Fashion

[etherial]

A near-death-experience on Monday reminded me of something I've always found strange. People find clothes uncomfortable. Now, I'm not just talking about women, for whom the fashion industry is one of their most visible enemies, constantly creating clothes that fit absolutely no one, and expectations of size and scale that are inhumanly cruel, but the consensus at the time was that a significant majority of people, everyday, wear clothes that they find uncomfortable.

This I don't get. My closet is full - overfull, in fact - with clothes that I find comfortable. Clothes that I don't exactly find joyous to wear, but am perfectly happy wearing day-in, day-out, everything in my wardrobe is something I'd feel perfectly fine wearing around the house just 'cause, even the stuff that I don't because it really needs to be dry-cleaned.

I mean, I do have some shirts that don't fit quite right, but they look really nice, and the tiny discomfort of wearing a shirt that doesn't fit quite right is outweighed by the fact that these shirts look really good. So tell me, people of the world, what clothes do you wear - rarely or regularly - that you find uncomfortable? What do you do as an alternative when you're lounging around the house? How and why do you put up with this crap?

Comments

[anitra.livejournal.com]

It's extremely hard for me to find clothes that I am physically comfortable in - I have long arms and legs, and (for a woman) big feet. So I wear a lot of pants that are too short and shirts that have short sleeves (which makes me cold). All of my shoes are uncomfortable except for my sneakers, because my feet are really a 10.5 - and all I can get in dress shoes is a 10 or an 11.

There's also the issue of mental comfort or appropriateness. For example: At church, I feel more comfortable in a skirt than in pants. I have some extra-long pants that are feel wonderful, but they look too tight, which makes me uncomfortable when I look in the mirror. It's not really appropriate for me to wear sneakers to work every day - especially if I wear a skirt or nice pants. In the first paragraph, I mentioned that it is very hard for me to find clothes that fit... it is even harder to find clothes that are "appropriate" that fit properly.

I'd agree with cthulhia on the bra comfort issue: I will never go bra-less for any length of time, because it's uncomfortable. But I will hang on to bras after they get stretched-out and uncomfortable, because good bras are expensive, and I need to keep enough bras to do laundry once a week.

If I don't have anywhere to be, I usually wear track pants or sweatpants, a T-shirt that reflects my mood, and a ratty flannel shirt if I'm cold.

Interestingly enough, all of the formal clothes I can remember wearing were much more comfortable than my everyday wear - even my wedding dress was extremely comfortable, as long as I wasn't trying to fit into a tight space (like a car). In general, I'd say that long skirts are more comfortable than most pants, and than all short skirts - however, you trade off freedom of movement for comfort. Once again, the problem is simply finding skirts that fit.

I guess in the end, it comes down to money: If I was willing to spend a lot more money (and time) on clothes and shoes, I could find ones that fit well and were more comfortable.