When I watch tv shows, one of the thing that always amuses me is people in their homes walking around fully dressed. Do people really do that in real life? Walk around ready to go somewhere at a moment’s notice? Because I sure don’t.
In the summer, I spend every minute inside wearing nothing but either boxer shorts or mesh athletic shorts and flip flops and THAT IS IT. And let’s not get confused by the name athletic shorts, there ain’t a whole lot of athletics going on. But that is really all I wear because it’s fucking hot and air conditioning a big house is expensive.
If I need to go somewhere, I have a pair of shorts by the front door with a belt already in it, with my car keys and wallets in the pocket, and those are my going out shorts. I’ll throw on a clean t-shirt and some socks, walk down stairs, put on my kicks and going out shorts, go deal with all the insufferable people out there in the real world for an hour or so, come back home, and put the shorts back on the bench. Prolly get about 5-6 going out uses before I wash them, unless I slob something on them at the mexican joint.
In the winter, it’s the same thing, except I wear a full length bathrobe instead of just boxers, and I have my overalls by the door.
Do you all sit around the house in full clothes? I know if I was a woman I would have my bra undone and off with one hand as I opened the front door.
ALSO I DRINK FROM THE MILK JUG.
Chetan Murthy
+1 to all of that.
eclare
Sitting here in shorts and a t-shirt. Absolutely no fucking bra.
Jeffro
T
M
I
evap
Why flip-flops? I hate shoes and they come off the minute I walk into the house. The one good thing about teaching online is that I can do it barefoot.
Nutmeg again
Older retired lady here. One word: Boobs! (Bosoms, etc.) Do not want to answer the door un-bra-ed. While there are plenty of women who can get away with it, many of us can’t. I have mostly clothes that follow the, “look like clothes, feel like PJs” rule. But yeah, otherwise, I totally get it.
Catherine D.
I hang a bra off the front door knob for when I need to leave the house and have socklets and shoes nearby to go to work. (No moccasins or flip-flops around liquid nitrogen. )
ETA – I have woven synthetic clogs so I don’t need socks to run errands.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
Well, we have children, so we try to keep clothed. Before my wife and I had children though, we lived in a condominium on the eighth floor, so when we were in for the evening, we just got naked. We figured that if anybody took the trouble to get a look into an eighth floor window, they’d earned it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’m not quite that casual, and I always wear a shirt, but the pandemic pretty much finished off whatever sartorial sense I had. In colder weather it’s sweats. ETA and I sometimes do that leave-the-wallet-in-the-going-out-pants thing.
And right now I”m trying to think what’s in teh freezer so I don’t have to put on being seen cloths to go to the grocery store
zhena gogolia
@evap:
I am so dreading having to wear presentable shoes in the fall when we start teaching in person again. I’m not sure I will. The students don’t care if I wear running shoes and white socks. I do like to wear dresses, but stockings and flimsy shoes? No more.
What is a bra?
billcoop4
Summer = proper shorts and t shirt and collared shirt for work zoom calls.
Winter = long sleeve collared shirt and khakis.
Colorful socks at all times.
Fleece lined slippers with outdoor shoes near the door.
One must have standards.
Edit for Zhena — I taught from 2004 – 2017 only in Merrill walking shoes. Tie/jacket, too. No one complained (and I wouldn’t have listened).
If David Boies can do it, so can I.
BC
Parfigliano
Yup boxers and muscle shirt (hold the muscle) around house. Shorts, T-shirt, and rope sandals at the ready.
FridayNext
@evap: bare feet are not good for the old plantar fascia and no arch support. I am a slippers man myself, but I remain shod in the house because plantar fasciitis hurts.
oh and either pj shorts in the summer or sweat pants in winter, and t-shirt or hoody depending on temp.
zhena gogolia
And I’m getting an ad for “How to ‘iron out’ arm wrinkles.”
Dorothy A. Winsor
Holy cow. Now I feel like a rigid lunatic. I’m barefoot but other than that I’m dressed.
NotMax
To be heard across the land:
“How was your first day at school, dear?”
“Mommy, all the teachers wear pants and skirts!”
trollhattan
Long-legged pants and shoes&socks are off the menu most of the time. TBF that’s true on weekends pre-Covid, even in December.
hrprogressive
Welp.
Clearly I’m doing it wrong. I’m in jeans and a normal T-Shirt I would go out in public in (did, in fact, earlier).
Why?
I mean. I don’t know. It provides a sense of “kemptness”.
There have been plenty of days during this hellscape where I’ve rolled out of bed in what I slept in and signed on for work.
I guess it’s a small sense of “accomplishment”;
Look at me, I got dressed like a purported adult.
Yeah, that’s it.
Princess Leia
@Nutmeg again:
Yep. But no underwires- that is for sure!
Geo Wilcox
Old lady here, I wear men’s’ boxers and tee shirts around the house. Going out I slap on a bra under the tee and some jeans, sans the boxers. I wear short socks in the house and they work well with my going out shoes.
