And I’m not going to (and you shouldn’t) either.
I was reminded of this bit of wisdom recently when I started thinking about the trip the DH and I will be making to the UK next month. We will be staying in various B&Bs, the reservations for which have been left in the hands of one of my UK cousins who will be traveling with us for certain sections of the trip.
Which means that there is the ‘en suite or not en suite’ issue (for US readers, this is the ‘bathroom in the room vs. bathroom down the hall’ issue) and since your dear Aunty did not make the arrangements, I want to be covered.
Literally. And with a small bit of elegance, if you please.
Hiking down the hall with my soap and towel, either fully clothed or in some sort of tee shirt is not something the Aunty enjoys. There was a period when we used to take these trips and would stay in hostels. Sometimes the hike down the hall was down the hall, up or down a flight of stairs, and into a cavernous shower room which many times had the atmosphere of that hallway scene from the movie with Jack Nicholson where he ended up pounding through the door with a fire ax. Not conducive to a relaxing ablution; that is for sure.
But, I digress (as your dear Aunty always does).
I was reminded, again, of my sewing projects list this summer being of the ‘need it; don’t have it; can’t find it’ sort. Now, it’s not that I don’t have a robe; I have a lovely evergreen terry bath robe that the DH gave me one holiday season. It is snuggly and warm and weighs a metric ton, I think. Not something you want to take on an overseas flight (particularly these days when any checked bags are charged and this particular robe would basically take up an entire suitcase) and not something to be used in the summer months, either. Yes, I did a quick and dirty snoop shop in the local department stores and found light weight robes, but they are in fabrics such as nylon and polyester, which frankly make me sweat. Yuck.
So, it was off to the stash, where I found a piece of rather nifty narrow white/turquoise striped cotton oxford cloth, just about enough for a robe (I’m still noodling out the issue of length but this is sort of ‘design on the fly’ so what the hey). And I found a pattern for a simple kimono robe in Burda 11/2009 (number 128). So far, it looks like this:
I’m going to add patch pockets because (and this is definitely a design flaw in this pattern), any robe that I wear requires a place for tissues, the odd bit of something being taken to the bathroom and so on. Why this robe does not have pockets is beyond me.
I also eliminated the belt. I hate belts on robes because they inevitably get separated in the wash and then go to the Land of the Lost Socks, so I am using ties that actually are attached to the robe. Which sort of turns this into a ‘Brooks Brothers Meets Hospital Gown’ but…
I’ve also shortened the sleeves because a) this is a summer robe and b) long sleeves take a whale of a lot of fabric and I didn’t have a whale to work with. So, I figure I’ll have this done in plenty of time to fold it up small and tuck it into my carry-on for the trip.
Oh, and I’m still working out the Pittsburgh Steelers™ jersey business as well.
(Cary Grant image courtesy of seethesky)
YAY to visiting the UK!!! David and I were just talking the other night about trying to have nicer lounging/pjs…to garner a bit more glamour from that era!
Jealous jealous jealous! I can fit in your luggage. Really! (not … sigh …)
Debi – we try to visit every year – My mum was from Yorkshire by way of Glasgow, which is going to be one of the major parts of this trip. She and my father met in Glasgow during the way (he was in medical school there) so I have a whole list of places they used to talk about, which we will be going to document. Now, if only I can find a good fabric store there!!!
I rail against sleeping in t-shirts; one woman I met once told me she slept in her husband’s old ones! Even if one sleeps alone, it is not about who might catch a glimpse, it’s one’s sense of (womanly) self. My own strategy is a kaftan.
Duchesse — I’m with you. I’m also against guys getting into bed in the same underwear that they’ve had on all…day….long. There is no greater pleasure, in my estimation, of, at the end of a day, taking a shower, getting into something clean and smooth, and getting into a clean set of sheets. Luxury personified. Barring that, at least getting into something different and either snuggly or smooth (depending on the weather) to get into bed. There is so much in our lives which is beyond our control — preparing ourselves for a nice relaxing evening and a good night’s sleep is worth it.