Dance 10; Looks 3 ??

"Underneath It All"

American essayist Robert Fulghum – who rose to fame with his book, All I Really Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten, in the early 1990s – went on to publish several more popular books of essays, including his third book, Uh-Oh: Reflections from Both Sides of the Refrigerator Door, which I thought of as I sat to write this week’s column. In Uh-Oh, Fulghum expresses his admiration for Michel de Montaigne, intellectual and statesman of the French Renaissance, who became known as the first writer to popularize the essay as a literary genre of merit. During his own time, the addition of personal musings and the tendency to add anecdotes were believed to weaken Montaigne’s writings on serious intellectual topics. Montaigne’s approach, though deemed too casual by many of his contemporaries, went on to influence the writing styles of Shakespeare, Descartes, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Emerson, Asimov … Fulghum … and yours truly.

As Fulghum celebrates in his essay on Montaigne, no topic was seen as off-limits, uninteresting, or unworthy of Montaigne’s discussion -- “war horses, farting, sandwiches, etc.” So, too, I hope our little weekly column and its resultant blog have been a place where we can reflect on any topic. After all, as Kevin is fond of saying, if there’s something out there that interests you – no matter what it may be – there’s probably at least one book about it. Consequently, we have written our book column on topics as diverse as space exploration, World War 2, local folktales, gardening, vampires, dressing a deer, marijuana, how to start a book club, mining, Christian devotionals, and hundreds of other subjects. I’d like to continue laying cobblestones along this path of diverse topics by adding to it this interesting little book on lingerie, body image and breasts, entitled Underneath It All: A Girl’s Guide to Buying, Wearing and Loving Lingerie, by Jennifer Manuel Carroll & Kathy Schultz.

With the huge strides made in awareness and advocacy for breast health and the recent pro-active stance in dealing with breast cancer, breasts are no longer a topic reserved for the doctor’s office, the bedroom, or R-rated movies. Just look around at all the pink ribbons on the back of family vans, key chains, T-shirts, and handkerchiefs worn as headwear at the dentists’ office, and you’ll have to agree. While I am sad to see members of my community struggle with breast cancer, I am pleased to see that breasts are no longer just the punchline of risqué jokes. As a woman who has breasts, and therefore must go through the trials of finding bras that fit properly, I was excited to find the book Underneath It All.

To be honest, I’ll skimp and buy my jeans at Goodwill – they’re better broken-in, anyway – but a decent bra costs as much as a pair of shoes, and needs to be more comfortable, so I’d rather learn how to find one that really fits both my body and the clothes with which I’ll be wearing it. I get quite frustrated with the millions of dollars that are spent every year in advertising, trying to convince women to buy this makeup or that hair product to make themselves look beautiful, but even I’ll admit that there’s a necessary difference in the bra I need to wear if I’m training for a half-marathon versus the bra I want to wear underneath the bridesmaid’s dress at my cousin’s wedding this next summer. A bra is an investment, and women should know how to find what they need to feel comfortable, and how to take care of this product which spends more time next to their skin than their husband, their baby, or their flannel pajamas do.

I loved the opening chapter on the history of undergarments, and was especially amused to be reminded that the era of the appreciation for a woman’s ‘booty’ was not just the contemporary influence of J. Lo. and hip-hip songs, but also includes the era of the bustle – a contraption that not only laid on top of a woman’s bottom on the outside of her fancy Victorian dress, but additionally inspired a type of underwear garment somewhat resembling a push-up brassiere for the derriere. Following chapters include a discussion of the “lexicon of lingerie”, so a woman (or man) knows how to talk about garments being purchased; how to measure to get real numbers for band measurement and cup size; deciding on the proper lingerie for bridal dress; and correct care and storage of lingerie.
For women whose mothers were too embarrassed to impart this wisdom; for mothers – or single dads – who need help helping their daughters learn this now; for spouses who want to know how to shop for the woman they love, I recommend Underneath It All. Not every chapter or every bit of advice is for every woman – I could have done without the quotes from Shannon Dougherty or Heidi Klum – but for the added insights, and for a cover price of $13.95, it’s well worth purchasing this ‘little pink book’ to share with a sister or friend.

Hobo asks: Dance 10, or Looks 3? Email Hobo your fashion tales of woe at frommyshelf@yahoo.com. He has made it quite clear that he prefers padded bras, because they are much more comfortable to sleep on. Boxers or briefs? See how old reviews stack up at Hobo’s blog, http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com, currently the featured blog on Bookazine.com!