Onesies! This is not a style choice for many, but for miscreants, sporty types, and children, onesies rule. (I include myself in all these categories.) It is, naturally, the purview of an artist to dress according to whim. And I am nothing if not whimsical. I am totally comfortable with sartorial self-expression and, as I get older, have become even more so. (This is the tremendous boon in the aging process. You care less and less about who thinks what about you.)
When I wear a onesie, I find that a lot of likeminded folks, from my physical therapist (a guy) to my trendy 12-year-old neighbor and his mother, want to know where I got it. (At some point I may curate a shopping page and will include a link to my go-to Onesie maker. I’ll let y’all know when I do.)
Onesies are really the comfiest things around. (The only exception to that is when you have to pee. I, however, have the workaround on that, if you’re curious.) There is just something so delightful about being able to freely move your whole body inside a head-to-toe garment. Of course this necessitates a drop-crotch for sitting purposes, but then the widely celebrated (by designers anyhow) plumber-butt look, and the recently rediscovery of eighties harem pants, have created space for this wonderful design feature.
The fact that the Norwegians have gone whole hog on onesies makes sense, because in a chilly climate (even LA winters), being sealed inside a breathable onesie with a hood, creates a perfect microclimate. But there are cropped onesies in terrycloth for the beach as well. (Seems like I had something like this as a child…)
The pajama-like onesies above are in fact a sub-species of the jumpsuit – something else I love to wear. One reason is that they’re great for shorter people. The uniform color and integrated top to bottom styling, can make us look a little less short. But that word uniform is paramount here. I love a good uniform. (Wore an old VFW dress in art school that really rocked. A heavy rayon, khaki twill shirt-dress with the acronym VFW embroidered above the breast pocket. Sweet…) Uniforms imply that one is part of a larger group, a larger identity. My mechanic’s coveralls certainly accomplish that, although the most I do mechanically which might require one is opening the hood of my car and filling up the windshield washer fluid). I do however have a mechanics approach to computers and software, so I guess that counts. And as an artist, I am a laborer.
Here’s the thing about all this. Contemporary fashion just keeps getting more and more free-spirited, iconoclastic and wearable. Defy old norms. Get a onesie!