Winter is a whole other story. I wear a tee shirt, hoodie, sweat pants, long socks, gloves, and fuzzy slippers inside. I get that Raynaud’s syndrome shit if I don’t keep my core very warm and since we keep the house cooler I have to wear lots of layers. Going out is jeans, tee shirt, hoodie, jacket, thicker gloves (or heated if it is really cold).
I will never own a car without a heated steering wheel ever again.
debbie
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Me too. I would hate to be seen otherwise.
Martin
Not sure I have enough money to pay for the therapy that would be needed for my daughter if I roamed the house in my underwear.
Generally, shorts + tshirt year round. Maybe a hoodie or jeans in winter. ‘around the house’ here in SoCal means sitting on the patio. I usually spend no more than 10 hours a day inside spring/summer/fall.
ColoradoGuy
Plain T-shirt and “athletic” shorts during the summer, no shoes in the house. Cannot tolerate hot weather, set the house A/C to 75 degrees. Put shoes on, I’m ready to go walk the dog or go shopping (with a mask).
brettvk
@Nutmeg again: This is the year I started gardening in a tank top over the sports bra, instead of just the bra, to spare the public. But it’s getting hot enough that I may no longer care about how many neighbors need eye bleach.
NotMax
Overalls have been ruled passé?
:)
As for the primary question posed regarding attire (or lack thereof), what happens chez NotMax stays chez NotMax.
debbie
@Princess Leia:
They’ve never bothered me, but I know most women hate them.
M. Bouffant
Damn right I drink from the jug. Not just milk, everything.
Do have pants on now ’cause I went to the mailbox. (Waste of time, no mail.)
In general, esp. once it gets hot, I’ll be in underpants & nothing more all day.
Pete Mack
Nix on the athletic shorts. Rip-stop hiking pants with zip-on legs. More comfortable and practical.
Sister Golden Bear
Shorts and t-shirts today — although in fairness, I’m in the middle of a bathroom remodel and I’m not about to distract the tile guys working today by wearing less.
J R in WV
Duluth Trading boxers, tee, slip-on Keen slippers. Cargo shorts on the banister, wallet and key fob in the basket across from the rail where the shorts are…
My dad was a Rockefeller Republican Atheist Nudist, which was hard for him after I got married, he had to wear short shorts when Wife was around, which was all the time I was around. He wore short shorts and net tees in the hot summers. He had a lot of clothes, and was a nudist… I don’t have many clothes, and I don’t wear the ones I have much in the summer time. In the winter you can always put on another layer, but in the summer you can only get so naked!
TheQuietOne
Just this morning my wife asked if I wanted another pair of ‘ lounge ‘ shorts. Loose comfy soft. I told her yes if she’d stop calling them that. I just had to donate tee shirts because I have so many. No shoes unless something outside calls my name.
zhena gogolia
This is oddly satisfying.
Baud
No.
eclare
@zhena gogolia: Been enjoying that all day!
Mallard Filmore
@Geo Wilcox:
I have the winter thermostat at 65F. Two winters ago I wore 2 sweaters and still had trouble keeping my fingers warm below 68F. Last winter it was one sweater and a parka, no more cold fingers.
JoyceH
I used to (pre-pandemic) wear a bra for most of the day. Not anymore. I’ll put on a bra when I’m going out in public. At the worst of the pandemic when I only went out about every other week, I was driving down the road and suddenly thought, “My chest feels tight – OMG, why does my chest feel tight?!” And then realized that no, it’s not my heart – I’m wearing a bra.
Comrade Colette
@Martin:
Same, except substitute teenage son.
Before our son arrived, I roamed the house in whatever was appropriate for the temperature, down to and including nothing. After Colette jeune was past babyhood, I always at least had skivvies and a t-shirt on, and by the time he started school I had added a bra and some kind of pants, mostly for the sake of other kids and their parents. He’s off to college next month, and I am looking forward to regressing in my wardrobe or lack of one.
I do have to put on something vaguely work-appropriate, at least on top, during working hours to feel like I’m at work. I see some colleagues on Zoom with ragged t-shirts or hoodies, unkempt hair, etc. and I totally judge them.
Mallard Filmore
@M. Bouffant:
I hope you drink the jug empty quickly. The mouth is lousy with microbial life, and will start a nice furry covering.
Raoul Paste
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I’m the same way, it just seems familiar to get dressed
I had no idea that this place was so……. casual. It’s like life at Hugh Hefner’s place
NotMax
When it comes to, um, ultra-casual attire, let us raise a glass to O.Z.
Otto Zilch, he’s a hero of the ages.
Otto Zilch, he will surely enter history’s pages.
.
The recording. Even merited its own soundie (ancient form of music video, for you whippersnappers).
zhena gogolia
@billcoop4:
I just bought some Merrell black shoes today and I’m going to try them with dresses. At my age who cares?
