Thanks to the Internet, anything can become a holiday. Somehow August 5 has been designated National Underwear Day, and Etiquetteer wants to remind you that, actually, no one needs to know about your underwear.
In an earlier volume, Etiquetteer offered advice on how not to celebrate National Underwear Day. And really, the best way is still just to be sure that no one can see the underwear you are - or are not - wearing.
The necessity for This Sort of Reminder keeps being displayed on the public streets. Just last week Etiquetteer witnessed a Young Woman out and about with friends in the Unforgiving Light of Day. Under her near-transparent sleeveless yellow dress, Etiquetteer could not help but observe that she was wearing mismatched underwear, white underpants and a black bra. That's a big no-no! Ladies, please take care not only to match your undergarments, but obscure them from public view with a Perfectly Proper slip when necessary, such as this one famously modeled by the late Rita Hayworth.
This is a problem for everyone during the summer months, when men and women all drift toward not just the color white, but also light and often gauzy fabrics. This never was a problem in all those Ingmar Bergman films; even though everyone wore white all summer long, they wore multiple Edwardian layers! Not much of a chance to see any Visible Panty Lines through all those petticoats or full-length drawers. These days we can barely manage two total layers of clothes without complaining about the heat. Still, we should at least be able to manage wearing solid white undergarments under gauzy white clothing.
Your own queries about underwear, and other aspects of dressing with Perfect Propriety, are always welcome!