Stylish Comfort Between Work and Bedtime Is a Tough Fit
W hew. Back home again after a full day of work and we’re dying to get comfy. Off go the dress-for-success duds and on go the . . . durned if we know. Every day it’s the same old predicament: Don the robe and slippers (and look like we just got out of the hospital) or step into the Levi’s again . When is somebody going to come up with the perfect thing to wear between work time and bedtime?
SHE: I did it again last night--waltzed (OK, dragged) myself into a walk-in closet packed with an embarrassing amount of clothing and couldn’t figure out what to wear. Not the sweats--I wore those on the beach that morning. Not the jammies or the fancy peignoirs--too early! The jeans? Not. They’re uncomfortable for TV-watching. What? The purple jogging shorts with the baggy V-necked T-shirt. I looked awful and I worried: What if Bruce and Demi pop by?
HE: Let’s get back to that robe business. It is, I admit, possible to look as if you’ve just been sprung from the hospital, but to do that you have to wear one of those paper robes with no back. The full-moon model. Not exactly appropriate for fashionable at-home sloth.
I’ve always thought the coolest possible outfit for that purpose began with a Sulka silk smoking jacket with satin lapels. Naturally, they’re priced right up there with a condo on Maui. I have seen fairly reasonable facsimiles--for both men and women--in Victoria’s Secret and Frederick’s of Hollywood.
SHE: In the early ‘70s, I found the perfect at-home outfit. It was a semi-fitted terry cloth jumpsuit with pockets. It was stylish enough to wear to the dinner table and cozy enough for my couch-potato act. I wore it to death.
In the old days, perfectly groomed housewives wore house dresses. These one-piece numbers combined the best of a dress and a robe. You still see them in the lingerie departments of major stores, but they look so dated, so, uh, Ozzie and Harriet.
HE: Yeah, I saw June Allysonwearing one of them in “Strategic Air Command.” Looked real casual. It made a kind of sandpaper noise when she walked. I think it was starched with Portland cement. I don’t understand why you don’t like them . . . .
This raises the old sexy-versus-comfortable debate: Can you wear something at home that can be both? I can’t speak to the female point of view on this one, but the new generation of men’s silk boxer shorts looks like they’d fill the bill. And I’ve always found it difficult to resist a woman wearing a man’s dress shirt.
SHE: I have a friend who says she throws on a pair of shorts and one of her husband’s big, old white dress shirts the minute she walks in the door. That’s great. But what if she and her husband decide to go out for dinner?
I’m looking for a casual ensemble that is cozy enough for the sofa and respectable enough for a casual restaurant. Colorful jump suits made out of the same material as sweats are ideal. But they are almost impossible to find. And when you do, they usually have those horrible elastic waist bands that make you feel like a sausage link.
HE: Ah, upping the ante, are we? From couch potato to baked potato, huh? In that case, you’re going to have to wear some sort of outfit that keeps the body parts inside that are supposed to stay inside, and you’re just going to have to suffer on the couch when your Levi’s bind. But why not get away from Levi’s and go for a pair of baggy slacks? They’ve got all the room in the world. And, with the proper shape underneath, they can be strangely sexy.
SHE: Baggy slacks? Never! Looking like Bozo would make me very uncomfortable.
This whole problem seems to belong to the working woman. Non-working women can throw on a neat sporty outfit and leave it on all day.
But we career types aren’t looking for a look when we come home, just stylish comfort.
One friend says: “Wear a caftan!” Nope. Looking like Mt. Helena would also make me very uncomfortable.
I think I’ll solve the problem by purchasing a few colorful sweat suits that I wear only after work. That way, they’ll remain fresh and I won’t look like I just came in last in a 10K.
HE: Try this one: I’ve been getting a catalogue from an outfit called Deva Lifewear, a kind of New-Age sort of cottage industry that makes lots of blousy cotton stuff for men and women. Lots of unisex things that look good on several body types. Big, gauzy shirts and caftans that don’t make you look like an Afghan rebel. Kind of a cut up from basic sweats.
My personal favorite, however, is a pair of running shorts and a golf shirt. Not glamorous, but it covers what it’s supposed to cover, and it’s reasonably sporty. And if I want to go out to dinner, I fit right in at my local In-N-Out Burger.
