Patek
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 4,063
- Reaction score
- 1,755
As I sit here in my crowded Delta seat smashed between a window and a non-fantasy worthy lesbian couple, my jacket slides once again to the floor and I wonder why this airline does not have the courtesy hooks for a gentleman to hang his jacket that their Skyteam partner, Air France, has on the back of each seat. Ah, it is because most American men do not wear jackets. As I look around the cabin, all I see is baseball caps and sweatshirts paired with sneakers and whatever the hell those monstrosities are on the feet of the girl next to be (perhaps the result of a botched abortion of the bastard love child of a pair of Sketchers and Doc Martens who eloped in the dumpster behind a Rack Room Shoes).
My girlfriend loves watching TV shows of Days gone by such as Mad Men, Mildred Pierce, Boardwalk Empire, and even Deadwood. All of these show men and women dressing in traditional American clothing. The styles change over the years, but overall the concept remains the same: Men not even thinking of stepping out of the house without a minimum of a jacket on which is usually accompanied by a tie or cravat and a hat. While I do not necessarily expect men to waltz around town in tails, tophats, and white gloves--a jacket and an occasional hat or tie would suffice. When did it become "strange" for a 30-year-old the wear a casual jacket in a casual setting?
I have come to one conclusion: It was the hippie culture that ruined it. Up until the 60's (at least form my limited view brought to me by Hollywood), men and women both dressed in a more "proper" manner. The counter-culture of the 60's made anything that "looks like something my parents would wear" un-hip and thus shunned by anyone who was anyone. Clothing never recovered from this shock as the 70's and 80's brought on Disco and Madonna along with shoulder pads, power-suits, big-hair bands, and leg warmers.
The nineties brought us the TV shows Seinfeld and Friends which advocated oversized long-sleeve Polos and running shoes with jeans. This was overlapped by the hip-hop culture that required the maximum amount of fresh air to be applied applied to one's boxer-briefs while wearing them, and baseball caps with tags still attached"”the purpose of which I never truly understood. Meanwhile, I am considered by my hipster and Phillies jersey wearing peers to be eccentric as I shine my shoes, wear a tie, and do not go out for the evening without a jacket. I feel out of place pretty much anywhere outside of Manhattan.
In the show Deadwood, real Americans pan for gold up to their knees in mud while sporting three-piece suits, bowler hats, and pocket watches. Men roll around in the mud beating each other too a bloody pulp to defend their honor without a thought to removing their jackets. While not the ideal choice of clothing for the stated activities, these men carry a certain sense of dignity and pride (and for anyone who has watched the show, more than likely a crippling case of syphilis) and maintain a certain amount of class even when beating their whores.
As a liberal, I believe in change and progress. However, I cannot imagine where the American style will go from here. I know I will disembark this flight under the glow of Las Vegas neon lights and I will elbow my way through throngs of tourists in running shoes, retirees in oversized Hawaiian shirts, and spring breakers in logo T-shirts. What happened to American style? Where are the classic American's? Do they exist only on Style Forum? Are we all just eccentric, snobby clothes whores? Is there any hope to change the world's perspective of American style so that it is not referred to as "whatever you see in the check-out line at Wal-Mart?" Is there any hope?
Rants and comments encouraged.
My girlfriend loves watching TV shows of Days gone by such as Mad Men, Mildred Pierce, Boardwalk Empire, and even Deadwood. All of these show men and women dressing in traditional American clothing. The styles change over the years, but overall the concept remains the same: Men not even thinking of stepping out of the house without a minimum of a jacket on which is usually accompanied by a tie or cravat and a hat. While I do not necessarily expect men to waltz around town in tails, tophats, and white gloves--a jacket and an occasional hat or tie would suffice. When did it become "strange" for a 30-year-old the wear a casual jacket in a casual setting?
I have come to one conclusion: It was the hippie culture that ruined it. Up until the 60's (at least form my limited view brought to me by Hollywood), men and women both dressed in a more "proper" manner. The counter-culture of the 60's made anything that "looks like something my parents would wear" un-hip and thus shunned by anyone who was anyone. Clothing never recovered from this shock as the 70's and 80's brought on Disco and Madonna along with shoulder pads, power-suits, big-hair bands, and leg warmers.
The nineties brought us the TV shows Seinfeld and Friends which advocated oversized long-sleeve Polos and running shoes with jeans. This was overlapped by the hip-hop culture that required the maximum amount of fresh air to be applied applied to one's boxer-briefs while wearing them, and baseball caps with tags still attached"”the purpose of which I never truly understood. Meanwhile, I am considered by my hipster and Phillies jersey wearing peers to be eccentric as I shine my shoes, wear a tie, and do not go out for the evening without a jacket. I feel out of place pretty much anywhere outside of Manhattan.
In the show Deadwood, real Americans pan for gold up to their knees in mud while sporting three-piece suits, bowler hats, and pocket watches. Men roll around in the mud beating each other too a bloody pulp to defend their honor without a thought to removing their jackets. While not the ideal choice of clothing for the stated activities, these men carry a certain sense of dignity and pride (and for anyone who has watched the show, more than likely a crippling case of syphilis) and maintain a certain amount of class even when beating their whores.
As a liberal, I believe in change and progress. However, I cannot imagine where the American style will go from here. I know I will disembark this flight under the glow of Las Vegas neon lights and I will elbow my way through throngs of tourists in running shoes, retirees in oversized Hawaiian shirts, and spring breakers in logo T-shirts. What happened to American style? Where are the classic American's? Do they exist only on Style Forum? Are we all just eccentric, snobby clothes whores? Is there any hope to change the world's perspective of American style so that it is not referred to as "whatever you see in the check-out line at Wal-Mart?" Is there any hope?
Rants and comments encouraged.