A 50-something housewife, the reason I don't own a single T-shirt

Hello, this is Candy.

The season has started to feel like summer, so I was organizing the clothes in my closet.

I was looking at each hanger one by one, thinking, 'Ah, this season has come again this year'.

That's when I realized something amazing. (laughs)

And that is

I don't own a single T-shirt.

To be precise, not only do I not have T-shirts, I have almost no so-called cut-and-sew tops either.

Except for sweaters I wear in winter, my tops are remarkably
all'collared shirts'.

A 54-year-old housewife.
When I opened my closet, what was lined up there wasn't soft cut-and-sew tops or cool T-shirts, but collars, collars, and more collars.

It's like a small shirt specialty shop (laughs)

Hearing just this, you might think the following.

'Wow, is Candy-san a put-together person?'

Part of that is correct.

When I wear a crisp collared shirt, whether it's a holiday or I'm traveling, my posture somehow straightens up.

Even on days when I'm just going shopping in the neighborhood, just having a collar helps me switch into gear.

But actually, there is a completely different reason.

It is my own survival strategy born from

'complexes'
.

I have always been slender with a thin neck.

So, what happens when I wear a T-shirt or a cut-and-sew top?

...I look like a matchstick (laughs)

When I was young, it was truly a case of 'the grass is always greener on the other side'.

A soft, feminine cut-and-sew top with a wide neckline.
I think they look so relaxed, cool, and somehow sophisticated.

Or, I think about how I'd love to look dashing in a cool T-shirt with a logo.

Every time I see someone wearing those clothes with such ease, I feel so envious, so very envious.

And I have tried many times.

But.

"No, it's no use, I still look like a matchstick."

I quietly put it back on the shelf.

I don't know how many times I've repeated this.

However, as I've gotten older, things have changed.

When I wear a collared shirt, I've started hearing things like,
"You always look so clean and neat."
"A shirt style is your signature look; it really suits you."

The collared shirts I once chose as a "way out" have, before I knew it, become my signature style.

Come to think of it, something similar happened to my mother.

My mother has very unruly hair.
In the past, perhaps longing for silky straight hair, there was a time she tried to force it to grow out and somehow calm it down.

But then, all of a sudden, she seemed to let go of that struggle.

"I'm going to become an old lady like Fujiko Hemming."

From that point on, my mother was fast!

Instead of forcing her unruly hair down, she decided to embrace its fluffiness.
She even started wearing cute headbands.

And what do you know?

Even to me, her daughter, she suddenly transformed into a "Parisian-style grandmother" that no one could imitate.

She was just incredibly stylish.

Rather than trying to wear things that don't suit you,
it turns out that embracing your own natural quirks can make you look so wonderful.

Looking at my mother, that is what I thought.

If that's the case, what will I become?

I can't be a Parisian grandmother with fluffy hair.

But I might be able to become a refreshing grandmother who wears crisp, pure white shirts.

The result of that thought is
my current wardrobe.

White shirts,
striped shirts,
linen shirts,
cotton shirts.
Except for winter sweaters, it is impressively all collared shirts.

When I was young, I would look enviously at people who looked good in cut-and-sew tops.

But now at 54, rather than spending my time with an envious face,

"Yes, I am a shirt specialist"
by resigning myself to that,wouldn't I be able to spend my time more comfortably by fully enjoying my own style?

I feel like I have finally reached that state of mind.

So, this summer too, I will go with collared shirts.

To avoid looking like a matchstick.

And to become a grandmother who can effortlessly wear a pure white shirt someday.

…Though the ironing is a pain, admittedly💦