Shackets, nap dresses, other quandaries

DEAR ANN: What is a “shacket?” I would rather not enter the term into a search engine because it sounds vaguely obscene. Thank you for your help.

DEAR READER: You are absolutely correct in choosing not to search the term, because if you did, you’d get inanities like this from a CNN.com style piece:

“A shacket is a crossover between a shirt and a jacket… it’s usually a little oversized and looks like a shirt, but made from a heavier material. And while the heavier material helps distinguish this piece of outerwear from a shirt, it’s also not quite a jacket. For starters, there’s typically no hood or lining. And while you can layer a shacket underneath heavier outerwear, it’s more often layered over tees, tanks or longsleeved shirts.”

Doesn’t sound inane to you? Well, it would if you were looking at the accompanying photos like I’m doing right now, and it’s all I can do not to shriek, “It’s a flannel, it’s a flannel, it is simply a flannel, stop calling it something else because IT IS A FLANNEL.”

Are you kidding me, “made from a heavier material?” It’s called flannel.

I think I’d be more accepting of this contrived awe if it included some small acknowledgement that while the term is new, the article of clothing itself is as old as time, or at least as old as the 1985 classic “The Breakfast Club” in which Judd Nelson wears the look to perfection (red shacket-I-meanflannel with cut-off sleeves atop a tight-fitting thermal).

So despite not knowing the term, you probably already own several shackets, and you should feel free to wear them out and about while they’re enjoying a moment.

Also, not that you asked, but I recently learned of the term the “nap dress,” and as a sewing enthusiast, at first I thought it referenced the texture of the fabric.

The term “nap,” in sewing, refers to the direction of the fibers. It’s really noticeable in corduroy or velour, and the direction it usually points is down.

For instance, if you’re a guest at somebody’s house, and you wash your hands in the kitchen so you can help chop vegetables or whatever, and they offer you a guest towel, and you do the Midwestern lady thing of saying, “Oh no, I don’t need to crumple that good towel, I’ll just use my skirt,” and then give your hands a shake and run them down the front of your skirt, what you’re doing — in addition to ineffectively and unsanitarily drying your hands — is smoothing the nap.

So, this is what I thought the nap skirt was about, i.e., somehow showcasing the nap itself as a feature of the garment.

It seemed totally on-trend with both gender-fluidity and neurodiversity that we’d invert the usual rule of fiber direction, so that garments like corduroy or velour or faux fur or microsuede would defy convention and provide the wearer with sensory stimulation.

Sadly, I was wrong. “Nap dress” refers to a poufy-sleeved nightgownish dress that’s comfortable enough to wear while napping, yet looks plausibly not-slept-in when you wake up just in time for a cameras-on Zoom meeting.

I would probably be delighted by this concept had I not originally thought it was about something subversive and sewing-related. Alas, as your original hunch suggested, some things are better left not-Googled.

DEAR ANN: Is there some way I can be stylish and festive on Valentine’s Day, without wearing red or pink? Neither are flattering to my skin tone.

DEAR READER: Color theory to the rescue. Go with a subdued green, either mossy or grassy or lime. You’ll be festive by way of being supportive, by way of being complementary to all the red and pink in the room.

And, bonus, you’ll have a head start on classy St. Patrick’s Day attire.

DEAR ANN: Nail polish has gotten so complicated, I’m afraid to get a manicure any more because I don’t know what I’m supposed to want. I don’t think I want gel-anything. I definitely don’t want acrylics. I really don’t want tiny seasonal vignettes, not even on one finger. Any guidance would be appreciated because I usually enjoy a manicure midway through the winter but this year I’m just not sure I can handle it. Thank you.

DEAR READER: Fortunately for you, white polish is trending, and that’s as simple as it gets. White-white or pinkish white, matte or glossy, opaque or translucent.

Stride into any local nail salon, announce you’d like the hottest-trending white in old-school non-gel polish, and then take a seat and prepare to enjoy a midwinter oasis of warmth, exfoliation and elegance.

Got

Submit it at annrosenquistfee.com (click on Ann’s Fashion Fortunes).

Ann Rosenquist Fee is executive director of the Arts Center of Saint Peter and host of Live from the Arts Center, a music and interview show Thursdays 1-2 p.m. on KMSU 89.7FM.