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| My sweater inheritance. |
Cooler temperatures mean different clothing. Across the Eastern seaboard and beyond, packed away items are taken down from the attic, or unpacked out of the back of the closet, with a bevy of wintry wear options: hats, gloves, boots, etc. An inevitable part
of winter is the bulky sweater.
I have a few that I keep because it's part of my heritage, like the woolly Fisherman cable knit "hand-me-down" from my Mom.
When "MooMoo" was a teenager, she got it as a souvenir gift from her parents (my grandparents), after an Ireland trip they took in the 60s. I've worn it a handful of times, mostly on St. Patrick's Day. Other than that, when was the last time I went deep-sea fishing in a blowy storm? Never. The itch-factor is almost unbearable in conditions other than the ones the sweaters were originally intended for. Steve McQueen pulled it off appropriately, because he's cooler than you or I will ever be.
Which brings me to the worst offender on the list (besides the Christmas sweater), and that is
The Cosby Sweater. There are dudes who sport the same tired yet oddly jaunty sweater year after year after year, like that guy from your office who still wears a
Members Only jacket. Unlike
The Williamsburg Hipster (http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2011/11/hipster-infestation.html), he's totally clueless that he's the only member left.
Readers my age and older, or those of you into late-night sitcom re-runs, probably remember The Cosby Show. I never watched a full episode, but I channel-surfed past it. The show had a big and unfortunate cultural impact on wardrobe choices throughout the 80s. Every "Hey! Hey! Hey!! I'm a fun guy!" type at your office or school thought wearing an insanely bright and overly patterned sweater made him stand out, supposedly in a good way. Such was not the case. Let's take a trip down memory lane together, shall we?
Wear winter well.
