Sunday, February 28, 2010

Kids' Version of "Fashion"

For a few years now, there has been a tendency for the younger generation of men to wear loose-fitting pants, with the waistband slung far down on the hips with boxer shorts in full view at the top. This whole sloppy look is a turn-off to this Grandmother, and I can tell you that if I was a young woman, instead of an old fogey, the look would still turn me off. (Thankfully, my grandsons haven't chosen this silly trend in 'fashion')

The girls, too, cannot be left out. Some of them are wearing low waistbands, but at least the 'rise' is where it ought to be, rather than having the crotch of the pants hanging at the knees. What my complaint with these 'hip hugging' waists is, the tummy above it is not usually flat enough to carry the look attractively. There is often a roll of flab above it which shows beneath the too-snug t-shirts. Worse yet is the idea of exposing the skin of the belly between the naval and the low waistband. Don't these kids have mirrors in their homes?

What annoys me most is that the clothing designers seem to cater to the youth of the world. I have to wear clothing, too, and so does a whole realm of people who are not built to wear things designed for people of twenty years or less. My husband complains everytime he wants to buy a pair of jeans, because a regular rise with a regular cut, straight leg has to be searched for, and is not readily found among the piles and piles of 'relaxed-fit' baggy-butt items.

I know, I know, I sound like an old lady. Well, I'm working on that...not the sounding of it, but the being of one. I fear that I sound an awful lot like my grandfather did in the early seventies. That was the time when skirts were at an all-time high, not much more than a very wide belt.
If females weren't wearing those, they were wearing what was known as 'grannie dresses', long skirts to the ankle. There were also bell-bottoms and 'hippie' garments, many made in India. Hairdos were 'natural'....long, straight locks parted in the middle or a wild crop of curls known as an "Afro". Whatever you were born with ...'natural'. The young men would grown their hair long and their sideburns would grow to the jaw bone, sometimes trimmed into 'mutton chops'.
My grandfather normally didn't say much about things like this, but I remember one day when he really railed upon me about the look young people had adopted.

Well, the bottom line is that we all grow up and eventually we do find mirrors. We, as young people, experiment with our hair and clothing and attitudes, in order to find out what 'fits' us.
What usually fits best when you're young, is looking like everyone else does. Eventually, we figure out that we can think for ourselves, not be governed by fashion designers, choosing more flattering clothing, and find a hair do that works with our individual facial structure. The young people out there today will figure it all out, too, in time. They will, like we do now, look back someday upon the photographs taken in their youth, and be appalled by their appearance.

There IS justice, afterall.