A Nice Cold Meat in Aspic

Some things never go out of style. A black pencil skirt, for example. Buy a good lined skirt, try not to gain any weight, and you’re going to get a lot of use out of it.

But some things kinda came and went, didn’t they? Is there a Nehru jacket in your closet? A dashiki? A pair of gauchos? (Which amuses me to this day, as I believe a “gaucho” is Spanish for “cowboy”, in which case I may not have a pair of gauchos in my closet but would certainly entertain the idea of adopting a couple – for altruistic purposes, of course.)

I told someone once that I would wholeheartedly endorse a work uniform; and I’m still up for it. Hell – I’m thinking of doing it without it being a requirement. Would anyone notice if I were to, say, come in to work every day in a blue skirt, a white blouse, and maybe a scarf around my neck, just for a bit of “look-how-I’ve-dressed-this-up” jauntiness?

And it’s not just clothing. Even foods seem to have eras. At one time in the U.S. it seems that every fast food joint had a “potato bar”. Chili? Cheese? Jellied eel? Honestly, who doesn’t want to see how much stuff they can pile on a baked potato?

And when was the last time you had fondue? Don’t you think it’s time?

We get bored, I think. How else to explain that this year’s “teal” is different than last year’s “aquamarine” or that the square-toed sturdiness of a Birkenstock differs from the square-toed sturdiness of a pair of Börns?

Maybe it’s not boredom. Maybe it’s the need to be able to judge others based solely on having the right shade of blue on. Or maybe it’s a way of generating year-over-year profit.

Either way, I’m thinking a nice, proletariat “work uniform” never goes out of style.