After a horrendous fire season in which my house, along with many others, almost became enveloped in flames, Los Angeles saw its first drops of rain in a while a few weeks ago. That was a clear signal to me to bring out perhaps my favorite item of clothing I own: long johns.
Yes, I really own them and yes, I am going to devote a post to their magical ways because I am not exaggerating when I say that I had a horrible, terrible case of the Mondays, and writing about long johns is sort of refreshing after the soul crushing, depressing day I had.
Though traditionally this one-piece is known as a “union suit,” it has somehow come to be known, at least in the U.S. as long johns -a term that is usually referred to a type of two-piece long underwear. Originally designed for women, the first union suit was patented in 1868 as “emancipation union under flannel.”
Michael Quinion, who writes about international English from a British viewpoint atWorld Wide Words has dug up a paragraph from the June, 3, 1944 edition of Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune which suggests the origin of at least the “john” in “long john” comes from John L. Sullivan, the famous boxer who allegedly wore the garment.
Though their popularity has long since tapered off, there are a few places that still carry them – and believe me, I searched far and wide to find the perfect ones that happen to be found at American Apparel. In fact, I have two pairs, one in black and the other in forest green. Don’t judge me.
Long johns make me feel all warm and tingly. If I could, I would stay in them day in and day out. Yes, they are that comfortable. There’s nothing you can’t do in long johns. You can read, eat, watch television, write, have a phone conversation and even sleep in them, which is what I do any time Los Angeles turns into a normal city and exhibits a bit of seasonality.
You can even do jumping jacks in them. Seriously. They are THAT cool.
The only downside to long johns (and for some it might be a big one) is that if you live in colder climates, going to the bathroom might be a chilling feat. But really, this is a small price to pay for such a magnificent piece of clothing. They are so magical, that whenever I put them on, I feel like busting out into a song and dance sequence with “You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall and Oates, because they really make my dreams come true.