MattF
My main clothing ‘discovery’ of the past year is compression socks. I wear them all the time around the house. The main obstacle is putting them on— it takes practice. But they are nearly indestructible, vastly better than slippers, and the various feet-that-hurt ailments that I used to get have all gone away.
ETA: I’ve bought Sockwell, and I’m happy with them.
mrmoshpotato
Wearing pants around the house? So 2019!
zhena gogolia
@Comrade Colette: I’m on a reaccreditation committee, and I had to attend a Zoom with some fairly high administrators. I got a little dressed up. They were dressed like Adam Arkin in Northern Exposure.
LongHairedWeirdo
How humid is it around you, typically, in the summer? I bought a surprisingly effective portable swamp cooler, or “evaporative cooler” (I think you can get one that’s whole-house style, too). It’s a bit counterintuitive, because you want some windows open, so the warmer, moister air gets pushed out.
The cooling comes from evaporating water. It takes energy to kick a water molecule into the air; kick enough of them into the air, and you’ve taken enough energy from the system that it’s significantly cooler. It will work great where it’s hot and low humidity, and well in pretty warm and not too humid. But “frequently hot and humid” will make them a waste of money.
Since the energy is coming from the water’s evaporation, it’s not using as much energy for cooling as standard air conditioning. And since you have some positive pressure, and open windows, the cooler air that’s being pushed should help displace some of the warmer air getting pushed out the windows.
Arclite
Lol, married with two kids, and I do the John Cole. The only difference is that I wear a t-shirt too.
MagdaInBlack
I’ve been where you are for quite some time, John. The beauty of living alone plus the NFLTG stage of life ?
Cermet
Fully clothed but I have a daughter so wearing clothes is the norm (she graduated from the university before covid and got stuck here); however, she does go braless in the house. Never thought that really was any different but I am a male and have no idea what those things feel like to wear.
laura
San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Don Asmusen who covered burning man one year in his Bad Reporter strip started out wearing pants but referred to them as a two-legged crotch burka after just two days at the Black Rock City. It’s my go to image when the subject of men without pants comes up. I’m usually dressed to scramble at any moment but spouse has his at home britches that are ancient rugby shorts. I call them his chonies and his Canadian cousins have the same thing only guanchies. Worn till they are crotchless and trying to convince him it’s way past time to let go -well, the struggle is real.
Mary G
Muumuu and bare feet unless it’s freezing (below 60) when I add a fleece. I had no shoes that fit because of RA and (now official!) post polio syndrome, but I got three pairs of athletics hoes (OK, AutoCorrect, very funny) with velcro on Prime Day. Bra and formal muumuu for going out, which I have stopped doing again.
Delk
Shorts and t-shirt. Going out shorts hanging on the door with a mask in the front pocket and a handkerchief in the back. Rockport closed toe sandals that don’t require socks by the door. Cane (if I’m going far) and murse at the ready.
scav
I just hate thinking so much about clothes, let alone bothering with all that time taking them off and putting them on. I’ve just got standard clothes for standard workdays and weekends (same clothes) and they go on and come off once a day. No sorting when washing. I try to avoid non-standard workdays and socializing.
Capri
I stay casual most of the time, but paint in the buff. Because even when I’m extremely careful and only have a tiny area to paint I end up with paint all over me and skin cleans off easily while cloth does not.
CaseyL
Even before the pandemic, the first thing I’d do when getting home from work was change out of the workclothes into the “comfy-snugglies.” Depending on time of year, that might be sweats, or shorts and T-shirt. No bra. Normal shoes off in favor of bare feet, or slippers, or flip-flops, or river sandals. But mostly bare feet, even in winter. (With slippers ready to put on if I needed to go outside.)
During lockdown, I’d be in my PJs for days running. Even to get the mail or take out the garbage. Only put real clothes (including bra) on for errands or to go into the office my one day per week. The few times I’ve gone out with friends, I get a little more dressed up than in the Before Times (nicer tops, more color coordination) because it’s a more special occasion.
Going forward, I have no idea. We’re supposed to be in the office 70% come September. The dress code was already very loose; they regard us all as adults, capable of deciding appropriate clothing on our own, with the only rule being blue jeans on Fridays only. I imagine that will continue.
I have stopped coloring my hair, and the undyed part is almost as long as the dyed part. I don’t think I’ll re-start that. Fortunately, my natural color is graying very nicely.
H.E.Wolf
I had the pleasure once of hearing an acquaintance recount the words of his sister – a woman of a certain age, and of traditional build – as she took off her Church Brassiere after returning home on a Sunday: “RELEASE the HOUNDS!!”
Now there’s a woman I’d be honored to know. :)
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
He’s surprisingly expressionless.
