Clothes make the man (less naked, maybe)

I like to laugh at people who get caught up in fashion trends.  I’m speaking and thinking specifically of miniskirts in combo with those stupid eskimo boots with superfuzz on top, but this applies in a more general sense, too.

I think I’m really acutely aware of this because I work in a bar that serves college-aged kids, and I work also on a college campus (coincidentally, we also cater to college-aged kids).  I like to think this is more of a high-school thing, but I witness every day that it follows you in adulthood, too.

If a trend catches up with you, people will generally spot your honest intentions.  Just because suddenly everyone is wearing exactly the same things that you’ve worn for twenty years — because you’re comfortable in them, not because it’s kewl and trendy —  that’s one thing, and it’s okay.  Even if you’re the hideous woman who started the miniskirt and eskimo boot thing.

It’s when you’re dressing to impress that I laugh (or worry, or maybe both).  Who exactly are you trying to impress?  What does dressing like everyone else say about you as a personality?  And how can you afford to shift your wardrobe every year?

My views stem partially from necessity — I’ve never had the kind of money required to be overly self-conscious of what I’m wearing.  I could, of course, have taken the alternate route — the road littered with the refuse of a million slackers — and shopped exclusively at thrift stores, going for that “GenX/Skater/Too Cool for You” look.  But I never really wanted to look like Ethan Hawke, or anyone else from Dead Poets Society, for that matter.

Odds are pretty good that you’ll find me in a t-shirt  and jeans — maybe ripped, maybe not.  Depends on how old they are, and if I’ve felt like buying clothes in the last six months.  I own a fair number of button-down shirts, some sweaters, courduroy pants, shorts, even a tux — and you might catch me wearing one or more of the above.  Perhaps I’m in the mood.  Probably not.

My clothes can tell you a lot about me, if you’re perceptive and careful to analyze.  The only thing the trendy person’s clothes tell me about him or her is that there’s not much of a personality underneath.

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