I recently asked my wife if the new collarless shirts we wear in TDCJ make me look like a psych-patient. She said, “No – it’s just you!” Hmm.
Like all changes in our clothing or its design, this one had nothing to do with fashion, style, or taste – and everything to do with budget cuts. It simply takes less material to make a shirt without a collar – so it had to go. (The collar, I mean – luckily we still have shirts!) It takes even less material to make a shirt without a pocket – or without sleeves! – but let’s hope noone comes up with THAT idea…
For as long as anyone can remember, the inmates in TDCJ have worn solid white clothing. I don’t know whether it was some revolutionary idea that someone came up with, or if it was due to the fact that TDCJ grows its own cotton and makes its own clothes, so it’s CHEAPER – though I can’t think of any other states whose inmates wear solid white clothing. The tradition has persisted, though. Many things have changed about the clothes we wear, but not their color.
When I first came to TDCJ, we wore white pants and shirts, of course – but they were vastly different. Back then, we had our “own” clothes, with an orange tag on each item, complete with our name, number, and shower box number. As these clothes were washed and sorted, they’d be placed in the designated box they belonged in, and you’d get the same ones, time after time. You’d go to shower and say, “Box 52,” get your clothes, and there’d be no confusion about whose they were or whether they’d fit.
The pants were like Levi’s 501’s, in the sense that they buttoned up in the front, and had belt loops for the leather belt that each inmate was issued.
First to go were the belts, since so many inmates used them as weapons – for example, by looping them through a steel combination lock, which was readily available on commissary. They could then swing this apparatus at somebody, causing serious damage to whichever poor guy disrespected them or owed them money.
The pants (which came complete with pockets in front and back) were the next casualty of the budget – to be replaced with maternity-style pants with an elastic waistband. These could (and still can!) be labeled as 1x, 2x, 3x, etc. But this labelling isn’t an exact science (ESPECIALLY with inmates making the clothes!) so there is much discrepancy between various pairs of, say, 2x pants. This gave rise to the “sagging” phenomenon that is so prevalent today. It’s not at all uncommon to receive a pair of pants that are way too baggy, even though they are technically your size. Besides – in prison, it’s always preferable to have your pants a little too big, instead of a little too TIGHT!
The shirts have basically remained the same, for all these years, except for the removal of the orange tag on the pocket that made it your own. Some inmates still have personalized clothes, such as I did, when I worked for the Major. The laundry personnel will simply write your name and job on the pocket with a permanent marker, and you’ll be given a laundry bag to turn them in with.
Alas, I lost that privilege recently, as a result of my job change. Mattress factory workers are nobody special, for sure, so I’m wearing the same clothes as everyone else. Occasionally, someone will end up with the shirt or pants that still say “Matthews, Major’s SSI” on the pocket, and they’ll joke with me about it. “Look! I’M the new Major’s SSI!” 🙂
The clothes don’t make the man, they say, so I like to think that it was me making the pretty clothes look good, and not the reverse. One of these days I may end up with another good job, but in the meantime I can make even a collarless, ill-fitting set of clothes look good! At least, I’ll do my best. So says DannyBoy.
DannyBoyinExile 