ThresherK
(Otto voice:) Whoa,
I have mustard?you wear shorts? Our place is not very air-cooled and I (already a heat source) dress very, very minimally.JanieM
I got a good laugh out of the post, and then another when I skimmed the comments. I was going to write one saying:
“What bra?”
But I decided I’d skim the comments first, and I see that half the commentariat beat me to it.
I don’t even own one anymore. Fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke.
Mary G
It’s a sad situation when a gazillionaire can’t go to a shop dedicated to slaughtering fish without being verbally assaulted by a guy who might be a better dressed MAGAt.
Or what she said:
zhena gogolia
@debbie:
People in the replies surmise he hears it a lot.
NotMax
For those of a more exotic predilection, there’s always bananas.
;)
eclare
@H.E.Wolf: That is awesome!
Joey Maloney
Well I have a not-intimate housemate and we’re both old and wrinkly and disgusting so when we moved in together one of our few agreed rules was fully-dressed-in-common-areas-at-all-times. That said, I start my mornings in pjs and rarely put on leaving-the-house clothes before noon.
satby
I’m a (former) flower child of the 60s and never fully adapted to bras in the first place, so I only wear them in public, and seldom in winter when the multiple layers of clothes disguise that I don’t have one on. Luckily I’m not endowed like Dolly Parton so it doesn’t matter. I sunburn easily, so summer outside wear is long linen pants and shirts or equivalent and inside wear is an oversize t-shirt and shorts. Slip on shoes, usually sandals or mules; no socks. The less clothes, the better!
CaseyL
All the Women of Balloon-Juice: “Bras Be Gone!”
Ohio Mom
Friday Next @12:
Yes on always having to wear shoes, though inside the house it’s usually a very old, beat up pair of Keen loafers.
Years ago at a first visit to a PT she asked me to walk down the hall in bare feet. Why, I asked, I always wear shoes, but I complied.
I started at the far side and walked toward her. When I’d finished, she said, “I see why you don’t like being barefoot.”
That was a professional opinion, based on graduate studies and years of practice. So I feel validated.
Redshift
@scav: Yeah, that’s pretty much my attitude. I don’t want to think about getting dressed to go out, and my work clothes are a t-shirt and shorts/jeans/khakis depending on the temperature, so I just get dressed in the morning and I’m done with it.
I love to go barefoot, but I also started having plantar fasciitis a few years ago, so I have to wear shoes even around the house, which would make it more of a pain to get changed to go out.
jl
I live in a part of the country where the weather being too hot and humid to wear clothes in the house is ‘a thing.’ So I only go shorts only inside during a few days of the year.
billcinsd
As a late stage bachelor myself, generally, at home, I wear lounge shorts and sometimes a t-shirt basically what I slept in. I don’t usually drink milk out of the carton, because I don’t often drink milk. I do drink juice from the container, though. Unless I am going to work, into a store, or out running I don’t put on real clothes to go anywhere. As Howlin’ Wolf sang “I’m built for comfort, baby. I ain’t built for speed. But I got everything a good girl need.”
NotMax
@CaseyL
I understand that with improvements in technology, wireless bras now get improved reception.
:)
jl
As for Cole, I approve of his system for the reason that he has apparently found a good method for not leaving the house and forgetting his pants. Progress! Excellent. One less Colesaster to worry about.
SFBayAreaGal
For me jeans or shorts and a short sleeve top and flip flops. I put on my tennis shoes when I need to drive someplace. The two or three weeks we hit 90 and above, I will wear my light weight cotton bathrobe during the day.
It has been at least ten years since I have wore a wire bra
I love kicking off my flip flops and standing on the cool grass. Feels so good.
Fcb
What you describe is the greatest joy of the empty-nested: except that in our case it comes after 20-odd years of suppression. And is so much sweeter for that.
Nae pants but Door Pants all the live-long day.
Redshift
Also, how do you more our less unclothed juicers deal with sweat in the summer? I have to wear a shirt or I’d have sweat stains on all the upholstery, but maybe that’s just me.
billcinsd
@Redshift: I have a sheet on the couch and use a towel if I have been out running
sukabi
@H.E.Wolf: Now that’s FUNNY!!!
Falling Diphthong
@Dorothy A. Winsor: No, I hear you. To be presentable to leave the house I need to: Put on shoes.
I have to wear bras right now for surgical recovery reasons (I am at least past the point of sleeping in them), but that aside: A lot of women are more comfortable in a bra if they are active at all. Less jiggling, less boob sweat.
jl
As long as this post is on the joys of hanging around the house, I think Cole got a pick of the Rosie and Tunch gang stealing his wallet, because why not make the person who houses and fee
trollhattan
@CaseyL:
Like this?
Jharp
I always am dressed from when I get up until I go to bed.
And I wear white socks and sandals 365 days a year from the time I get up until I go to bed. Even in our Midwestern winters.
H.E.Wolf
@eclare: That is awesome!
@sukabi: Now that’s FUNNY!!!
