Fashion, plus a recommendation

I'm a basic guy. Anyone who has spent more than a month around me could easily be me for Halloween with a few simple ingredients: a black tee with clever logo, a black hoodie, jeans, and black Chucks.

With my lack of fashion variety or color, I must state a little bit of beef: the youth of today are killing shoes as we know them. Hell yes, when I was a kid, I wore red Chucks. I have no problem with pairing colored shoes with your silly outfits, all you ghetto kids. I'm sure you're very proud that you can find a pair of once-respectable shoes that have been designed to match that teal sweatshirt, belt, t-shirt, and baseball hat. What I do have a problem with is when you kids mess with my stuff. For instance, has anyone out there seen Chuck Taylors recently? Yeah, I can still get my black lo-tops almost anywhere. I don't like that prices have doubled in the last 10 years or so. What makes me sick are ALL these new Chucks everywhere. Plaid? Polka dot? Silly colors and designs? Fucking Chuck Taylors made of Astro-turf?!?!?! What the hell is going on? It used to be like this: American made Chucks, twenty bucks, in one of about six different colors: black, white, blue, forest green, red, and I think brown. THAT is what Converse used to be all about, back when only people who were "in the know" bought them, and if you wanted custom designs, you bought a Sharpie and went to town.

I won't even get into a number of other fashion crimes committed by those younger than me. I will even say that I think it was my generation that, in part, ruined Doc Martens. So there you have it.

On a more positive note, the whole "clever and silly t-shirt" era is kind of a mixed blessing for me. I dig them, I appreciate the clever, the artsy, and the hard-to-find tees. I take pride in the fact that I can list an obscure website where I found some cool tee that you don't have. I don't like the fact that I could probably spend multiple paychecks on getting the ones I like and still not have them all, but that's really my own issue. Here's the big problem: until I grow up and start wearing "real people clothes" I will be known as ironic t-shirt guy. It's not a bad thing, but it makes me feel like a cop-out when I wear a solid colored tee or a ringer or something like that. So, in the meantime, feel free to compliment me on my shirt. Ask me where I got it. HOWEVER, if I am wearing a plain-ass shirt, please don't say "Hey, where's the clever saying on that shirt?" or something else like that.

Oh, and if you want a GREAT indie rock album - go out and get "Boxer" by The National. It's worth every penny, and there's definitely a reason it's on every one's best of 2007 lists.