The Fatherhood Wardrobe
If you were on the game show Family Feud and your prompt was to name an article of clothing that would be in a father’s wardrobe, you’d probably come up with the common answers. A tie, a bathrobe, a suit, some sweatpants. If you were going for classic fatherhood apparel a sweater, slippers, and maybe even a smoking jacket would make the list.
As often as these stereotypical articles of clothing are found in Dad’s closet, I think there’s another less well-known set of apparel that readily identifies a father too. Take a look at this list and see if it doesn’t hold true for your dad.
Grass mowing shoes – They may look like an ordinary pair of old and tore up sneakers, but to Dad they’re indispensable and serve a particular purpose. They don’t make him run faster, jump higher, or look trendy, but once he puts them on all the kids know it’s yardwork time.
A fire pit jacket – This may only be me, but due to the inordinate number of times a spark has been flung out of the fire and burned through my shirt, I have a designated jacket I wear when around the fire with the boys. It’s the one with lots of little burns and a few holes. Even if the dad you know doesn’t hang out around fires much, or maybe hangs around less volatile fires, he probably does have a jacket for a particular activity. Somes dads have a golf jacket, or a hunting jacket, or a walking jacket, but as creatures of habit dads almost always have an activity jacket.
A teenage t-shirt – This is a t-shirt that may or may not fit that is either a teenager itself or from the dad’s teenage years. It’s likely not in particularly good shape. But it fits the dad, or the 17-year-old he still thinks he is, perfectly. I have a handful of these. I’ve come to terms with the idea that I’m not going to wear most of them anymore. But in just a few years my older boys will be able to and it seems like that would be pretty neat. Something tells me they won’t see it that way though.
A grilling apron – The dad joke or pun on the front isn’t what makes it Dad’s grilling apron, although there’s often one on there. The fact that Dad bought it isn’t what makes it Dad’s grilling apron because almost certainly it was a gift. It’s Dad’s grilling apron because when he puts it on Dad goes into “grilling mode.” Uniforms help distinguish people in lots of roles, and Dad’s apron is no different.
House shoes with outdoor soles – At least this is something a dad should have. It’s like the classic slippers except with a hard sole intended for wear outdoors. So, taking out the trash, getting the mail, or walking back and forth to the grill to check on the meat all become easy to accomplish without having to put on shoes. And not having to put on shoes is a big part of domestic fatherhood.
Tube socks – I don’t know how these socks can perpetually be out of style but always around. Yet they manage to pull off both of these things generation after generation. And generation after generation dads have them in their sock drawers and are wearing them up to their knees in the summer.