Undershirt

Brought to you by the changing winds of fashion.

When I was in elementary school, I HATED wearing an undershirt. HATED it. Why? Because only babies wear undershirts, and only because their mommies make them, and the last thing a grown-up third-grader needs is to have anything in common with babies. Besides, girls' undershirts were so, well, girly, with their lace-trimmed collar and cuffs and tiny pink bows. I was a dedicated tomboy. No lace for me. So even on the chilliest days on that windy hilltop playground, I was glad I wasn't wearing an undershirt. It meant I was a Big Kid, even if my skin was purple.

The movie Flashdance -- which I still have not actually seen, by the way -- changed that in junior high. Flashdance fashion involved ripped sweatshirts falling off the shoulder, and this required a shirt underneath to hide those embarrassing bra straps. So the layered look took hold. Notice, however, that I did not say undershirt. There's a difference between an undershirt and an underneath shirt. Underneath shirts are cool because you see them in movies.

High school brought another turn of the fashion screw as the layered look expanded into the dancey layered T-shirt/tank top look, the preppie layered polo shirt/sweater-vest look (best accessorized by a pair of earrings stuck brooch-style through the sweater to jab you in the chest all day), and, ultimately, the ultra-preppie double-layered polo shirt look. While I tried the first two, I never mastered the ultra-preppie. The fabric tended to bunch, and I could never get the collars of both shirts to stand at attention at the same time. Still, for me, two out of three, fashion-wise, ain't bad.

Grunge fashion became popular in my college years, which meant T-shirts topped with flannel shirts. Undershirt? No. Underneath shirt? Yes. Rock on, man. On the windswept prairie where my alma mater squats, I also rediscovered the beauty of the just-for-warmth underlayer. But that's not an undershirt, that's longjohns. Longjohns are cool because they're kind of raggedy, and raggedy is hip.

Grad school meant paying my own heating bills on a teaching assistant's salary, so I was seldom without a second layer except on the hottest days of summer. And that's the way it remains to this day. I still don't wear undershirts, though. No way! Turtleneck and overshirt? Yes. Camisole and button-down? Sure. T-shirt and pullover? You betcha. Sweater set? Of course. Undershirt? Never!

In fact, the word undershirt had retired from my vocabulary until CNE Jocelyn was born. (CNE = Cutest Niece Ever -- I have proof!) Then I started shopping for baby clothes, and there they were. Undershirts. Everywhere. Tiny little undershirts with lace trim and little bows.

They're totally cute. I can't wait to buy some for Jocelyn.

Today around the world: February 10 is New Year's Day on the Islamic calendar. Yesterday was New Year's Day on the Chinese calendar. So: Happy New Year!