Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for August 11, 2003

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Aug. 11, 2003 | 8:11 a.m.

Lingerie legislation

If you've never followed advice dispensed by your mother, do yourself a favor this once and, on Wednesday, take her "always wear clean underwear" mantra to heart.

Don your threadbare "lucky" boxers and bras (if you must) another time not when people will be marching in the streets attempting to gain National Underwear Day the recognition some say it deserves.

Here's a briefs explainer: Beginning at 7 a.m., the skivvies specialists at online undergarment retailer Freshpair.com plan to send two dozen fashion models wearing only their unmentionables and armed with petitions in need of signing into bustling New York City in an effort to get the day designated as a holiday, of sorts. Gee, you can almost hear the chimes of, "I see London, I see France ..." already.

Won't be in the Big Apple to catch the, um, unveilings? No problem: Petitions (which will be forwarded to government agencies) can also be signed on the website. While the company isn't urging morning commuters to join the barely clothed spectacle, it does suggest people everywhere show their support and a wee bit of their undies by leaving a shirt button open in solidarity.

For those unsure whether drawers deserve their own holiday, the Freshpair folks have compiled a bit of revealing trivia about "the underappreciated garments that are first to go on and last to come off":

That shrinking feeling

Whether or not Underwear Day actually earns its props, on Thursday there will inevitably be tons of stinky shorts in desperate need of washing.

Drop the detergent boxes, ladies: Appliance giant General Electric maker of GE Profile Harmony-brand washers and dryers has designated August National Men Do Laundry Month. Through a recent survey it commissioned, the company learned that one out of 10 men are clueless when it comes to laundering clothes.

Besides offering guys sorting tips separate cottons from synthetic blends; heavy items from lighters ones and hints for running the machines avoid overloading the washer and dryer; save energy by keeping the lint screen and exhaust system clean GE is also sponsoring its Ludicrous Laundry Stories contest.

Log on to geharmony.com through Sept. 8 to submit a 100-word essay detailing your husband/significant other's most outrageous laundry goofs. Fifty tales will be chosen at random, and from those a panel of judges will post five on the company's website. A grand-prize winner selected from those finalists will be awarded a GE Profile Harmony Clothes Care System (in other words, a washer and dryer). Here's hoping the set comes with detailed operating instructions.