I am now of an age where the attraction of keeping my arms and legs warm in bitterly cold weather outweighs the linking of long johns with elderly men. I know -4 Centigrade is positively warm to many of my readers around the world but to us Brits it’s damn cold, so today I put on the long leggings for the very first time. The long-sleeve vest went on a few days ago. And…excellent! The leggings were particularly toastie as they say and the vest felt like an added tight jumper.
If there is one drawback for the older man, it’s the determination of some to keep up with the latest trends in trousers and jeans. For a few years now, slim-fitting and skinny trousers have been the rage and it’s quite amusing to see the over 60s stretching into theirs. Some men carry it off well, others should just be carried off. The latter remind me of a fashion fad I came across while writing my last and present books set in Elizabethan England. The peascod doublet was stuffed with extra material to give the man an accentuated chest. The name came from the fact the wearer looked like he was a peapod full of peas. Unfortunately some men today have a similar profile when squeezed into skinny jeans – long thin legs with an often paunchy stomach up top.
The additional problem when he hits the 60s, of course, is how to get the jeans on over his newly acquired long johns… And many men, as they age, need to visit the restroom more frequently – another dilemma trying to open/remove tight jeans with tight long johns underneath. Nothing moves or everything moves, resulting in another struggle to pull everything up straight when all is completed. Oh, the machinations of growing old…
But one advantage of even the slim-fitting trouser/jean is that it takes the hairs off your legs for free… be grateful for small mercies.
Jamie Neve 