over-sized sweater

There is profound comfort to be found in an over-sized sweater. I get why girlfriends have asked for them kindly, and sported them so beamingly, as if only my ownership offered them happiness in their baggy-clothed appearance. Something greater hangs slackly from your arms in an oversized sweater. Perhaps it's the miniature feeling, the way our wrists slide themselves down and in the sleeves. The drifting edge of the shoulder opening. The hanging paunch of pockets.

More than a layer of warmth, an over-sized sweater is another entity. A shell of protection, a display of personality. An instant insistance of function over fashion. "Here I am," our draped apparel proclaims, "but to my wearer I am everywhere." A world inside an over-sized sweater. An escape route through two sleeves and a neck hole. A safe haven to be taken with you. Worn closely. Enjoyed thoroughly.