Privilege Blog

Elasticity, Or, Saturday Morning at 10:57am

This is how you know we’re friends. That’s my sweatshirt, those are my sweatpants, and yes, my dilapidated slippers (on sale here for 25% off). (Also a shoe closet with pearl-studded booties gleaming goldly.)

All, my friends, is not glamor. You know that already. It does feels new to have proven to myself that I dress solely for comfort. Comfort in its more expansive form.

By this I mean, well, back when I was meeting the man who blogged as Reggie Darling, and with his husband, at a tony East Side restaurant in New York City, comfort was Prada or nada. In that case comfort was social; appeasing the High WASP kitchen god; AKA Mr. Appropriate.

At home comfort is low-cost sweatpants and high-value sweatshirts.

But value has several valences, in the atomic sense. Ideals, for example. Above you see the Women’s March from 2016. I have a navy hoodie for the Aids Quilt. Raising money for and wearing my beliefs.

And how about style? Remember this, from Alexander McQueen? The swallows are only now rubbing thin. I do not like to wear visible logos when I leave the house, but on my sofa? I’m happy reminding myself that I have dearly loved fashion in my lifetime. Recently I bought this (mine is cream):

Gives me great joy to pick up the blush pink of the Women’s March sweatshirt in my <$20 H&M sweatpants above. With my cream Fiorucci Vintage Angels, oh memento of my youth in New York City, I find a desert tan quite attractive. As my mother would have said. Might seem absurd to spend $100+ on a sweatshirt, especially considering this post from back when, but not so given the attendant comfort and joy of multiple wearings. I live in them.

A few more possibilities:

Kenzo, obv.

Isabel Marant, AKA French rock ‘n roll. (on sale, as are others in this list)

Tory Burch, for the ineffable UES look. They’re earthy this year, on Lexington, it seems.

Acne. Love on fire.

And what may be the final swallows of McQueen, RIP.

Obviously, slippers are sui generis and need match nothing. My father would have agreed. (But Frances did something beautiful with her old Glerups.)

Have a wonderful weekend, and I wish you elasticity, whether at the waist or in the grand scheme of things.

 

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6 Responses

  1. Thank you for the mention — I’m not sure how beautiful my Glerups-mending is, but it was fun to do and will extend their life, at least.
    I love the idea of cool sweatshirts like yours, but have come to see that they don’t suit my short waist very well . . You, they definitely look good on! (Same with my teen g’daughter who’s here for the weekend: taller than I am, now, and lean; seems to live in hoodies and sweatpants).
    A rainy grey weekend here, so I’ll be prioritizing comfort now that I’m back in, my umbrella drying in the tub. . . wool knit pants and roll-neck cashmere sweater — my version of sweats ;-) Happy weekend! xoxo

  2. Comfort is everything, whether at home or at a black tie event (not that I’ve been to one in the last 10 years). I finally splurged a bit and got 2 pairs of James Peres lightweight French Terry pants, and two long sleeved (and loose) tee shirts and a hoodie. I think people look beautiful when they’re comfortable in their clothes.

  3. I’m with you on comfort, more than ever. For me that means relaxed jeans with some stretch (or my Eileen Fisher lantern pants) and shoes with lots of “cush” in the soles.

    Love that Fiorucci sweatshirt. I’m still sad that Kenzo decided to ditch their tiger motif at the end of last year.

  4. Back from a trip to New England to celebrate a beloved cousin who passed away before Christmas. There had been 7 years of accepting the unfairness of a wasting disease that took her from us. It was time to remember who she was when she was in her prime, and it was worth a bumpy flight home to have done that.
    It had me thinking about adding family to our circle, and I found myself writing down the names of various parents-in-law and college room mates so that the next time I’m there I can greet them as fellow travelers and not semi-strangers.
    Although it wasn’t a sweat pant event, I’m ready to lift up my merino wool long underware. They’ve developed a couple of holes, hopefully from the spin in the washer and not from moths, but still work their magic when dress pants are required on cold damp days.

  5. Sweatshirts and sweatpants are all I wear these dreary winter days… so a cute saying or design on the sweatshirt helps chase the doldrums away.

  6. You will take my lycra and elastic out of my cold, dead hands. I can’t believe I used to have so many rules about clothes when the secret to happiness was within sweatshirt and leggings reach the whole time.

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