I laughed myself silly when I heard it. The image was so vivid!
dr. luba
I discovered Adidas sneakers a decade or so ago. They make my feet happy. I have a ratty pair for working in the garden, a nicer pair for going out (summer or Michigan winter). Sheepskin slippers for in the house (necessary if you have a staircase and socks–I learned the hard way).
And being old and pandemic bound, I’ve gotten used to wearing comfy jeans (elastic waistband) and a V neck T shirt (bought a bunch at Costco a few years back) most of the time. Don’t want to go back. And, of course, a comfy bra–those are important for those of us who are old and Slavic.
I’ve never gotten to work from home, but work attire is scrubs, so essentially pajamas…..
dr. luba
To those of you who love shorts–don’t your thighs stick to to furniture and car seats? I find that really off-putting.
And working the yard–I hate getting ants and other bugs crawling up my legs and biting me. I wear socks and long pants when gardening.
Now I feel really old…..
M. Bouffant
@Mallard Filmore: Indeed. ‘Specially the dried bits in the thread. I do wipe it before slugging from it.
jl
@jl: Part of my comment got eaten:
As long as this post is on the joys of hanging around the house, I think long ago Cole got a pic of the Rosie and Tunch gang stealing his wallet, because why not make the person who houses and feed them suffer? I hope Cole can dig up that pic and put in the next pet calendar.
RSA
In today’s NYTimes crossword puzzle, 31 down reads “Garment that might not be worn around the house”
I should have read this post and comments first.
H.E.Wolf
@dr. luba: Sheepskin slippers for in the house (necessary if you have a staircase and socks–I learned the hard way).
Hello comrade. I learned the same thing about a decade ago. Arrived at the bottom of twelve stairs and thought:
1. Huh. I’m still alive.
2. Ow. (A skinned elbow, thankfully nothing else)
3. I better not do THAT again….
Bluegirlfromwyo
Tits up to all you ladies going braless. It’s downright uncomfortable for this lady. I’m still weaning myself off wires.
For work, I’m all about the zoom mullet. Business on the top, sweats/shorts on the bottom. My office isn’t opening any time soon. I’m a lucky lady.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Well, I do wear a suit and tie to lounge around the house, but sometimes I’ll loosen the tie a bit. And if the day is really hot, I’ll undo the top button of the shirt.
Seriously? I don’t wear socks or shoes, I can’t stand them unless I’m going outside, and even then I don’t usually bother to do quick stuff around the yard like get the mail or move the car. I wear shoes to walk the dog but at least one of my neighbors doesn’t
But I do actually wear pants around the house most of the day. Hope I’m not too overdressed for BJ.
Morzer
The full horror of this vision is just beginning to hit me after the third reading.
geg6
I do not ever spend a moment at home with a bra on unless we have a visitor. And it really depends on who the visitor is because, if it’s one of my sisters, I will stay braless.
Redshift
@dr. luba:
I don’t find it a problem with cloth seats. Thankfully vinyl isn’t common in car seats any more, and I don’t like leather seats for either winter or summer, so I don’t have them.
Tony Jay
Pre-pandemic, once I was back from work the shorts/PJ bottoms and t-shirt went on and that was that. Screw you, world, if I needed anything more from you I got it at lunch or it wasn’t important enough to miss.
Pandemic time, if I don’t have to go out anywhere (I don’t) it’s homewear time. If I do have to go out (damn it!) the slightly thicker shorts with the pockets are always there. They’ll let me know if they need washing by climbing into the machine and banging a spoon or something.
But I always wear a bra. Even in the bath. It’s like a stiff, silky hug.
piratedan
have to admit, my fave commercial of the last three years is that Coors one where the lady gets home from work and one handedly, removes her bra and leaves on the blouse while cracking open a cold beer. Even tho I am a dude, just that feeling of “release” felt like they had tapped into a universal constant… (crappy beer notwithstanding).
Dan B
@laura: Went to Burning Man several times in the early years. At 107 (it’s a dry heat //) most clothes come off but despite the free spirit of the event people got weird at the naked.
Luckily I missed the rainstorms and dust storms. My partner’s Airstream still has Playa dust. There’s a sheet rock factory in Gerlach.
RandomMonster
Haven’t read through all the comments, so don’t know if I’m an outlier. If I’m doing anything productive, even if it’s just on the computer, I have to have on real clothes. At least shorts/tshirt/sandals. In my underwear alone is not being serious about the task at hand.
On the flipside, I’ll walk out front in my PJs or underwear to bring in the garbage bin or collect a package. I don’t care about the small chance my neighbors see my boxer-briefs — “avert your eyes, neighbors”.
mvr
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Me too; I wear clothes I like and would wear to work (jeans, button shirt) once I get up, with shoes optional.
