Essential View

It used to be fun to wear clothing. But styles have changed so much, become so svelt, that in this day and age, the nudists have a better concept of fashion design than designers like Martin Margiela, Frida Giannini and Paul Marciano.

Remember when shirtsleeves were large and billowy? Wonderful design. You could hide so much in the capacious sleeves.

Rabbits. Magician's tools. A deck of cards.

And remember when Uncle Bob would search through his many pockets until he found the smile hidden in one of them? With great fanfare, he would pull the recalcitrant smile from the hidden folds and paste it on his face. It would play there for a while, until he was finished with it. Then, Uncle Bob would tuck it away where it belonged.

Back then, everyone knew grins and smiles hid in clothing, and laughter, especially, was hidden up one's sleeve.

But today, the majority of folks perch apathetically on the sofa and bask in the sterile, most often violent, world of TV because clothes designers have stripped garments down to the bare essentials.

It's hard to hide a rabbit in naked cleavage.
Essential View © 2006 Chaeli Lee Sullivan