What lies (under)neath….

Perhaps, this is an unusual way to return from a hiatus — I thought I’d share one of my sheer joys of life…

While some women crave shoes, and I can see the allure, I love my unmentionables. I can understand how random this sounds, though I’m not coming from left field. Last night, Chris and I were awake oddly enough somewhere in the wee hours. And lacking the requisite hammer to put me back to sleep, I found myself watching a bizarre reality show set in Las Vegas (Holly’s World, I think it’s called). The upside of the experience, and there has to be one, is the ladies took a field trip to the La Perla store. La Perla’s line of luxury lingerie is gorgeous. While ridiculously overpriced, it was the first I discovered. These days I’m just as likely to be craving Chantelle or Fleur of England.

This obsession has never really been about the consumerism — Vicky’s and the local Dillard’s have perfectly lovely undies. For me, it is one of the standards of adulthood. One needs pretty lingerie that matches — cute little sets, an updated, girly version of garanimals. Form needs to follow function, for I am a physics teacher’s daughter. And yes, it is about pleasure — not some Playboy visual version — but a self-awareness, a confidence from texture and color. I have to say that back in my undergrad years, a lovely aqua silk combo improved my mood tremendously when it came to studying Talcott Parsons, my particular cross when it came to sociological theorists.

So, why do shoes and underwear and watches (you know who you are) evoke such passion? Perhaps, like costumes in a play, they prepare the actor for his/her role in the world. For me, it’s setting the stage, taking charge of the day without saying a word. And, it’s just fun 🙂

musical underpinnings: Kisses for the Misses (Richard Swift); Wild Night (Van Morrison); I Burn for You (Sting); Crawl through the Darkness (the Von Blondies); Sexyback (Justin Timberlake); Wicked World (Jaime Wyatt & Pete Droge); Night Life (Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis); Call Me (Blondie); Night & Day (U2’s version); Candy Everybody Wants (10,000 Maniacs); Anything Can Happen (Was [Not Was]); Ruby, My Dear (Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane); Tangled & Dark (Bonnie Raitt); Girls in their Summer Clothes (Bruce Springsteen); Light My Candle (from Rent); Ways to be Wicked (Lone Justice); Building a Mystery (Sarah McLachlan); Sex on Fire (Kings of Leon); If you Wear that Velvet Dress (Bono); Sexy Dumb Dumb (Sophia George); And She Was (Talking Heads), and I guess I have to include the Thong Song ( but maybe just the Glee version)…

Pleasure is spread through the earth in stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find. –> William Wordsworth

Take care,
Aly