buy Blue Fish. And, of course, I *love* the way Blue Fish is for women of varying looks, ethnicities, sizes, ages, etc.

Why, just the other day I wore a BF t-shirt backwards since I prefer the print on its back. That little move made me feel bold and creative; and I loved knowing that these clothes are meant to be used that way--anyway that suits the wearer's style and mood.

Kim
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My husband and I own a Country inn in New Hampshire. About three years ago we had a lovely black woman staying at our inn. The first morning she came to breakfast in Blue Fish, Four Square Pants to be exact. She stayed for four days and each day a new Blue Fish outfit. I fell in love with the clothes! When she left she promised to send me the catalog. Alas! She did not.

I didn't know how to find Blue Fish so I did what I thought was the next best thing, I bought knock-offs. Hey! What did I know! I often thought about Blue Fish and how comfortable our guest looked in those great clothes. I learned to be more individualistic in my clothes choices but I knew I was missing something.

Last May our son said he had become friends with a young woman who was the owner and designer of......BLUE FISH!!!!!! Now am very fortunate to call Jennifer Barclay a friend and one who has profoundly effected my life. My mousy brown/gray hair is now red. I feel like a million dollars and I look great! Boy am I blue! I can't wait to get dressed every morning and express me.

The only thing better than having found the real thing was finding Jennifer. Believe me when I tell you how much she cares about this mission she began at 17 years old and how truly important her customers are to her. I know she is pleased with this site and would love to hear from you all.

Linda Johnston
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