Was it a Hostile Takeover?
July 12, 2007|
My beloved husband has some very military quirks in his dress habits. For instance, the man will not leave the house without a t-shirt under his shirt. I am not kidding when I reveal that he has been known to wear under-shirts under t-shirts. And belts - unless he is clad in workout shorts, the man will twitch and itch until he finds a belt to wear with his pants or shorts.
I tried to tell him last night that it wouldn't kill him to leave the house without a belt, and the look he gave me would have melted Arctic ice caps.
In any case, since I was used to his under-shirt peccadillo's after many years and countless drawers filled with white, tan, and black t-shirts, I didn't notice that hubby's t-shirts were being infiltrated by something new and stealthy.
Under Armour.
As I was doing laundry this weekend, I noticed that I didn't have enough chairs and door knobs to hang up all the Under Armour hubby was going through. I looked up to mention this fact to him, and noticed he was walking around the house in an Under Armour shirt and fake Under Armour shorts. I realized that hubby was wearing this gear when he was NOT ON DUTY.
Just when did this vast sea of moisture wicking material infiltrate my house? And how did I not notice? Have other households succumbed to the siren lure of moisture wicking shirts, leaving the once indispensable knit t-shirts to wilt sadly away into the graveyard of out-of-date clothing along with bell bottoms and red leather jackets covered in zippers?
Armed with the knowledge of the fate of our house, I visited the BX with newly opened eyes. Sure enough, nearly one quarter of the clothing area for men was stuffed with moisture wicking products. And women aren't immune! There were pink Under Armour shirts, baby blue Under Armour, and - my personal favorite - the "Power Thong".
Apparently, moisture wicking fabric has been quietly and stealthily infiltrating and replacing t-shirts in key positions. I would have to say that their coup d'etat is probably nearly complete.
My husband is absolutely fascinated by all things moisture wicking. If Under Armour or one of it's competitors sold moisture wicking sheets, I'm sure he'd buy them. It might be for the best, too - that man has some of the sweatiest feet I've ever encountered.
I'm going to have to search out some knit undershirts and put them aside, though. I realized today that the moisture wicking phenomenon had gone too far when hubby tried to wear a combat tan colored Under Armour under his Hawaiian shirt and buckled his shorts with a tactical belt.
And he wonders how people immediately know he's in the military!
Oh AirForceWife, I laughed so hard I snorted reading your post! It's so true!! My husband switched his undershirts to the moisture wicking kind a while back, however I refuse to let them air dry. I put those puppies right in the dryer, on low heat of course. However, when he sometimes does his own laundry, I find those shirts hanging off anything and everything to dry. Now...about that "power thong"...
Posted by: Jewel | 07/12/2007 at 21:21
We haven't had that problem yet, but I'm sure we'll get there when he returns. I was laughing at the belts ..."if it has belt loops, you wear a belt!" I swear they think that's one of the Commandments.
Posted by: Marine Wife | 07/12/2007 at 22:08
funny story. i'm a new convert to under armour, including the undershirts. walking around in nyc in the summer, this is one of the greatest inventions yet in clothing!
Posted by: kbrady | 07/12/2007 at 22:45
LOL... the belts and Tshirts... It is exactly the same way in our house. My hubby was devastated when they started making you take off your belt to go through security at airports, because now it is easier not to wear one. And then he usually forgets to pack it, and gets to our destination and wants to buy a new belt! Not to mention all the extra space those Tshirts take up in suitcases... he packs more than I do!
We haven't yet succumbed to the wicking phenomenon in our everyday clothes (although we both have a drawerful for running), but I'm sure when he comes home... aaggghhh... I'm going to need another dresser.
Posted by: Tamber | 07/13/2007 at 02:28
Glad to know I'm not the only one who mourns the knit undershirts. I had to save a few for posterity, (particularly the really old ones with his name stenciled on) otherwise the UA coup would be complete in our house! But the man has enough t-shirts to clothe a small army of his own...
Posted by: dutchgirl | 07/13/2007 at 08:07
My husband is the belt man - always has to have one on his pants or shorts. Also will not leave the house in sweat pants...ever. Unless it's PT time.
I purchased some "over the door" hooks. There are 6 double hooks on each, so there's room for 12 things to hang...and often, my hubby's things are drying on MY over door rack. Sigh.
If the haircut doesn't give it away, the manner of attire will!
Posted by: Linda | 07/13/2007 at 09:43
I have a drawer full of knit t's. I'm keeping some of them, comfy for me to wear (great night shirts when he's not around) and for dust clothes. the under armor is creeping in, now that he's here. I suppose I'll try some..eventually. But there is NO way I'll do the thong...
LAW
Posted by: LAW | 07/13/2007 at 09:43
4th of July week my husband was on leave visitng and we take our 4 kids up to a cabin (700 miles north of ANY USMC base)for few days...do you think the squirrels,fish and skunks really care if he has a belt on or if he has a 5 o clock shadow...evidently he thought so...we have also been through the whole buying new belts everywhere we go because he can be somewhat forgetful even with his complete dedication to uniform. Even my daughter went to a private school last year, now when she wears any pants or shorts she HAS to have a belt and she's only 6yr...we've created another monster of discipline......
