I Heart My Underwear

I’ve been raving about my long underwear to anyone who will listen for the last two months, so I figured I why not share with you, too. C bought me one of these and a pair of these for Christmas. Yes you will have a heart attack when you see the price (which is why I had to ask for them for Christmas) but I swear they are so totally worth every penny.

I made the decision a few years ago that I wasn’t going to be cold any more. Since moving out of Maine wasn’t an option, I had to employ other methods—warmer clothes. These long johns have become another weapon in my arsenal against the beast that is Winter. This has become especially important now that February is up to its old tricks—starting out all soft and spring-like, only to blow in a thick blanket of icy dank air.

The wool-silk blend is incredibly soft and smooth (not one bit itchy) and very thin, so that they fit under virtually anything, even slacks (does anyone use that word anymore?)—you know the kind of pants you wear to work if you happen to work in an office (and I work in a cold old brick mental institution, so I need my long-johns at work). The bottoms come up well above the belly button and the top comes down well below the hips, so that it stays tucked in and you don’t get a cold back when sledding or wearing low-rise pants. They’re nice and roomy, for those of us who came of age in the ‘80s and still prefer baggy clothes (you may consider ordering a size smaller if you prefer a snug fit); and the legs are long enough for even long-legged people like me. The elastic is a narrow band inside a casing that’s super stretchy, for easy tucking and no latex touches your skin (if you’re sensitive to things like that).

And the best part? I wore them nearly every day from Christmas through the end of January without ever once washing them…and they didn’t smell at all! Seriously. If you wear polypropilene more than twice you don’t even want to be in a room with yourself, but these were fresh as the day I took them out of the package, even though I’ve worn them sledding, skiing, snow-shoeing, hanging around the house and, as mentioned earlier, to work. I did finally wash them last weekend, mostly to see if the knees and butt, which had gotten a little droopy would regain their shape. And they did! The only drawback is they are hand-wash only, but I just put them in a sink of cool water with a little detergent, squished them around a little and rinsed. The water did turn a slightly disturbing dark grey color, but I’ve convinced myself it was residual dye and not my own bodily filth. Maybe I’ll have to buy a pair in natural just to test this theory.