To Be Or Not To Be

[Undertow]

I live my life in such a way as to be true to my own values, my own ethics, and my own tastes. If those tastes, values, and ethics tend to coincide more with those of 70 years ago than those of today, well, it ain't nobody's business but my own.

:eusa_clap

My feelings exactly! That's why I don't exactly fit in to all these discussions. I'm not really into the Golden Era, per se, and I don't make it a point to buy vintage unless it's affordable and available.

I just live my life as always and occasionally others brand me as eccentric.

 

[KL15]

Most of this starts with the rock 'n' roll look that began in the mid 50's. Dungarees, penny loafers, white t-shirts, black leather jacket, that sort of thing. It began, I think, as rebellion. Which I love. Well these kids were not going to stay kids forever so that followed them into adulthood. Once upon a time it was a man's rite of passage to wear suits and hats. When the rock 'n' roll thing started, it became fashionable to rebel to all that your parents did. Well you have to keep raising that bar to rebel against the parents, that when they were young, were the original rockers. So here we are. Now the whole thing has flipped, and wearing the suits and lids is rebelling in a way.

 

[hargist]

Is it because people nowadays feel that it's just more comfortable to wear shirt and jeans? The more you dress up, the more uncomfortable it becomes. The more casual, the more freedom. You know what I mean. No pain no gain. But society today cares more about how it feels rather than how it looks.

Actually, I stopped wearing jeans because I found them to be uncomfortable. I never liked them even as a kid, but I wore them anyway because that was all I knew and that's what everyone else wore. They are stiff until you break them in and they shrink when you wash them.

I discovered that a nice pair of trousers is much more comfortable. The fit better and they are often lighter.

I don't think it occurs to people that they can wear other things and still be casual. Casual to most means jeans. Period. It is the uniform for our time.

 

[hargist]

Most of this starts with the rock 'n' roll look that began in the mid 50's. Dungarees, penny loafers, white t-shirts, black leather jacket, that sort of thing. It began, I think, as rebellion. Which I love. Well these kids were not going to stay kids forever so that followed them into adulthood. Once upon a time it was a man's rite of passage to wear suits and hats. When the rock 'n' roll thing started, it became fashionable to rebel to all that your parents did. Well you have to keep raising that bar to rebel against the parents, that when they were young, were the original rockers. So here we are. Now the whole thing has flipped, and wearing the suits and lids is rebelling in a way.

Well said. That's exactly where I'm at, but also a little more. Rebellion is part of it, but hats and suits make me feel more confident. I feel better when I look good.

 

[Edward]

There's a huge difference in immersing one's self in a vintage era and attempting to actually live it by rejecting reality. It's time for those nice young men in their clean white coats.......

Bravo, sir! :eusa_clap

I believe that with each new trend in society, we need to think "is thisbeneficial or not" - I don't care for the culture of "we will because we can." While I would (obviously) never be so extreme as they, there are things we can learn from the Amish in this respect. Equally, if we remain in thrall to the past, we are not open to progress. As I see it, what it is about is retaining the positives of the past, while seeking to improve where we fall short in the future. Sure, it's fun to pretend it's the 30s, or the 50s, or whatever for a night / weekend, but to actively try to escape back in time to that era is a bit, well.... silly, IMO.

2. Dressing up is a reaction to everyone else dressing down. It also shows that you don't have to dress vulgar in order to get attention. For me, looking nice is a form of rebellion. Instead of being punk or whatever, dressing up is a form of rebellion to the casual dress down culture. I used to be a jeans and t-shirt guy, until one day I got so sick of my style (or lack of it) that I made a complete reversal. I had said for years that you never lose points for looking good. I simply started practicing what I was preaching. I haven't owned a pair of jeans in probably five or six years.

Ultimately, one should dress in clothes that makes you feel good about yourself.

Sir, in rebelling, as you do, against your peers by wearing your own thing and not acccepting the "uniform" that others seek to impose on you, you are infinitely more punk rock in your manner of dress than anyone who ever donned a leather jacket and ripped jeans because the Daily Mirror told them to in a "how to be a punk" article, or because "Dee Dee Ramone did it, so it must be punk" (as Johnny Rotten once put it, "Imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery - it's the greatest insult").

The people who truly conform are those who box themselves into a single manner of dress. I've always seen it as something positive if one can have a wardrobe that carries garments to one's taste and for all occasions. A man truly knows how to dress when he can dress appropriately, knowing when to stand out and when to blend in.

 

[Easy Money]

Actually, I stopped wearing jeans because I found them to be uncomfortable. I never liked them even as a kid, but I wore them anyway because that was all I knew and that's what everyone else wore. They are stiff until you break them in and they shrink when you wash them.

I discovered that a nice pair of trousers is much more comfortable. The fit better and they are often lighter.

I don't think it occurs to people that they can wear other things and still be casual. Casual to most means jeans. Period. It is the uniform for our time.

I agree Fridays are casual in my office and employees are allowed to wear jeans. I prefer dockers and from the respose I get from other employees you would think I had no pants at all on. It amazes me that I am looked at as conforming in my dress pants and button down. I'm not conforming to the non-conformers???[huh]

My shirts were pressed and there was a crease in my trouser long before I found the FL. The FL has just helped me improve on the look. I wear what I wear because it is what I feel comfortable in. My gray fedora looks a whole lot better than some dirty baseball hat.

 

[HadleyH]

I mean... who cares so much about jeans or other outer things ...that means nothing to me. It's always the inner that matters most. Sure, it's nice to the eyes to see a person dressed in lovely vintage ( and thanks to everybody who does it I DO love it :eusa_clap ) ...but me , I close my eyes and travel in time with my mind, listening to Isham Jones or Roger Wolf Kahn, or read a book about the crazy twenties or watch a movie of flapper Clara Bow ... The mind always carry me further, outer activities take me only thus far ...[huh]

 

[Diamondback]

It's kinda funny, with my wardrobe: no matter where I go, it seems like I'm always taken for an employee. To the point that while visiting the Tar Pits in LA, I had some twit accost me about "There's a bird caught in the tar! So are you going to do something about it?" as if I worked there.

Sorry, pet peeve.
CLUE-BAT #1: Most employees in places like that at least wear nametags if not full badges. I don't.

CLUE-BAT #2: You'd think a guy sitting with his eightysomething grandmother would be something of a subtle cue that MAYBE it's not an employee?

CLUE-BAT #3: Two-pocket khaki collared shirts are not considered "normal attire" for the employees of most civilian institutions, and few military ones anymore.

[voice=Dennis Miller]"I don't mean to get off on a rant here, but...[/voice] *fuming*

Okay, deep breath, count to ten.

 

[ScarlettTurner]

Great thread.
I wish more people would actually think about how they are dressing. Looking at boobs, butts, and bellies get old! lol