What Not To Wear

Last night a good friend told me that I am the worst-dressed person she knows. I laughed and asked if she was serious. She thought for a few seconds and said, "Well, my grandfather's pretty bad, too." Then I laughed much harder - it was very funny to me that she came up with one specific eighty-something that she would put in my class.

Let's be clear about a few things: 1) My friend was not being mean and I don't expect that she's actually thought through everyone she knows and ranked us all.

2) To say that fashion has never been my passion would be a gross understatement*. It is not the least bit important to me to be wearing the newest, hottest, most cutting-edge thing. As a matter of fact, I often think the newest, hottest, most cutting-edge things look insane, stupid, uncomfortable, or some combination thereof. (See Post from Oct. '05) Perhaps I am not imaginative enough to understand fashion trends until they are very mainstream. Maybe I am timid and afraid to be fashionably bold. Maybe I just don't have a good eye for these things.

My goal in dressing myself is (and I have never tried to articulate this before, but I believe this generally covers it) to cover all of the things that need covering with clean clothing articles and look presentable and appropriate for the places I'm going and activities in which I'm engaging. Secondarily (once I believe the aforementioned guidelines have been met), I'd like to look "good." I generally choose clothing items that are somewhat classic in nature so that I can be pretty sure that if I'm covering the primary goals, the secondary should be well-enough taken care of.

I would say I spend about 80% of my time in khaki trousers** and a polo-type collar shirt or button-down dress shirt. Am I wrong about the level of fashion acceptance accorded these items? I think I see a lot of other people wearing them, too.*** Or is it the other 20% of outfits I wear...



(That's me in the red above.) Yes, perhaps it is what I wear when I'm out of my normal uniform. Believe you me, I'll be keeping a close eye on fashion from here on out****.

* When I was younger, I didn't like khaki pants. Bright red were my dress slacks of choice until about age 10. Maybe 12.
** The staff here at ZBR likes the word "trousers."
*** Not that that, alone, would make them okay. If I saw those same people jumping of a bridge...
**** No. That's not true. I don't think I will.