Comfort Clothes

As I write this blog, I am yearning to put on my favorite sweat pants and a comfortable T-shirt and I know all of you would do the same. Have you ever gone to dinner and couldn't wait to get in the car to unbutton your waste band and breathe? Then maybe you will agree me.

I was thinking the other day about all the changes which happen generationally  over time.  From our style of clothes, to our haircuts, to the words we use to communicate and even the roles of the sexes in a typical household.   We have become increasingly less formal, less modest, more provocative, and more bold in our behaviors and choices.  One simple sign of this is Comfort Clothes.

You may not understand how I draw the parallel so I'll try to help make the connection.

When I was a kid, along with all the other very traditional behaviors and etiquette's we observed there was a time and place for comfort clothes.  It was very rare that I would EVER see my mother in her nightclothes.  She was always fully dressed from when she awoke and readied for the day until bedtime and the privacy of her own room.  If there was an occasion for her to wear her nightclothes in the family areas of the house, she donned a robe and slippers, modesty was the name of the game.

As a child I too followed suit to my mothers patterns.  I did sometimes where my pajamas out in the living area especially for things like Christmas morning and such, but mostly we were dressed before we joined the family each day, and we changed clothes only when preparing for bed.

BOY, how times change. In my home today, comfort is key.  We are of the belief that our time at home is for relaxing and being comfortable and we live it.  Monday through Friday I arise each morning and ready myself for work.  I wear all of the appropriate clothes and styles for a business environment and I spend the next 10-12 hours effectively slave to style and the judgements of my peers.  If this were my mothers generation, setting aside the fact that I would not be working and would certainly not be the primary breadwinner, I would be expected to remain modestly confined in my clothes until bed time.  NOT anymore..

Here is the routine in my home.......

Me - I dress each morning (Mon-Fri) for work. I go to work. When I leave work, having had enough, I remove my bra in the car on the way home ala "Flash Dance" starring Jennifer Beals circa 1984, the girls need freedom and are going to riot if they don't get it. As soon as I get home, its straight to my room where all things binding are removed and I redress myself in comfortable pajama bottoms or sweats and  a soft comfortable t-shirt (long or short sleeved according to season) or a tank.  Sometimes I elect for a night dress, but the key is COMFORT. The weekends are reserved for total comfort unless I have plans, at which point the Monday-Friday return home routine stands.

Jeff - He is all about comfort.  He lives in his comfort clothes unless he has to leave the house. He dresses only for leaving the house, and upon his return, immediately reverts to comfort clothes.  If he runs 10 errands a day, he changes 10 times a day.  If he runs zero errands a day, he never gets out of his comfort clothes.

The Boys - They follow suit same as Jeff, opting for comfort clothes as much as possible.

We are modest in that we don't wear revealing clothes, lingerie, and such in the living room, but by the standards of my upbringing we are rudely immodest.

If you come to my home and I'm in my Comfort Clothes, I encourage you to relax, let it go, and find your comfort clothes.  Please don't be offended or judge me for my lack of Emily Post's etiquette.  I just prefer to be happy and at ease and see no reason for formality in my own surroundings.  Its not a disregard for you, but simply me being me in my Comfort Clothes.