Appearance Matters

I would have thought we had sufficiently discussed this issue of appearance, but apparently some people are just going to insist that anyone should be able to wear anything and not be judged in any way regarding their character.

Dream on.

Now, if your goal in life is to rise no higher than stocking shelves at Walmart or making fries at McDonalds, that knock yourself out.  Wear whatever you like.  Express your inner freak.  But make no mistake about it, when you step out in public, people will form general opinions about you, whether you like it or not, whether you think it's politically correct for them to do so.  As regards judging a book by its cover, it happens every day, everywhere.

Let's begin with the pajama couture.  Unless it's 6-7 in the morning and you discovered you just ran out of milk or bread and have to run to the Quik Trip, take 5-10 minutes to put on some actual clothes.  Pajamas are pajamas; not pants.  Looking like you just slid out of bed says to people that you're just lazy or you can't manage your time.  

Perhaps I date myself by saying that I don't get the whole low-pants-underwear-showing thing.  Chalk it up to fashion, I guess.  Adolescent fashion.  You don't see many men 50-60 doing that or wearing their caps backwards. But if I had a daughter, I guarantee you, if you showed up at my front door with your pants halfway down your ass, you're getting the door in your face.  I don't exactly know what kind of statement any young man dressed like this is making, but it's not one I want anything to do with.

Which brings us - I guess - to butt crack.  Now, most people have a sufficiently developed tactile sense that they know when a mosquito, fly, or gnat lands on them.  I have to assume that most people would know that half their ass is hanging bare for the world to see.  I'm just sayin', I would sure as hell know if my ass was hanging out.  Like the pajama thing, this just says,"slob," only perhaps more so.

A word or two about the whole hipster look.  While certainly cleaner and more respectable than butt crack or pajamas, to me, this just speaks of someone who's a bit superficial.  He's obviously spent a LOT of money to tell the world that he's a non-conformist.  Right or wrong (on my part) I just think a person like this is overly-concerned about being fashionable and might just have little depth of character.  I could be wrong.  Sue me.

And while the Confederate flag is still a timely issue, let's include that in the discussion.  It's not clothing, but still an awfully popular accessory for some guys.  Look, folks.  I'm a guy, and I've been around a LOT of your regular blue-collar type guys.  While the whole Confederate flag thing usually symbolizes,"Hey, I'm a rebel," at least 50% of the time, I've found that these guys are usually real fond of the "N" word.  Just sayin'.

And lastly, female fashion.  Now, I would have to assume that few - if any - women in their 50's or late 40's would be sporting this kind of club wear, but I guarantee you, a LOT of women in their early 20's are buying this kind of stuff. OK, maybe not farm girls, or anyone size 14 and up.  But if you're going out in public - even if only to upscale dance clubs - wearing stuff like this, it says to the world that you know your way around a pole, and I'm just suggesting that it may not attract the kind of men you want.  Does it MEAN you're a slut or a whore?  No, but it suggests it.  And ladies, you can think and say whatever the hell you want, fashion (to men) is like fishing lures.  You use a specific lure to attract a specific fish.  And fashion like this suggests you're an easy mark.

As I've said in the past, it doesn't make me racist if I say that I know which parts of town to stay away from after dark.  I've been around the block.  I know where it's safe and where it's not.  There is such a thing as common sense and if I could teach that in seminars, I could make some good $$.

As one blogger put it,"If you see a dirty guy who is wearing filthy clothes, is unshaven and has holes in his shoes, are you going to ask him the time of day, or are you going to ask the guy in a suit and tie, if they were both on the sidewalk?  If you see a beautiful woman dressed as Cinderella, you smile.  If you see a guy who is decked-out like he was raised from the dead, your eyes widen, you step back and say,'whoa.'  This is human nature whether people want to admit it or not."

So, you just keep telling me that men objectify women, and I'll keep telling you that more often than not, women objectify themselves.