My life through shirts - a love letter to cotton

Day 20 - Write a Letter to Someone

Alright, I dig the pour-out-your-soul-on-a page-for-posterity's-sake, and yes, part of the reason that I blog is to journal my day to day life, but today I'm just not feeling it. So you can forget about a traditional letter to someone I care about or someone I haven't seen in forever. I have been wanting to do this post for a while and I think its finally time. So here is my "love letter" to cotton and chronicling my life through my shirts.



Stage 1 - Early Childhood.

After looking through my baby book at pictures to see what kind of clothing I wore back then, I was surprised to see that in every picture I was either wearing a button down shirt with a collar like this one or nothing at all. So what does a button-down collared shirt mean for a three year old. Well, my parents have always told me that I was born 40 years old. We shall see here in a minute.

Stage 2 - The Tweens.

While in middle school, I am a little embarrassed to say, I had a hypercolor shirt much like this one, only pink, that I wore religiously to school. I think there is something that begins to misfire in a childs brain as puberty comes on. I don't know what i was thinking but there you have it.

Stage 3. As a Teenager.

Much older, wiser and more serious (of course said with as much sarcasm as I can fit into the press of a key) I had a collection of Fantasy Dragon T-shirts. This is where my wife would tell you I went horribly wrong. However, I embrace my nerdy faux-goth heritage with open arms. By this time I realized that my back was a walking billboard for marketing schemes and I wasn't about to cover it with symbols from shoe companies or clothing stores. Hah, the nerve companies have, and they don't even pay you to wear their shirts!

Stage 4. Missionary

For two years of my life, white was the color of choice. Except for preparation day's when an occasional dragon T-shirt would come out. It was suit and tie, to blend in with the other suits and ties.

Stage 5. Pre - college

I had to show off where I had been, right? So, after returning from my mission, the jersey came out quite often. Not because it was comfortable, because it really wasn't, but because I was voicing my patriotism for a country that I loved, and that I tolerated soccer (as a side note).

Stage 6. As an Undergraduate

Play it safe and nondescript. Keeping it under the radar, I went from print t-shirts with dragons, which I might add were quickly thrown out when I got married, to t-shirts without anything on them.

Stage 7. As a Master's Student

Instead of just sitting behind a desk, taking notes, tests and learning, as a Master's student I started teaching classes and wanted to dress up a little, but still wasn't willing to give up the comfort of a T-shirt. I think a polo is the bridge garment between casual and formal. Between casual and something more serious.

Stage 8. As a Doctoral Student

I've come full circle. Here I am back at typically wearing a button-down collared shirt on a regular basis. Let's hope that it's more than a childhood regression because I can promise you that current pictures are NOT of me in either a button down-shirt or nothing at all. It is interesting to think about clothing we tend to wear even if we aren't aware of fashion trends or why we like to wear a t-shirt over a collared shirt, or the meaning we attach to certain types of clothing. Why does a non-descript T-shirt scream informal while a collared shirt is acceptably formal? Does it have to do with the level of discomfort? I don't have the answer, but maybe you do. In any case, a shirt is there with us in good times and bad, we wear a shirt when we are married, when we graduate from school, a shirt when we play, sleep, eat, dream, cry and laugh. It is a constant in our lives from beginning to end.