Every week a different FADER staff member will pick a clothing item or accessory that he or she has lately been spending a lot of time with—or would like to—and write a little love letter to it. We would’ve done a column on who we’re dating but that seemed a little bit much. This week Hanly writes about her denim collared shirt.
I have some serious "TV Mom" nostalgia. Countless grade-school afternoons spent sitting on the couch watching Home Improvement probably has something to do with that. And while Tim "The Toolman" Taylor had a certain dumb-but-good-natured masculine charisma, what I really loved was Jill Taylor's nagging-but-always-right mother bit. I don't watch Home Improvement anymore, but when I come across a now-outdated Taylor number while browsing the racks at a thrift store, I get weak in the knees. I've become so obsessed with capturing the look of the '90s sitcom mom that I even considered starting a blog called "Looks 4 Momz" that showcases my fave ensembles. (I will never actually do this, so please someone feel free to steal my idea). But a good pair of overalls or Talbots original floral prints can be surprisingly difficult to find, and I feel lucky to have found the ultimate mom shirt hanging on the ten-dollar rack at Horizons on Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn.
A perfect mix of denim and white cotton, it's the kind of shirt that probably looks best when you're crossing your arms in disappointment of your husband's failed hot rod project while simultaneously yelling "Teee-ummmm!" The way the sleeves would hang—cuffed ever-so-loosely while you shake your fist at your three sons (Brad, Mark, and JTT) who have just scampered down to the basement to make trouble and avoid your tirade. It sounds pedantic, but maybe I just secretly want to be the toolman's wife, because no matter what happens, no matter what the catastrophe, the episode always ends with Mom wearing an awesome outfit and making some sort of macaroni casserole.