New Clothes

Henry David Thoreau once said: "Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes."

I gleaned this quote from a commentary on Casual Fridays by Jim Hightower, a populist politician here in Texas, former Secretary of Agriculture, as I recall, wherein he discusses the hand-wringing that goes on about what's properly 'casual' and 'professional' for such occasions, including the various men's clothing store ads that fuel such anxieties.

But what it reminded me of, was how my wife couldn't play tennis until she had purchased sportswear to wear while she played. It boggled me how much shopping this required, but I admit that she did look very cute in her new Tennis Togs. So cute, in fact, that I didn't get upset when she giggled after she whiffed a serve.

But anyway, back to Thoreau, whom my Teenager denigrated as an imbecilic hypocrite, despite my best efforts at defense: "He may be eccentric, or even insane, but he's the most sincere person in belle lettres! And, of course, if you've got sincerity, you can fake everything else."

I was glad to note that, at my previous employer, a New England based proprietorship, founded on the principles of Emerson and Thoreau (I infer), it was not required that we buy new clothes to start any new project (unless travel to Boston is involved, of course), but when the project is over, we almost always get a Golfshirt or a sweatshirt commemorating the event. This, I am sure, is exactly what Thoreau thought we ought to do.