Occasionally, Harry Houdini stripped naked to prove that there was nothing up his sleeve. We like to say that clothes make the man; we dress for success, or in Harry’s case, we undress. Our language shows the importance we put on clothing. The salad is dressed. The bones are bare, we speak of the bare facts, the naked truth. Clothes, clothes and no clothes. Why do I have such an interest in clothes? I recently discovered the Baby Book that my parents kept for me. It recorded important moments; when I took my first step, my first smile, and not too surprising it recorded my first word. It was ‘dress.’ I called it a ‘fess.’ According to the Baby Book, I insisted on wearing a fess after nap. Overalls in the morning, fess in the afternoon. I haven’t changed much.
How we cover up and what we wear or don’t wear says a lot about who we are. A friend from Hawaii told me that she grew up surfing naked. This was not too surprising after seeing a photo of her and her cousin bending over in their T- Back swimsuits. My father was so modest that he dressed in his small walk-in closet. He never wore shorts, and he always wore a fedora hat.
Hats are important. Court Jesters wore unique and colorful outfits, but it was their hats that added the final touch that said - Ridiculous. I for one, would like to see this style in Washington. The Capitol Jester? What about the Dunce Cap? After a few years of teaching, this one has my support.
Uniforms can be wonderful unifiers. Police, Firemen, and military uniforms - good. School uniforms - not good. Bell Hops were before my time but thanks to old movies I get to see short men wearing classic Bell Hop uniforms. A cross between a marching band and the Foreign Legion, who designed those? I am old enough to remember when wearing white on the tennis court was the only permissible color. Clorox anyone?
I live in a retirement town and when I go to the supermarket my fellow shoppers at least look to be very well off. Looking well off in a Florida resort town means that you are wearing designer exercise clothes. The dress is casual, but upscale casual. Always out of style, I wear my after-nap fess.
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