Last edited by formby (2013-08-17 12:53:24)

It depends what sort of men you are talking about because they are different from class to class and region to region and now age to age.

Lower middle class American men generally find anything but the most boiled down, plainest of plain clothes to be a sign of femininity if not outright degeneracy. They seem to always be defending and proving their masculinity and suspecting that of others.

Baby Boomers want out of nice clothes whiles the Millennials want into nice clothes.

Upper Class men will wear something with more flair if they dont have to interact with Joe Public, otherwise they will wear "politician gear".

Lower class men often love clothes and I think it is because clothes for men represent status. In many ways, they have more in common with the upper class than either class has with the middle class.

However, I think most men select their clothing based on a figure they admire in the media. Additionally, I am convinced that because men judge women on age, they think others judge them on it too and they select clothes they think make them look younger.

When it comes to the actual clothes, most men have no critical eye and cannot select colors or fit properly for themselves. Part of that is the denial that doing this well takes practice and part of it is the double whammy that spending time to become good at it is not manly and would put them in a state of learning. Learning for the majority of men means they were never perfect to begin with which is a condition most men cannot face. Probably this is why colleges are 60% female now; most men think they know everything from birth.

Last edited by Ed13 (2013-08-18 07:30:58)

Ok, so dress appropriately. That's a given. But, here is the dilemma I encounter:

Let's say I want to go to a mall today. Okay, let's say I am accompanying someone who wants to go to a mall today.

Now, I know from recent excursions what the people will be wearing. I kid not, but 1 out of 1000 men not working in one of the shops will be wearing an oxford shirt. An oxford shirt is not dress up to me at all. It's just a shirt (thanks, Jim!). Instead, the t-shirt with adverts or other writing on them will be the norm. Maybe there will be an odd polo shirt here and there. And, if these men are not wearing gym or cargo shorts they will be wearing jeans. Almost all of these items will be ill fitting.

So, is it appropriate to mimic them? Do I have to throw on my gym clothes?

Or, if I wear a Oxford and a knockabout pair of chinos and knockabout loafers am I an iGent? Is this inappropriate?  I'm not looking to look better than everyone or impress. I am dressing for myself and what I am comfortable in and the clothes fit the activity. If the impression is that I am a dandy (lol) in these clothes, is the fault with me or others?

Dressing is like everything else in your life. At some point you have to decide whether you are are going to eat crap or good food, whether your house is a place to crash or an environment that looks fells and smells nice, etc. As with all these things, expediency has its benefits but if your only guide is expediency life ends up bland and tasteless.
Formby is right, dressing well is a chore. But it has a payoff.
A life well lived has many things to say for it, the main one being that its your only life. I don't know about how other people feel about it, but I want that single shot at life full of good things that I can enjoy.