Our first floor has a good number of windows and I run in and out of the house – to the garden or to the shop in the garage out back – often. I use my pen, my keys and my pocketknife all the time. Not having my pockets on me would crimp my lifestyle and I don’t really like looking at my old man tummy. So I dress when I get out of bed.
Slip on shoes are strewn about the doors to facilitate transitions.
geg6
@piratedan:
I do that little dance of removing the bra without removing the shirt every time I come home from work or shopping or whatever. I do it the minute I get in the door. I’ll change into my home wear (t-shirts/shorts for summer, hoodie/yoga pants or sweats colder weather) a little later after makeup is off. But the bra comes off immediately. There is nothing on earth so uncomfortable as a bra. Wired or wireless, doesn’t matter. They all suck.
And I cannot possibly recommend Bob’s for Sketchers memory foam clog slippers more. They are the best.
Timill
Jeans, T-shirt and shoes at all times when up. Not only do we have aircon, we have some 35 cats…
Steeplejack
I haven’t even read the comments yet and I love this post already.
As close readers will know, I put on the tactical gear (pants!) only when I’m going out and about, which isn’t often these days. My at-home loungewear is boxer briefs and an oversized T-shirt, winter and summer. I keep the thermostat at 76° in the summer and 68° in the winter. (Probably could go lower in the winter, but my brick building retains a lot of ambient heat, so my electricity bill is never very big. The highest last winter was $70.70. Average for the whole year is about $45.00 a month.)
I keep a pair of “hard pants” (love that phrase) on a peg on the bedroom closet door, with my keys and wallet. I put those on with (typically) a polo shirt, socks and comfy shoes (Skechers or Merrell) when I go out. My cell phone is always with me, at home or away.
I have the luxury of this setup because I live alone, of course. When I have lived with other people I have been a little more civilized, but not much. What kills me about being “fully dressed” at home is when I see old TV shows where the men are wearing ties at home. Maybe they changed out of their suit jacket into a tasteful sweater. Occasionally you’ll see them with an open-collar shirt if they’re really cutting loose on the weekend. I realize it’s the myth of TV, but still . . .
Now off to read the comments.
FlyingToaster (Tablet)
Fully clothed when we come down from the second floor (bedrooms). Primarily because of Spawn (aka WarriorTeen). But I bought a LOT of more comfortable clothes for the During Time, and we’re resistant to going back to uncomfortable clothes.
At home from May-September, shorts or thin leggings. For the colder months, thick leggings, sweats, or comfortable jeans. T shirts year round, plus sweaters/sweatshirts/hoodies of the appropriate weight as required.
We donated my van full of old clothes in May. And I’m probably going to clean out the closets in September which will get rid of everything else.
prostratedragon
@zhena gogolia:
What is a bra?
Revolutionary uplift!
Steeplejack
@hrprogressive:
For me the “kemptness” marker is taking a shower. If I don’t take one, or if I let it go too late into the day, everything can start to feel a little Charles Bukowski-ish. (Which doesn’t mean I haven’t let that happen all too often.)
Shaving has become more optional with masking. Let’s not even get into that.
Damned_at_Random
When the FedEx guy needs a signature, we argue over who is best dressed to answer the door. I’m sure he dreads coming to our place
Cheryl from Maryland
I am a total devotee of Title Nine dresses — pockets and shelf bras with no underwires, summer and winter versions as needed. I can sleep in them. I can exercise in them. Otherwise, socks and Keen sandals outside, sherpa-lined sandals for inside.
Suzanne
I do a lot of casual wear at home, but yes, I’m usually clothed. I am almost always in a tank top and yoga pants, often with a hoodie once it gets slightly cooler. Sometimes a bra, but only if it has no underwire. Lots of PJ pants after, say, 8 pm. I do a lot of “athleisure” type clothes. I have pretty sensitive skin, so I like to be fairly covered.
Steeplejack
@LongHairedWeirdo:
My RWNJ brother has a swamp cooler at his house in Las Vegas, and it seems to work very well.
Tim Ellis
I am married but I still have my “going out shorts” (pre-populated with belt, keys, and wallet just like yours) hanging around the bedroom and spend the rest of my time in pajama pants or boxer shorts, depending on the time of year. Life’s too short to be dressed up *at home*.
zhena gogolia
@piratedan:
That is a great ad.
debbie
@Bluegirlfromwyo:
Finally, someone else!
Cmorenc
Summer: shorts, undetwear nice t-shirt, comfy flips for the feet, that’s it. Day in, day out, except for the two or three times all summer i have to wear something dressier, then its jeans, socs, and sneakers with one of my best t-shirts.
sab
@Bluegirlfromwyo: Me too.
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
Needs moar sex. And a snake.
:)
Ruckus
@JanieM:
I have understood that to be stated as
Joke’em if they can’t take a fuck.
That might just be me….
Mel
Nothing but a robe, and the only reason for that is that I need pockets in which to carry my old lady stuff.
