Family · Parenting

Sister Tact

My sisters. Oh the honesty that flows from their mouths. With tact occasionally, but not always, I know that I can trust them for an unbiased commentary. I appreciate that. Always.

Speaking of commentary, they both agreed with my opinion on bodysuits.

Thursday, my younger sis and I declared a road trip day with our kids to see our older sister. She’s only two hours to the south, but throw two jobs/ schedules to juggle and four kids into the car and it makes the trips less frequent than we’d like.

My younger sister has recently added screen printing and shirt design to her resume at a local shop part-time. In honor of her newfound talent, she designed and printed shirts for us. Then she proceeded to make us try them on, model, and take a picture.

IMG_1768‘Herd That.’ Get it? We grew up on a farm. Each of us have husbands in some form of the agriculture industry. Two of us are dipping our feet in as the 6th generation of farming. Pretty cool. It’s a new challenge- one that we are extremely grateful for!

Love the shirts. However, when trying them on my sisters noticed something…

Have you ever seen Bridget Jones Diary (1st one)? As I switched into my new blue customized shirt, my sisters burst out laughing. It was like that big tan panty scene.

This is a direct quote: “Where did that bra come from? You look like someone who’s been locked in the woodshed since the 1800’s. That’s awful. Literally like “hey honey, are you in the mood?” – lifts shirt – “Ummmm not now” – mood killer bad. Did you pay money for that?!”

giphyWe laughed until at least one of us snorted and there were tears all around. I tried to defend said one-size fits all, nude, sports, uni-boob bra, but to no avail. They were correct.

Sometimes as moms, we let ourselves go. It is so much easier to just grab something, throw it on, and put something nicer on the top. I mean seriously, how often does ANYONE see the underlayers? But then, sometimes you have to swap shirts in front of your sisters… and you get snapped back to reality- back to the days when you wore pretty underlayers just because it made you feel upbeat even though no one else saw them – back before you’d visited the Mommy & Me store for something that snapped easily for nursing.

giphy1Fine. You got me. I’ll buy something that actually fits and isn’t my same shade of pale.

Creativity · Perspective

Bodysuit Commentary

My mom firmly instilled in me that if you have nothing positive to say then say nothing at all. But…

The new fashion “thing” is to wear a bodysuit – as an adult. Yes. These are exactly like the onesies I put on my babies – only bigger. Ok… well, my babies didn’t wear anything with a plunging neckline or cutouts, but the basic design is similar.

It’s like wearing a swimsuit that snaps in the crotchal region under your jeans or shorts or whatever you choose to cover your derriere. If it isn’t one of the snap variety, then you have to pull the entire thing off each time you use the restroom. Or I guess, you could try to pull it off to the side and not wet on your own hand?

Honestly, I’m close to being speechless…

giphy

A few thoughts:

  • If you enjoy these things, you must not have lived through them when they were “in vogue” previously. Some things are best left as fashion history. From humble beginnings as a leotard in the 1950’s (think dance, gymnastics, and fitness videos) to a torture device in the restroom for both mothers and daughters in the 1980’s, these contraptions have evolved to again reappear in modern day apparel.
  • These do make edgy, curve hugging costumes for stage performers, but I don’t need anything sequined riding up while I’m at the office or out to dinner. If I was the main attraction at a concert, I’d likely give it a whirl for the hour I needed to do handsprings across the stage singing with perfect pitch and looking blingy.
kelsea-ballerini-acm-awards-show-2017-billboard-1548
Photo credit to Billboard magazine online
  • I know I’m not deep in the fashion world. I rarely dress to be edgy. I’m nearing my mid-30’s. My running clothes make up half my wardrobe. But really? Bodysuits have returned from the 80’s for us regular folk?

If you read my blog frequently, you are likely shaking your head at the fluff I just typed out. This is quite the departure from my normal entries. I couldn’t help it. Other than my Color Run for Cancer 5K t-shirt, I haven’t bought ANYTHING in the last few months. It all seems so absurd! I promise my next post will be something more thoughtful.

Much love to you and not wearing a bodysuit,

Jen