Balenciaga.
Totokaelo. Noah. Brunello.
Quick, are those
a.
Characters in the Old Testament?
b. The
names of emperors of the ancient Roman Empire ?
c.
Designer/fashion names?
d. Italian
economics professors who wrote and just released a best-selling book?
If you said (c) then you may know more about the fashion
world than I do. That’s a pretty low bar
to clear, roughly the equivalent of being able to put your name at the top of
an exam paper but not answer any of the questions. Nevertheless, you’ve got a head start over
me. I only learned those names when I
read an article about a new fashion trend in the Wall Street Journal online recently. (And you thought the WSJ only published stock prices and financial news.)
I would have skipped over the article if it hadn’t been for
the lead-in: “’Dad Style’ Is Now in Fashion”.
The gist of the article (at least as I understood it; it was
largely written in an unfamiliar fashion vernacular) was that clothes your
later-middle-age father might have worn—and still be wearing—is in vogue
again. Baggy pants. Oversized shirts. Larger sneakers. Even jeans. Think late 1980’s Jerry Seinfeld.
Not sloppy, mind you.
The trend is toward comfortable, well-fitting, and even utilitarian. As the article’s author, Jacob Gallagher,
wrote, “Dads need clothes that can withstand boogers, pizza sauce and whatever
mystery substances fatherhood throws their way.”
And Dad clothes are so much easier to slip on than
skin-tight jeans which don’t do much to flatter the average middle-age male
physique anyway.
I’m heartened at the new-found acceptance of something I’ve
never given up, but I have to admit to being cynical of the fashion gurus. I highly doubt they’ve developed a permanent
affinity for utility in clothing. I
believe it’s more an attempt to sell some new old clothes to people who never
owned this style before or who discarded them in some misguided attempt to be
cool a few years back. I’m hopeful
people will permanently embrace, if not this particular style, then at least the mindset of
not throwing money at each new fashion trend that comes along.
And that’s my point in even bringing up fashion in a blog
devoted to personal finance. If you like
your clothes, they’re comfortable, presentable, and clean, why would you
abandon them in favor of what someone else is telling you is in fashion? Someone stands to make a lot of money on
those who try to keep pace with what designers say we should wear. Trying to, as they say, “keep up with the
Joneses” is almost never a good idea.
The article made no mention of my personal favorite clothing
item, cargo pants. I read a few years
ago that men sitting on their wallets in their back pants pockets for long
periods of time can lead to hip and leg problems. Solution: cargo pants, with the pockets in
the side of the leg. Cell phones seem
like a necessary tool these days, but where to carry them? Solution: cargo pants, with the perfectly
sized slot-pocket. Working around the
house, those easily accessible pockets can hold nails, screws, small tools
(check for these items before laundering).
Men just can’t beat this clothing item for pure utility.
Balenciago, or whoever, would probably tell me I need a
man-purse for my stuff. I happily and
proudly hold my wife’s purse while she tries on clothes in the department
store. But I will not own a
man-purse. Ever.
And if anyone tries to bring back the 1970’s leisure suit,
the most hideous men’s fashion idea of my lifetime, I’m afraid of what I might
do to that person.
Until next time,
Roger
“Why worry about
clothes? Look how the wild flowers
grow. They don’t work hard to make their
clothes. But I tell you that Solomon in
all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of them. Matthew 6:28, 29 CEV
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