I've just gotten back from shopping for something to sleep in. During the summers I favor a lightweight and oversized red t-shirt which proudly proclaims the superiority of Wisconsin dairy products, but when the cold weather hits I want something warm. My flannel nightgown finally wore out after eight years so this year I have had to face the dreaded Women's Lingerie department. I tend to avoid that section. I'm traumatized from my adolescent experiences of trying on bras. No matter how fast I tried to get them on and off some horrible old female clerk with wobbly upper arms and blue hair would barge into the dressing room and advise me at the top of her lungs to "lean forward and shake." I cannot fully express what a blight upon my delicate sensibilities this was. Ever since, I've felt a vague unease at the thought of venturing into the aisles of intimate apparel.
I overcame my natural reticence because I'm going to be spending the nights at a male friend's apartment while I'm up in Portland this coming weekend, and I don't want to shock either him, his girlfriend, or the fourth member of the slumber party by turning up in my ratty old sleepshirt. I'll tell you, though, there are a heck of a lot of ugly pastel nightgowns in this world. I had to really hunt around for something that didn't feature flowers or teddy bears. It was, in fact, eerily reminiscent of Sear's baby department where I've recently been shopping for pregnant online pals. I'm very firm about what I wear at night. I don't wear pink, ever. It's against my religion. And I'm not that big on pale blue which is the other predominant color scheme in women's night things. If I'd been looking for sexy outfits I would have scored big since gold, silver, and bronze are very popular this year if you want to look like a hooker. My search for more pedestrian stuff took longer than I'd planned on since I was rejecting nine tenths of the stores' offerings. I finally found some excellent flannel pjs in Black Watch Plaid, and I'm wearing them right now somewhat smugly. Black Watch Plaid is the antithesis of girlie.
I haven't been to a slumber party since I was 16 so this should be amusing. Of course, we'll be probably be drinking Scotch and talking about programming instead of holding seances and talking about which girl likes which boy but I think it'll feel kinda the same.
