I bought a leather jacket at a thrift store – my heart was racing at the items I found in the pockets
A SAVVY shopper had thought she saw enormous resale value when she spotted a leather jacket on a thrift store’s hanger.
But when she began inspecting it, the pockets contained a beautiful – and heartbreaking – secret.
Thrifting pro Maya Sommer (@thinklessaboutmen) has made a business from her ability to find valuable items at secondhand shops.
In a recent video, she shared one of her discoveries that was worth far more than money.
“I still can’t really process what I have in my possession,” the stunned shopper said.
Sommer said, “I found this leather jacket at a thrift store on Tuesday.”
It was a perfect fit, so she bought it, excited, and took it home
When she tried it on at her house, Sommer said: “I felt that there were some things in the pocket.”
Reaching into the jacket’s pocket immediately revealed a small notebook packed with writing.
“The first page that I opened to of this little journal said ‘Thursday, November 11, 1971′” Sommer said.
The rest of the brief entry was harrowing. It read, “One week has passed and Dianne has not called or wrote me.”
The next entry, from November 22 of the same year, was also sad.
“Today would have been our ninth anniversary and 10 years together,” the jacket’s owner had written. “I got drunk by myself.”
As Sommer flipped through the entries, a tragic theme came to the forefront.
An earlier entry, from November 4, seemed to record the last days of happiness for the mysterious couple.
“Dianne and I made love this morning. I took her to breakfast and then to work,” the writer said.
Then, they added: “I did not know that would be the last time I would see her.”
As she kept learning more about the mysterious Dianne, Sommer said her feelings around the leather jacket shifted.
“I could feel the heartbreak stored in this jacket,” she said.
Other pockets contained more fascinating items. She found three silver dollars, minted in 1921.
Another pocket contained a tiny bottle of Seagrams Canadian Whiskey from 1966.
And a much larger zippered pocket on the back held a daily planner, which contained many of the same entries as the small notebook.
“First time in 10 years not with Dianne at this time of year,” read one bleak diary entry.
A New Year’s Day entry, from January 1, 1972, just contained one word: “Why?”
“I hope I never finish this book,” the owner had written on the cover. “Maybe Dianne will be back before I do.”
Another note said that the owner finished it on May 4, 1972.
Sommer was moved by the haunting discoveries and the incomplete, shocking story of the jacket.
“It’s a dream to be able to know the history behind a garment,” the vintage lover said. “This feels like it’s on another level.”
She added: “It’s like a time capsule from 1971, and with such poignant diary entries from the previous owner.”