Menswear is a sorry scene these days with an endless parade of crap brands and products.  Too many splintered voices and half-assed cooks in the Giant vibrator.

Decline & Fall makes an excellent point about some adults being obsessed by the youth culture, and trying to dress like teenagers.

Veering a bit from Ivy, but looking at an interesting anthropological issue that seems to be endemic, at least in the US that I observe.

There are some parents that are in the "baby boom" generation, that seem to fall into this category. The first thing that appeals to them is to raise their children as if they are "best friends" rather than parents. The children really subconsciously want adult guidance, mixed with love, but instead get pals. Many of these children seem to mature into fairly unbearable adults, not superbly equipped to survive in the real world.

A part of this, for members of both sexes, is to display good physical condition, by dressing like teen age children. They look absurd, to me.

If you were 15, and your Dad put together a trip with you and your pals for an outing, and he showed up dressed like a teenager, you would probably start wondering how to gain admission to the witness relocation program. The appeal seems to be not only of teenage clothing styles, but slang, and general language tendencies.

It all seems to get back to a theme that emerges from time to time in threads here. If you know who you are and stick with it, things seem to work out fairly well. OTOH, trying to be something else seems to become immediately apparent, and off putting, to most.

Excellent observations again from Matt I must say. I think we're definitely on the same wavelength and we might even be able to work together on that essay I've mentioned a while back. Good post whatsoever.....

What a great link, DB! I missed it at AAAT, and it is truly outstanding. Well written, and explores the subject in a depth that I have never seen before.

The article ends by asking where the grup thing goes next. One clue would be to look at the medical procedures that are the most popular today, and are totally out of pocket, with no insurance coverage.

At the dermatologist, Botox is the rage. People trying to be what they used to be.

There may be a valid medical reason for Lasik eye surgery, but my guess is that most of it is to avoid glasses, so as to appear "young". An opthamologist friend of mine says that the procedure is almost totally cosmetic, and not without significant risk.

No political implication here, but look at Joe Biden, who may be typical of those that think that hair plugs were a great idea.

A guy that posts at AAAT, who may have missed the grup link seems to be typical. He's 56 (posted two threads to wish himself a happy birthday), and goes on frequent rants about how good he looks in flip flops and jeans, and how he is able to charm the young women in the bars. My guess is that there is a lot of eye rolling going on behind his back.

In the US military, the enlisted ranks wear hash marks on the left sleeve, that proudly proclaim the length of time that they have served. It would seem that nature provides us with similar evidence of years of experience.

At any rate, DB, a great link, many thanks!

Last edited by Decline & Fall (2009-03-28 12:22:26)