B got a new hat yesterday while we were out touring downtown SC. I am excited. I think it's a crushing shame that hats are at an all-time low on the scale of clothing necessities, unlike in earlier centuries when they were requirements. As late as the 1960s in certain places in Europe, hats were semi-official banners for (social) class membership: the kind of hats I wear demarkated working class Brits from the middle class. I'm not sure I'm in favor of a revival of class-bannerism, but I'm definitely all for a general hat renaissance. And not just because I have to wear the bloody things to keep from burning my scalp.Anyway, B looks adorable in her new hat.
It's week 10 of the term. I have essays coming in to grade today, then next week I have jury duty during finals week. I really hope the good people at the court find me deeply unappealing; if I get called, I'll have to coordinate with my prof to pick up the finals and grade them, perhaps during opening arguments, and what I'd really like to do is hide out and read books for a week instead. B was called up maybe a month ago and managed to convince them that she was too sympathetic, so the prosecutor dismissed her. Maybe I can show up "accidentally" having forgotten to wear pants.
To return to the question of hats: as I get older, it becomes trickier to navigate clothes. The problem is that any attempt to stave off appearing old and boring runs the risk of looking outright ridiculous as you pass the 28 mark - I'm thinking of 40-somethings dressing like college students. My strategy thus far has been the adoption of the "dapper old man" look, which I started working on at about 24. My hope is that by the time I'm a genuine dapper old man, the transition will have occurred fairly seamlessly. And, predictably, my silver bullet in this regard is the proper combination of hats and sweaters.
In conclusion: it's a fine line between stylin' and ridiculous-looking. And I choose to walk that line.
8 comments:
I've been pondering this question of ridiculous style a bit myself lately. I'm coming up on 27, which has me feeling a bit old. When will it no longer be acceptable for me to wear my N-Sync t shirt? Hopefully I have a few years left...
Well, in your case, if you can assemble a stable of gay party-boys with whom to hang, I think you can continue wearing boy band shirts until you're 75 or so. Without them, however, you'll be cut off at 35.
I have Jury Duty tomorrow! Aren't we the lucky ones, we live here for only a year and our name gets picked.
Love the hat B!
You're walking that line pretty well, and have even inspired me to ask for a hat for xmas. This may be a bad idea considering the party responsible for picking out the had could be someone a generation or two older than me (read: it will necessarily include a fish or pheasant print if my mom picks it out)
L: civic duty totally blows, doesn't it?
M: I see you sporting a sweet derby / pork pie. The South Dakota ladies would be powerless to resist.
I really enjoy wearing hats - something I haven't done so much since I got married/became a parent. My husband - who liked my hat wearing - thinks I must have used them to entrap him because I wear them so rarely now.
For your meeting next week, I would like to suggest that you ditch the old man attire and show off your tattoos. If SC is anything like OC (which I hear it isn't), then you'll be out of there in no time. It might work....
While thinking about my own personal style lately I realized that my wardrobe has consisted almost solely of jeans and T-shirts my entire life (save for the cute little dresses every mother puts on her little girl). The fit of the jean, and the contents of the t-shirts have varied over the years of course, but the staple ingredients have stayed the same.
Now, since I joined the professional world I have had to look the part, but that said, I only dress professionally because I have to. Every week I look forward to Friday not just because its the end of the week, but largely because that is the day we get to wear jeans and t-shirts to work.
I guess I just am who I am and that doesnt look like its gonna change any time soon. And thats kinda comforting, you know?
The great triumph of late-20th / early-21st century clothes in the US is the prevalence of the jeans/t-shirt combo. No question.
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