The white t-shirt is a wardrobe staple that's actually a $370 existential crisis. Who decided $74 is the going rate? Why is nobody doing the math on the cost?
You got a song here. I sense a Chrissie Hynde-Chain Gang vibe. . ."The shopping gods declare $74 the going rate for a white tee and say we need three." Great material for a chorus. . .Keep writing. . .gj
I love this idea (if only I could sing & wasn’t tone-deaf) and I can throw in BBQ. Because it’s Texas. And there isn’t much a new white tee loves more than fresh BBQ sauce!
This past year I began cautiously adding white shirts into my wardrobe, having studiously avoiding them much of my life with full knowledge I magnetize spills to them.
There’s something about a white tee that both entices and worries me. When I buy them, I then fret when wearing them, particularly to events involving food, most particularly to bar-b-ques of which there are many here in the Midwest.
My strategy which somewhat works (depending on your definition of “works”) is avoiding all meats drenched in bbq sauce, choosing foods that don’t drip, including salads without dressing, and swirling white wine in my red Solo cup instead of luscious cabernets. When scouting a place to sit and enjoy my meal, I slide into a picnic table slot upwind of other guests, white tee shirt safe should a gust of wind pick up a small paper plate and send it my way.
On my recent trip to France, my new wardrobe color interest (a major shift from virtually all black and grey) was heightened by my dear friend who brought nothing on the trip but white tees, jeans and black leggings.
"It makes everything easy," she explained.
I looked at her white tees hand-drying on the rack off the living room area then glanced toward my bedroom and overstuffed suitcase. My outfits were "mix and match" for the most part but seemed complicated, requiring thought to coordinate.
I couldn't stop thinking about her simple (and much smaller) wardrobe once I got home. "Easy" was definitely the adjective I dreamed of using to describe my life. My obsession with white tops was fueled. It has not let up one iota in the months since I returned.
Yes, there have been spills but I took a different route than an obsession for the perfect “it” tee (with the corresponding perfect “it” price tag) at retail. I scour Goodwill, eBay and thrift shops, looking for 100% cotton not-stretched-out tees with no stains. I’ve managed to stuff my closet with good quality I can replace without deep regrets if stains find their way down the front.
So far I’m ahead in the stains: replacement ratio. All stains (of which there are few, given my hyper-vigilance about food and drinks and inability to simply wear white to any event without thought) have washed out. I'm happy about this for obvious reasons but also that I’ve not had to add cutesy patches or embroidery to camouflage anything--a strategy that seems great in my head but one it is highly unlikely I would ever get around to doing in real life.
I’ll report back on my first full summer wearing white instead of black as my wardrobe go-to after Labor Day rolls around. Thanks for confirming I am fine to indulge my new obsession, Rani!
Wow you’ve given this as much thought as me! (worry for us…) I’m with you on the foods to try to avoid. But they’re everywhere. Italian / pizza. Even soy sauce … but I love your ideas for patches. I’ve been collecting ones from different concerts — now I have somewhere fun to stick them. Agree - getting around to it / doing it in a way that doesn’t look silly is a new challenge - but I’ll take it. Also - at the Levi’s store - they’ve got fun patches, colors etc. — I wonder if you can bring your own? I’ll check it out & report back
I'm daydreaming of creating my own fun patches out of fun fabrics. You can also buy them on Etsy. Those would be softer than standard patches.... LMK what you find out!
Yes do that! I'll wear your patches - b/c you're right. They're scratchy and hard, the ones I have. But some are so great I'm afraid to put it somewhere I later regret...sigh.
oh gosh I'm the same way. Patches are going to become the new journals dilemma. I have so many beautiful journals and cool notebooks that remain blank because I'm afraid of messing them up by wasting the pages on drivel.
You got a song here. I sense a Chrissie Hynde-Chain Gang vibe. . ."The shopping gods declare $74 the going rate for a white tee and say we need three." Great material for a chorus. . .Keep writing. . .gj
I love this idea (if only I could sing & wasn’t tone-deaf) and I can throw in BBQ. Because it’s Texas. And there isn’t much a new white tee loves more than fresh BBQ sauce!
This past year I began cautiously adding white shirts into my wardrobe, having studiously avoiding them much of my life with full knowledge I magnetize spills to them.
There’s something about a white tee that both entices and worries me. When I buy them, I then fret when wearing them, particularly to events involving food, most particularly to bar-b-ques of which there are many here in the Midwest.
My strategy which somewhat works (depending on your definition of “works”) is avoiding all meats drenched in bbq sauce, choosing foods that don’t drip, including salads without dressing, and swirling white wine in my red Solo cup instead of luscious cabernets. When scouting a place to sit and enjoy my meal, I slide into a picnic table slot upwind of other guests, white tee shirt safe should a gust of wind pick up a small paper plate and send it my way.
On my recent trip to France, my new wardrobe color interest (a major shift from virtually all black and grey) was heightened by my dear friend who brought nothing on the trip but white tees, jeans and black leggings.
"It makes everything easy," she explained.
I looked at her white tees hand-drying on the rack off the living room area then glanced toward my bedroom and overstuffed suitcase. My outfits were "mix and match" for the most part but seemed complicated, requiring thought to coordinate.
I couldn't stop thinking about her simple (and much smaller) wardrobe once I got home. "Easy" was definitely the adjective I dreamed of using to describe my life. My obsession with white tops was fueled. It has not let up one iota in the months since I returned.
Yes, there have been spills but I took a different route than an obsession for the perfect “it” tee (with the corresponding perfect “it” price tag) at retail. I scour Goodwill, eBay and thrift shops, looking for 100% cotton not-stretched-out tees with no stains. I’ve managed to stuff my closet with good quality I can replace without deep regrets if stains find their way down the front.
So far I’m ahead in the stains: replacement ratio. All stains (of which there are few, given my hyper-vigilance about food and drinks and inability to simply wear white to any event without thought) have washed out. I'm happy about this for obvious reasons but also that I’ve not had to add cutesy patches or embroidery to camouflage anything--a strategy that seems great in my head but one it is highly unlikely I would ever get around to doing in real life.
I’ll report back on my first full summer wearing white instead of black as my wardrobe go-to after Labor Day rolls around. Thanks for confirming I am fine to indulge my new obsession, Rani!
Wow you’ve given this as much thought as me! (worry for us…) I’m with you on the foods to try to avoid. But they’re everywhere. Italian / pizza. Even soy sauce … but I love your ideas for patches. I’ve been collecting ones from different concerts — now I have somewhere fun to stick them. Agree - getting around to it / doing it in a way that doesn’t look silly is a new challenge - but I’ll take it. Also - at the Levi’s store - they’ve got fun patches, colors etc. — I wonder if you can bring your own? I’ll check it out & report back
I'm daydreaming of creating my own fun patches out of fun fabrics. You can also buy them on Etsy. Those would be softer than standard patches.... LMK what you find out!
Yes do that! I'll wear your patches - b/c you're right. They're scratchy and hard, the ones I have. But some are so great I'm afraid to put it somewhere I later regret...sigh.
oh gosh I'm the same way. Patches are going to become the new journals dilemma. I have so many beautiful journals and cool notebooks that remain blank because I'm afraid of messing them up by wasting the pages on drivel.
we’re the same person!