Like plastic covered couches, slips are a relic from your grandmother's era. (Photo by evamachandel via CC)
Last night as I was searching for a pair of tights to wear out (cause sadly we’re deep into fall and tights weather), I found a most curious artifact from an earlier era–the slip.
This particular one was black like the tights I was searching for and fell to below my knee when I tried it on for old times sake. As I readied myself for an evening out, I looked through my closet, searching for an item of clothing that I could ear this slip under, but none of my skirts or dresses are long enough for a slip of that length. Cause I dress like a slut.
This futile search got me wondering–do women still wear slips under their clothing? I am going to go out on a limb here and posit that slip wearing (as an under layer, not as primary clothing–we’ve all seen women wearing a one-piece as though it was a dress) has gone out of fashion. Only our mothers and grandmothers still wear them with any regularity, both as a means of not showing off the contours of their underwear and to fight static cling.
It’s not that all of my clothing is opaque. I have often left my apartment in abject fear that the summer dress I just put on will turn see-through the moment I step into the sun. It is at those moments that I wished that I lived with a roommate so she could let me know if I was indecent or not. I have, on occasion, asked people on the street to let me know if they could see my underwear.
But not that having an extra set of eyes is always useful–I one time put this question to a guy I was sleeping with as I got ready to head out to dinner with him. “You think I’m going to tell you if I can see your lacy underwear?” he asked. Such a gentleman.
In that instance, I changed from the lacy pair he favored into this nude, satin, seamless pair, which is a strategy I frequently employ when I’m in doubt about the thickness of a dress, I put on underwear that is skin-colored.
So if the need hasn’t abated, why has slip wearing fallen out favor?
I believe the blame rests with Carrie Bradshaw and Sex and the City.
Remember how it used to be considered poor form to flash your bra strap? Not so after Ms. Bradshaw routinely made the straps a fashion accessory to her outfits. Also, it became okay to wear bras whose purpose it was to be seen through your shirt. Her dresses were as flimsy as was the plausibility of her being a sex columnist for a New York paper and living so extravagantly.
Is there anyone out there under the age of 40 who still wear slips? Am I totally wrong on this point and secretly all of my friends are shielding their underwear and panty lines from the world with a flimsy, skirt-like under layer? Am I just a big slut? Let me know in the comments.
