Is This Where It Goes?

Perhaps the most interesting modern trend in dress is that we keep turning undergarments into outer garments. No sooner was the jacket left behind than some began removing their shirts. And now the undershirts are disappearing. It's a trend that can't go much further - Mr. Timberlake is running out of clothes.

As more of us spend the majority of our lifespans in temperature controlled environments, it follows that, social proscriptions aside, nudity could replace underwear as outerwear. At least among the young. Anyone who's been to a nude beach realizes that an undressed mass of middle aged people is remarkably unattractive.

That large obstacle aside, or perhaps because of it, people are taking better care of their bodies and there's a growing demand for tattoos, piercings and body painting intended to complement the visible skin. According to Wikipedia, a 2003 online poll found that 16% of all adults in the United States had at least one tattoo, and I saw, and lost track of, another reference that said the incidence is up to 24% today. It can only go higher, and it will.

But I don't think that the fully decorated nude look is going to go much beyond entertainers attempting to pump up their careers. For one thing, it's in fundamental conflict with too many other trends, not the least of them the Muslim belief in modest dress for both men and women.

My bet is that the pendulum is about to begin swinging in the other direction. Most of that body art will be seen only in private.