Columnist George Will is mad. Hopping mad about denim and how America's fashion sense is going to hell in a hand basket.
He and Wall Street Journal writer Daniel Akst have joined forces in declaring jeans (and American obsession with blue pants) as "destructive" in an entertaininglylyrical prose that I imagine was quite popular when Will was a young man, i.e. back in the days of President Taft:
Long ago, when James Dean and Marlon Brando wore it, denim was, Akst says, "a symbol of youthful defiance." Today, Silicon Valley billionaires are rebels without causes beyond poses, wearing jeans when introducing new products. Akst's summa contra denim is grand as far as it goes, but it only scratches the surface of this blight on Americans' surfaces. Denim is the infantile uniform of a nation in which entertainment frequently features childlike adults ("Seinfeld," "Two and a Half Men") and cartoons for adults ("King of the Hill"). Seventy-five percent of American "gamers" -- people who play video games -- are older than 18 and nevertheless are allowed to vote. In their undifferentiated dress, children and their childish parents become undifferentiated audiences for juvenilized movies (the six -- so far -- "Batman" adventures and "Indiana Jones and the Credit-Default Swaps," coming soon to a cineplex near you). Denim is the clerical vestment for the priesthood of all believers in democracy's catechism of leveling -- thou shalt not dress better than society's most slovenly. To do so would be to commit the sin of lookism -- of believing that appearance matters. That heresy leads to denying the universal appropriateness of everything, and then to the elitist assertion that there is good and bad taste.
Link - via The Zeray Gazette
Ha ha, oh wow. I'm not even going to click through to the article because I imagine it's much of the same. How about this: "the sin of lookism — of believing that appearance matters" hasn't gone anywhere, Will. Why do you think the billionaires you mention wear casual pants? To look casual, of course! Appearance still matters, and it always will. Where Will is caught up is in his own belief in what "nice" looks like. Will thinks you have to wear traditionally formal clothes to be presentable. Is he wrong? According to Will's own article, popular culture says no.
And guess who gets to define fashion. Not you, Will. We do. If everyone else is just fine with denim - if all the "childlike adults" are exercising their ability (and responsibility!) to define what being an adult means to them - they do not, and should not, care what you think.
does he think billionaires have to parade about in dress pants, smoking jackets and silk cravats?
and to push the point a little further-
so denium is one of the staple fabrics of our time, so what?
everyone in ancient times wore pretty much the same style of dress, made from similar fibers- what's so wrong with wearing something popular, and relatively affordable?
so yeah, Sassafras- i agree.
get off my lawn, you stinkin' kids.
Down up the suit! Up with denim!
So, in the 50s, a tuxedo was formal wear, a three-piece suit was something that even non-management wore to work, and a polo shirt and slacks were for the weekend. A few decades later, a tailored suit is considered formal, with tuxes largely relegated to wedding rentals and the Oscars, polos and slacks are "business casual", and jeans and tshirt are what you wear the rest of the time. Jeans making the transition to work wear doesn't seem out of line with this progression.
Me, I'm looking forward to the absurdly expensive blue denim formal wear of the 2030s.
My biggest fear is becoming an angry old codger like this.
I however envision him as one of those old guys who wears a pair of Dickie's coveralls, around the house.
Which is the standard uniform of the old cantankerous geezer.
@ Jae - jeans may be economical, but they are not as well constructed as they used to be. Levi's used to be the thickest, well constructed denim jeans I swore by.
They have since switched to a thinner denim, and cheaper thread. they no longer hold up to the punishment that they used to be able to take.
Just hold them up to the light and you can see how thin a material they are.
A few observations:
- the microfiber slacks I'm wearing are far more comfortable than any pair of denim pants that you or I will ever own. Jeans do not automatically mean comfort and dressing nice does not mean uncomfortable.
- Jeans are NOT like dress pants, but just a different color. That's like saying a camo canvas gunny sack with holes cut in both ends is the same thing as a strapless dress. Very different materials and designs (no Dockers or Dickies are not dress pants). Try again. I'm guessing you think you could swap out your tuxedo pants for a pair of black wranglers? But they're the same color!
This is a supposedly adult man who wears a bowl haircut and bow tie.
Sitting in front of your TV is not terribly stimulating, rather your brain is barely interacting at all past the channel switching on your remote. A good videogame stimulates and challenges your mind and reflexes. Oh, but of course when he says videogames he thinks every game out there is a zombie shooter gore fest. *sigh*
I wonder how many games he's played? I say we make him prove himself by playing an MMO and see how long it takes him to get anywhere.
The Nightmare version is just leaps and bounds above anything else in the park around Christmastime.
Thing is, I've never been much of a jeans wearer. Even back when jeans fit at the natural waist (what's called "mom jeans" now), I had a hard time finding jeans that didn't look stupid on me, in my opinion. So one day I wore regular office clothes, and all day had people telling me, "You know, you can wear jeans." *shrug*