Dressing in Layers

With the cold front that hit last weekend, I was reminded of a funny thang that happened years ago while visiting Washington DC. 

It was cold enough on Saturday to dress in layers - like winter again.  I really don't mind the cold - I just don't want to deal with ice or snow.  We didn't have either of those, but it was pretty cold.  As with the normal Texoma weather, you never know how the day will really go. It may start off below freezing, but warm up enough for a t-shirt. It is really tough when it starts out with t-shirt weather and then goes to below freezing. Adding clothes is more difficult than peeling off layers.

So on Saturday I dressed in layers thinking that I could peel as the day went or leave on the layers if nothing changed.  I wore my lumberjack/mechanic pants that my sister gave me this past winter.  They are actually Eddie Bauer lined pants.  The lining is red plaid. When you roll up the pant cuffs, the red plaid shows - hence the lumberjack look.  The pants themselves are a grey - not a pretty grey - but a mechanic grey. You know - those grey shirts or overalls men wear when they are have greasy jobs. So, I had on my grey pants, and I wore a long sleeve t-shirt with a warm vest over it.  It reminded me of a trip to Washington DC years ago in November when it was just pretty darn cold there.  Jesse and I had gone to DC for my uncle's Vietnam veteran's reunion. While in DC, we wanted to see everything we could see, but it was cold. So, we dressed warm - in layers.

Now we girls have certain secrets to dressing (and undressing - like taking off your bra without taking off your shirt).  One of my dressing secrets is to tuck my undershirt into my underpants.  It keeps your pants looking smoother, plus it keeps your undershirt in place especially when pulling on your pants.  It also keeps your undershirt from getting tangled in your overshirt.  Maybe I learned this from wearing those 70's body shirts that snapped at the crotch and looked neatly tucked into my hip-hugging bell-bottoms.  Or maybe I learned it from years of wearing ski clothes when there were so many layers to deal with.

So there we were in DC seeing the sites - dressed warmly.  We were in one of the Congress buildings where you can go visit your congressman, but more importantly you can eat in their cafeteria for less money than eating anywhere else in DC.  We had had a nice lunch and were wondering around the upper floors where our congressmen work, when I spotted a restroom. Never pass up a chance to use a nice bathroom when out sightseeing.  Jesse and my cousins were waiting in the hall while I went to the restroom. Here is where my dressing secrets come into play.  Before I pull up my pants, I fold my top sweater up and over my chest to keep it from getting tangled in the under things.  This lets me tuck my undershirt into my underwear and then pull up my pants over the whole shebang. This is really great when skiing and wearing a long underwear shirt, a warm shirt, and then a sweater - maybe even a jacket over it all - so many pieces of clothing to get tangled in!  And if you fall in the snow, there is a good chance you could get snow up your coat - in your shirt, on your back, and down your pants. But with your undershirt tucked into your underwear, snow will not get in those places.  FYI.  Back to DC. So I had done the whole fold up my top layer over my chest thang, and done all the tucking in. I came out of stall to see a woman washing her hands at the sink.  She looked very professional and business-like. I waited for her to finish up before crowding up to the sink. When she turned to see me, she did one of those "look me over" things and then let out a little noise like a harrumph or a snort. I think she even said, "Interesting!"  Then she exited the restroom.  I thought, "What the hey was that about?"  Then I saw myself in the mirror. My top sweater was still folded up over my boobs exposing my undershirt tucked neatly into my pants.  Then I let out a snort myself.

Of course, I left my sweater folded up like that while I went out into the hall to show Jesse and the cousins my silly self and tell them about the business lady snorting at me.  I thought it was all very funny. On the other hand, what kind of woman sees another woman in the restroom making a serious error - like your pantyhose tucked into your panties and your butt showing, or toilet paper stuck to your foot - and not say anything?  When I see another woman with her buttons done up wrong or her collar turned under or some such dressing error, I speak out. It is the woman thang to do. I guess in DC the women don't have that sort of camaraderie.

Now when I do the fold and tuck layering, I think of that DC trip. I am much better at remembering to pull the outer layer neatly over the underlayers and make sure nothing is tucked or put where it is not suppose to be.  It was cold enough last Saturday that I had a whole day of tucking and checking and remembering that DC trip.