I've gone ahead and ordered one of these zippered one piece garments on eBay. In keeping with you can never have too much nylon tricot (as in I didn't exactly need another garment), I haven't seen a zippered garment in 20 years or so. The person who is selling them on eBay (eddiewouldsell) seems very legitimate. For those of you who haven't used eBay or Paypall, I have been a member as a buyer and seller for over 20 years and it is completely safe as anything on the internet. There was a time when The Church was able to pressure eBay not to sell these sacred garments to the public in the same way they also banned Nazi memorabilia--strange comparison! The Mormon Church only sells these sacred temple garments in distribution centers or online to "members in good standing" which means you have a temple recommend card that shows you are current with your tithing and are "temple worthy" according to your bishop. Well, don't need to get into all that, but eddiewouldsell is providing a service to those people who feel the need to wear these garments even if they are no longer considered worthy for whatever reason. Of course I'm only concerned with the "corban" or nylon tricot variety. Side note, I googled "Corban" and other than a Corban University, the definition is a little vague. My favorite meaning is that it is a "meaningful gift from God." I certainly think so, I'm currently wearing 2 of them as it is so cold here! I will confirm my transaction when I receive mine and let you all know. I'm not sure what sort of access eddiewouldsell has to the nearest distribution center or if he can take orders for other types of garments (two piece, nylon mesh, etc.) but you can communicate with him yourself via eBay. I also gave him some suggestions that he might want to consider making his auctions "private" which means no one can look up on your buying profile and see what you have purchased. He can also list what sizes he has available so you don't have to contact him directly to inquire. I also thought he might want to explain that corban is, in fact, nylon tricot--and can then use all the buzz words about being "light weight," "easy to pack", dries fast, and the ever popular "wicks away moisture." |
3 comments:
I think you're a tad unfair with your assessment of bri nylon shirts. In the sixties and early seventies, nylon shirts defined the look of a generation of young men throughout the British Commonwealth and while I was aware of them prior to puberty, it was only at high school that I realized how cool drip dry nylon shirts were. Sleeves rolled up, loosened tie and smooth, gleaming, body contoured space age fabric... the look was breathtaking and the feel unforgettable.
I remember at the start of secondary school going to the uniform shop with my mother and being offered the choice of either crisp, bright, smooth nylon shirts or scratchy creased cotton? Although a feckless ambivalent youth, for me it was a quick decision and I've often wondered what sort of knucklehead would have selected scratchy cotton?
For the next six successive years, just like a mormon and his church mandated Corban temple undergarments, I along with most of my mates wore smart easy care white bri nylon uniform shirts daily without guilt or embarrassment. American guys just don't know what they missed!
http://www.nbhsoba.net/images/Dick's%20Photos/Class%20Photos/NBHS/NBHS%201969%204D.jpg
I'm not sure how I was unfair in my assessment of bri-nylon shirts, but it was certainly not my intent--me of all people! I apologize for any perceived slight and have added a comment to the posted photo as well. As I mention, I was actually living in London when your class photo was taken in 1969 (I was class of 1966) but had no idea they were being worn or even existed. Thank you so much for the wonderful class photo with all those shirts! I hope you won't mind if I post it in the future?
Again, my apologies.....
No offense taken Bro... As you know, nylon shirts never took hold in the US. The farm subsidized local cotton cartels made sure of that and what shirts were manufactured targeted the super fly disco Qiana crowd rather than the general office/school market.
In that context, your ambivalence is understandable.
And speaking of Qiana... what the heck was that? Apart from the fact that only an airline should be allowed to have a "Q" without a "U", you do have to wonder what horrors they did in the lab to make it so iridescent. It looks like protective gear you might wear to a toxic nuclear dump site. Qiana seems like a crazy chemical experiment gone horribly wrong and, again to my point, should in no way cloud anyone's view of classic bri nylon shirts.
I do have to say that photo you used to illustrate nylon shirts is in all probability a fake: It sort of has the drape of nylon but lacks the milky soft contours at the the edges: More than likely a sad 60/40 polyester cotton hybrid, hurriedly developed by Big Cotton when they realized in the late sixties that their share of the British shirt manufacturing business had shrunk (like their fabric) to alarmingly flaccid levels.
Finally, I do find it astounding that you never encountered nylon shirts when you lived in Britain. You must have been mixing with a very tweedy tartan country set. That was the only British demographic that failed to embrace the wonders of Bri Nylon. With a stiff upper lip, they stubbornly hung onto their cheerless upholstered crumpled cotton shirts and no doubt cruelly foisted the same on their luckless sons at Eaton.
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