Posted by: USMC SSGT Wife | 07/13/2007 at 10:12
So they aren't suppose to be dried huh???? Oops! Never been one to read labels. Fortunately he only has a couple that he PT's with but I'm sure with the upcoming deployment he'll stock up, he does rave about them.
Posted by: USMC SSGT Wife | 07/13/2007 at 10:27
Funny you should mention Under Armor. My husband LOVES that material. Unfortunately for him, he's one of the few not permitted to wear it. Apparently there's something about them that makes them more dangerous in the event of an airplane crash; they burn to your skin or something like that.
Anyway, so now I'm the one with the stash of Under Armor for gym attire. His drawers are still filled with cotton/knit t-shirts. Although he is very specific about those; they have to be from a specific store in a specific style!
Posted by: InTheAirForceAgain | 07/13/2007 at 11:21
My husband loves it as well. He heard it was the best thing ever before deploying and ordered a bunch of it before he left. He wears it every day under his uniform and to work out and when he eventually returns, I will no doubt see the takeover in his dresser drawers.
Posted by: Tracie (Navy wife) | 07/13/2007 at 11:37
Under Armor comes in pink!?! I might have to join my dh on the UA bandwagon. Those are the only shirts he will wear under his uniform and while he's working out. They are expensive but I can never tell him no when it comes to any kind of gear.
Posted by: k | 07/13/2007 at 12:15
I wondered why my son's UA was full of little pills on the wasteband...
Posted by: Joyce | 07/13/2007 at 14:05
make that waist band
Posted by: joyce | 07/13/2007 at 14:07
Oh man! We don't have as many Under Armor shirts (Sweetie still likes his tan knit shirts), but he must ALWAYS wear a belt. Part of this comes from the fact that he lost a lot of weight in Afghanistan, and his pants don't really fit that well anymore, but he has this habit of wearing his tan uniform belt with his black pants and tan boots, and something like a blue t-shirt and green flannel on top. It's pretty hideous, but I've just stopped telling him what to wear, because it's hard to buy clothing for him when his weight fluctuates so much.
As for washing the Under Armor, he does that himself, and he throws them in the dryer. They get snagged, but he doesn't seem to care. They are wonderful for working out, and he loved them in Texas when he was there in the summer.
Posted by: Deltasierra | 07/13/2007 at 16:00
My husband has a ton of belts too so I was wondering...do you all think that belts are to men what shoes are to women? ;)
Posted by: Jewel | 07/13/2007 at 18:42
Hmmm ... I rarely see my husband wear a belt but I have to BEG him to grow out a beard on leave. Then he shaves it off if we're going to be within 5 miles of ANY military post.
Maybe they should do an "Army Wives" episode about this! (nice segue, huh?) Speaking of "Army Wives," come on over to http://blogs.tampabay.com/standingby/. We've got an upcoming post about the woman who inspired the character of "Roxy" on the show. And as always, we'll live blog Sunday night (10 EST). Check it out!
Posted by: Jan Wesner | 07/13/2007 at 19:03
Funny, Funny, Funny! It's a good thing for wicking. I need to tape my breast and he needs to wick his balls (ha ha.) Hope nobody minds the word balls.
Wicking's been around for years. It's good stuff for the quasi athlete like me.
Posted by: Wiese | 07/13/2007 at 19:12
NOTHING like snuggleing up in those under armors during long deployments!!!!!! I love em best night shirts a girl can steal! And I only had to marry military to get my life time supply! lol....
Posted by: deirdre | 07/13/2007 at 21:40
Power thong?!
What the!?
I will refrain from telling Hubs that your man wears some kind of super-hero undies... I'm sure it would mean a trip to AAFES online for me!
Posted by: Guard Wife | 07/14/2007 at 12:06
I had to laugh at the last comment in your post about your DH wondering how people can tell he's in the military...
My job has me travel overseas a few times each year, and every time I find myself playing a mental game to guess who the service members are... I can almost always find one or two on my flights to Europe, and the recent trip to Japan had even more on the flights...
Usually it's the haircut, posture, and clothes that I put together to figure it out... Sometimes the backpack/carryon they've got, too. And, every once in a while, one of them does a double-take when they see my carry-on (I've mooched one of DH's old black army backpacks - work makes me carry around 30 lbs of gear as carryon for these flights, and it's not fun to carry around without a good backpack).
Posted by: Audette | 07/15/2007 at 20:35
I love the image of your man in his undershirt, and aloha shirt tucked in with belt. I'm not sure, but I think tucking in the hawaiian shirt is illegal...
Posted by: wendy | 07/16/2007 at 13:56
I've been married for 20yrs and my husband has been a Marine for 24yrs. He does not leave home without a collared shirt nor a belt. He even tucks in shirts that are not meant to be tucked in to the trousers. He does not even wear a ball cap because he wears a cover daily. He cannot even go without a hair cut pass 3 days when he doesn't need one because he has hit the slowing of hair growth. We have 4 teenagers who fallow the dress code for military families on base instulations. We all have different ways to live but who can have the adventures that military families have experienced. As my husband tells the children "We are a military family and that makes us different than civilian families. We are not normal in their world but in our world we are okay."
Posted by: marinewife1987 | 07/18/2007 at 14:54