NotMax
@Ruckus
The argument for wearing a bra does raise a couple of interesting points.
(bobs and weaves to avoid the hook fast approaching from offstage)
The Moar You Know
Yep. Shave every day, too, even on weekends. You let the little shit slide, sooner or later you start letting the bigger shit slide, and that never ends well.
Ruckus
@NotMax:
What did I do?
I’ve never worn a bra in my life.
Ruckus
@The Moar You Know:
I started growing my beard on July 6, 1973 at 11:59am. That’s when I walked down the gangplank for the last time. And till it started falling out on top my noggin I had long hair, started growing that at the same moment. I now trim once every week or two. I actually shave my neck about once a month. I’ve had a beard for more than 2/3rds of my life. I don’t remember the last time I brought cartridges for my razor but it’s been a number of years. If people don’t like my beard, that’s tough shit.
WaterGirl
@H.E.Wolf: I LOVE THAT.
dnfree
I hate changing clothes. If at all possible I dress once in the morning and then put my pajamas on at bedtime and I don’t think about it again this was true when I was working, too.
There are comfortable bras these days.
sab
@Ruckus: Count yourself lucky. Only thing worse than wearing one is being built so that you have to wear one.
dnfree
@dr. luba: our haircut person slipped on wooden stairs wearing her socks. She had been holding the railing and injured her shoulder badly. Fortunately she was not carrying the baby she was caring for.
Anyway
Adults drinking milk is a thing I don’t get…
debbie
@dnfree:
Same situation here. Last time I ever wore “one size fits all” socks.
Mo Salad
My WFH CPA attire for 15 months was bare feet, cargo shirts, and Costco button down Oxford dress shirts. Sleeves rolled up twice, top two buttons and bottom button open.
Typical marina white guy trash attire.
Kent
I’m married with teenage daughters so there is a constant stream of kids passing through the house all summer. A Cole summer uniform would probably not fly. All my daughters’ teeny-bopper friends probably do not need to see me sitting around shirtless in boxers.
My summer uniform is stretch cargo shorts from Costco (more comfy) paired with whatever random dark polo shirts I find on sale at Costo. So I’m usually wearing some sort of comfortable stretch fabric cargo short with a dryfit moisture wicking black or navy golf shirt. Very “dadbro” I suspect. But I don’t give a shit
Basically the same exact uniform I wear teaching during the school year except with long pants
I’m always barefoot in the house. When I go out I usually throw on Keen sandals with dark low-cut athletic socks which I know is uncool but fuckit.
SuzieC
@JoyceH: I put on a sports bra for the first time in 15 months when I attended (with trepidation) an in-person yoga class. It felt awful. I felt like my chest was constricted.
Yoga studios re-opening are another story. Some are being assholes.
lowtechcyclist
I wear clothes indoors during the day. Cutoffs and a t-shirt at this time of year, jeans and a flannel shirt in the winter.
I guess that’s technically full clothes, but apparently unlike Cole’s house, mine costs a hell of a lot more to heat in the winter than cool in the summer, and even a heavy robe over boxer shorts would require a monthly electric bill in the upper three figures. So clothes are mandatory for half the year.
No shoes indoors, and at this time of year, I only wear shoes outdoors if I’m intending to walk too far for sandals to hold up well.
Rob
Jeans & t-shirt (with a long-sleeved shirt if it’s cold enough in my basement office) & socks in winter. Shorts of some sort & t-shirt in summer.
Shana
@FridayNext: Mine is acting up for the first time in 8 years. Went to the podiatrist Thursday who gave me one of those lovely steroid shots into the bottom of my foot (yeah!). Doctor told me he’s seeing lots of people who have spent the last 16 months walking around their houses barefoot and are now having real problems.
Groucho48
Ratty t-shirts and old pants with frayed cuffs and/or holes in pockets and/or non-functional zippers. Moccasins. In winter, add a fleece top and switch from moccasins to baby blue high top felt bedroom slippers bought from Land’s End 30 years ago.
Gvg
Hmm, I seem to be unusual. I am clothed at home, more casually than work. No shoes. I always have. Also I prefer wearing a bra most of the time. My boobs are sensitive and a nice thick padded bra protects me. I know that is an unusual view. I garden and am in and out constantly, but I always wore clothes even before this hobby. No shoes in the house.
if I don’t feel well, I switch to Pajamas.
No I don’t drink from the jug.
PaulWartenberg
As a 51-year-old bachelor living with just two cats, I do walk around with a shirt on, usually a t-shirt, something comfortable. Rarely do I go shirtless… because the cats prefer curling up on my chest when I’m wearing a shirt while I sit in my recliner.
Pants ARE optional, I will usually stick to my boxer brief undies, but I will have shorts nearby in case I need to go outside to check the mail box.
I either wear socks or slippers as footwear indoors. I was wearing flip flips often but then I developed this rash on my foot and when I stopped wearing the flips the rash faded.
