Clothing: Pretty, functional
12/31/2008 at 02:51 from (47.683479, -122.266725)
One recommendation that we've run across a lot -- from travelers, guide books, friends, and family -- is to bring clothes that are, as I mentioned casually in the last post, multifunctional. One especially important utility is, oddly enough, aesthetic. There is a real need for us to have at least one set of "presentable" clothes for those special occasions where we don't want to look like a pair of bums in front of our hosts.
Not that I mind, of course.
In simply talking between the two of us, it's become abundantly clear why so many cultures clothe their women (and often men) in dresses. Dresses are a close second behind "none at all" as the preferred garments for people forced to endure oppressive heat every day. They are light, don't bind or restrict, and allow plenty of air to circulate through the already moist and warm tropics of our anatomy.
And, as if they weren't already perfect enough, they pack down tiny, wash up easily, dry quickly, and look beautiful. It's no wonder people are so adamant about getting Marijana to buy a sun dress or two before we leave. It really makes good sense.
So we did.
Sadly, no simple solutions exist for we boys. Generally speaking, it's frowned upon for men to wander around in sarongs, tunics, robes, or dresses. If I want to look my hunkiest, I'll have to settle for pants.
I hate pants.
Honestly, it's not so much that I hate pants; I'm not especially fond of any clothing. As I see it, clothes are what made it possible for mankind to migrate out of the tropical zone and into cooler climes. The skills nurtured in a land of plenty -- temperance, community, relaxation -- were no longer of much use. Indeed, my European ancestors were forced, through the brutal pressures of scarcity and competition, to embrace ambition, anxiety, and aggression. These became the new virtues of survival and they've badly twisted all of mankind.
The invention of clothes made possible such horrors as global warfare, overpopulation, ecological collapse, and Paris Hilton. One needs no greater proof that clothes are evil than the industry itself. The entire enterprise is sustained by capitalizing on the manual labor of the world's poorest to wrest massive profits from the world's richest. Almost every item of clothing we wear was wrought by the fragile hands of children far away, for mere pennies.
Clothing embodies all that is evil and cruel in man, his intolerance and apathy and greed. It has become virtually impossible to escape the stain of this truly original sin. And now I spend a good portion of every day working hard to undo the damage done to my brain by the genes deposited there by my wayward ancestors. I toil in the vain hope that I can leave my children better natural inclinations than the ones I inherited.
To sum up, I'd rather go without clothes. Since nudity isn't likely to be an option, though, I'll probably get a pair of travel khakis and a dark shirt or two. But I'll hate every stitch of it.
