Layering up for fall

[Ralph]

Last week when I was out shopping with my wife I saw that Walmart had some items in the ladies' section marked down to $8, including a (mock) turtleneck bodysuit that looked like it would make a nice warm layer either under my "man clothes" or under a sleeveless dress. It has a snap closure at the crotch to keep it from riding up over my Ralph-needs-to-go-on-a-diet belly.

Out here in the deeply religious rural midwest, that's a popular look for women. Go to a homeschool convention or farmer's market or play group and you'll see a roomful of ladies wearing a sleeveless dress (aka a jumper, or pinafore dress if you're in the UK) over a contrasting t-shirt in warm weather or turtleneck sweater in cold weather. I tend to favor modest, old-fashioned looks myself so I thought I'd give it a try. Here is the result.



I apologize for the cartoony face. No matter how much or little I'm prepared to go out in public, I don't post photos with my actual face on it in public, world-viewable forums even when they don't involve controversial clothing choices. I'm paranoid enough that I keep all photo options viewable by family and close friends only, I blur out identifying features like license plate numbers and street addresses... once your personal info gets out into the wild, you can never get it back again.

[hoborob]

It's a good look there Ralph. I try to smooth out the arms when I doo long sleeves as those wrinkles actually start to feel uncomfortable over time. It would be nice if you could get long sleeves based on you actual arm length much like Pants are done by inseam. But then again the female side generally has only three lengths available any way, Tall, regular and petite in leg length and Long, short, cap and sleeveless for arm length. You could always have it tailored to your individual arm length but then there is a cost involved so you have to make that choice or live with what you get.

[r.m.anderson]

If sleeve length is bothersome then rollover the ends either inside or outside - think cuffed pants legs or bloused military pants.

[hoborob]

Thanks R. M. That thought never occurred to me.

[Ralph]

Cost is definitely the biggest factor for me, Rob -- the fact that I was shopping at Walmart should tell you that . It's a big splurge for me to spend $20 on a complete outfit.

And yeah, taking unaltered stuff off the rack designed for female frames and putting it on my larger (in every dimension) body means either learning to do a lot of alteration on my own (if I can find matching fabric) or putting up with sleeves/hem/bodice that just don't quite fit right. One of the catalogs I like best, I have just about given up on ordering from because everything looks perfect on their models but fails horribly on me: The models show sleeves that fit all the way down to the base of the thumb, hems that go all the way to the tops of the feet. I order that item and it's more like 3/4 sleeves and just below the knee hem. I swear, Woman Within only hires models who are 5 feet tall or shorter.