Amir Khalid
I wear sweatpants and t-shirt 24/7 unless going out. To go out, I wear jeans/cargo pants and t-shirt. Going-out footwear is either boots of sports sandals. I keep dress shirts, slacks, and shoes just in case; but being free of the daily need to comply with a dress code, I almost never wear them.
I never wear a bra.
Ksmiami
Athleisure is my happy daily uniform. Lululemon, adidas and Nike
Ksmiami
@Anyway: just thinking about it gives me a stomachache
BeautifulPlumage
As soon as I get home my tiny bit of Irish comes out and I’m ” erin-go-bra less”
Spanish Moss
Around the house I generally wear calf-length cotton knit dresses, with no undergarments and no shoes. I put on undergarments and sandals to go out, unless it is the dead of winter, in which case I put on leggings and short boots to go out.
Citizen Alan
As you all may or may not know, I’m moving from “the Great State of Mississippi” to Queens, NY in about 3 weeks to pursue an LLM. And the thing I dread most, much more than moving 1500 to NYC or dealing with law school exams 20 years after getting my JD, is the fact that I’ll be sharing a University-owned apartment with 2 other guys I’ve never met before. The thought of wearing clothes all day long after a year of teleworking basically in the nude.
The Pale Scot
@Catherine D.:
What are those. I have foot bone issues, this sounds interesting
Steeplejack
@Citizen Alan:
You’ll adapt! And this is progress. The last I remember reading was that you didn’t even have a line on a place to live—or a location—and you were debating whether to take your car. You’ve come a long way from there. Give us a report!
Ruckus
@sab:
I’ll take your word for it. When my sister had breast cancer and they wanted to remove one and fit an artificial replacement she told them to take both. She was about 4’11” and at her age they had enlarged a bit (I’m being nice here) so she thought she’d like to be closer to her size as a teen. She told me later that it was one of the best decisions she had ever made, that she got to remember what she had when she was 8 or 9, not a teen. She made 6 more years.
Just in case you were wondering, I hate fucking cancer. 3 out of the 5 in my immediate family have had cancer. Mom, who fully recovered, sis, who ended up riddled with it, and me. I had a different cancer but it’s still something you are never cured of, only in remission and if you are lucky, in remission for the rest of your life. But that threat of reoccurrence is always there.
sab
@Ruckus: SIL has so far beat colon cancer. Reached her five year cancer free mark.
My dad was a pathologist. He taught the lung cancer course at our local med school for years. He quit the year he diagnosed his younger sister with lung cancer. He said he couldn’t stand to look at those slides anymore
ETA She died the next year.
NotMax
@Citizen Alan
“How you gonna keep them down on the farm, after they’ve seen Ozone Park?”
;)
Bring winter clothing. Or pick up some during the summer when it’s knocked down in price.
The Pale Scot
delete
The Pale Scot
sab
@Citizen Alan: Hey, you got an apartment. Isn’t that amazing?
sab
Thunder and lightning, So pitbull and new kitty in bed with me now.
afterist
Housemate, so that is a thing but when I know they are gone I revel in Donald Ducking it.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
I may also be an outlier. Getting dressed is part of my morning routine, and even when working from home, I’ll make a point to stick to work-appropriate clothing: button-down shirt, slacks not jeans, dark socks. Jeans and polo/T shirts and white socks are for non-working days.
I do forego shoes unless I’m going out, though. And I drilled into myself a need to get out of the apartment and into the streets at least once a day, rain or shine, unless poor health or extreme weather conditions contraindicate it…
WaterGirl
@Citizen Alan: Was HeleninEire able to help you with the lay of the land in NYC?
debbie
@Bruce K in ATH-GR:
Honestly, I don’t even remember what my workday morning routine was. If I end up having to go back to the office, I know I’ll probably not be able to show up on time.
Ol'Froth
T-shirt, shorts, slippers. I only get dressed if I have to go somewhere.
Miss Bianca
I’m kind of stunned by how many people here appear to roam their environs with such minimal clothing. I feel racy when I go out of the house in a tank top over a sports bra, or wear my riding tights to work.
Some variation on jeans and t-shirt works for me most of the year. As for going around braless…only at night. And only with a tight t-shirt or something else somewhat binding, because I’m just Built Like That, and it’s uncomfortable otherwise.
jame
If it matters, I wear a light cotton shirt from CostCo, a sports bra from Target, and either skorts or a pull-on skirt from Terry Bicycle. Skirts are so much cooler and easier than jeans. I have a creepy neighbor, so I try to always have the bra on when I go outside. I wear sandals (Target again) or flip flops (olukai ohana). Cold weather means long-sleeved skirts with fleece pullover or hoodie and fleece pants, leggings, long skirt, or jeans, with smart wool socks and Born or Ariat clogs. My granny told me “always fix up nice every day”. I find that if I follow her advice, I feel just a little bit better about myself.