Latest Newsweek has an article on how American males are trying to exert a pre-Net masculinity by wearing "real" clothes, or pricey designer facsimiles thereof. First: this is new?2nd: the main iilustration of said article has some bearded wonder looking like Serj Tankian, bedecked in a plaid shirt, cuffed jeans* and a coat like the one at left.
Like the one I finally disposed of after twelve years of incessant wear last November!
I bought mine in early 1996 at a vintage "shoppe" in our fair dying city. I remember paying 48 bucks for it. I also remember (I think it was President's Day) listening to a TDK100 in my car with Radiohead's The Bends on one side and I'm With Stupid by Aimee Mann on the other.**
I wore this sucker every winter from 1996 through last year...as fall was coming it was generally accepted that Ol' Red (no, I never called the coat this, but am doing so for purposes of this "item") was well and truly shot: lining was torn, inner sleeves were falling out, cuffs were moth-eaten and holey...buttons wouldn't stay buttoned. If you've ever seen an old piece of clothing (?) you can get an idea.
So, one day, out it went (no, I'm not going to say I let my now-wife [who cordially detested said garment] administer a ceremonial coup-de-grace to it before laying it in the trashcan - I'll spare you that).
Now, I'm wearing a mere months-old pea coat and generally looking like a sailor coming home in a 1970's Old Spice commercial.
And I'm happy.
But, still, I wonder: in being so far ahead of the curve on this "trend" and in turn abandoning it before it came to Newsweek's attention, what have I lost? Indeed, where are we ALL going?
* I was guilty of this on occasion ca 1988-90. However, it has been proven that since James Dean, only once has this look been copped to successfully:
** and again: eff that Memory Dude from Today.
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