A Hatbox
To Love

This two-tone black and tan hatbox with a royal blue lining reminds me of my grandmother's. gathered blue satin trim. We kids had so much fun zipping and unzipping that thing. I can still the sound of that long zipper being furled and unfurled like a whip: zzzzzip! and zzzzoop. I think we managed to finally to trash this wonderful carrying case by standing on it (!). Unfortunately, unlike some of the vault-like luggage today that can take a monkey's abuse, my grandmother's hatbox collapsed under our weight (probably just one child, really; I think I'll pin the blame on my brother Doug or John).
But now that I think about it I wonder where my grandma Rose's hat box went. Did it go to Germany when she returned to visit after World War II? Or did it spend a good portion of its life in a closet before we children found it? What kind of hats lived in there?
Which brings me back to the brown/tan box above. You could never lose this at the airport baggage pick-up. No ribbons at the handles would be necessary. This baby would stand up and be noticed, even amongst those mammoth luggage suitcases. Who doesn't notice curves?
What do you think of this hatbox? Would you use it? Would you put chapeau or something else in it?