the last time I cared whether I was wearing what was in style was high school. we wore "stitched down pendletons, white bucks ( with powder bags to keep them white) . after that I decided to wear what I wanted to .
F'ing brilliant! As a boomer, I can assure you fashion has tried to determine e what i wear from. Childhood on. Saddle shoes, for fuck's sake. I'm rocking my side part and I dont care!
I hate buying jeans and only buy them every few (5+) years and historically only when a dear best friend drags me to a store. Now I live states away from all of my dear besties. My pants were falling apart. I wondered if I should get on a plane to have someone get me through the ordeal of buying new jeans. Sanity prevailed. I took my mini me to Nordstrom rack. We set money on fire and didn’t look back. Cheaper than flying. The ritual is complete and the beasts will slumber until 2030.
My preferred jeans are cotton leggings. Or velvet, in this weather. The only jeans in my drawer are a pair of high waist 80s that I'm unlikely to ever fit into again and my artfully patched and painted 70s highschool bootcuts. Which I will *never* get into again, but oh the memories.
I love fashion. Do I "follow" it religiously by forcing my own choices to adhere to the latest dictates? Yeah, no--that's no fun! What IS fun is stealing ideas from everywhere (runway, street, advertising) and trying them out. When they work for me, they become part of my style.
As a jeans addict, I have dozens of different pairs. As someone who is 5'2" I learned the hard way that the current "wide leg" trend looks awful on me. But more power to y'all for whom it works. I'll stick to skinnies...and a scattering of barrel legs of the "refined" variety.
My fashion has always been whatever was handy. My Niece used to tell me how "cool" I was because I did not care. Meanwhile, I was not trying to cool, I was trying for "did I wash this one? Sure, let's go with that"
This was such a refreshing read — the reminder to just wear what makes you feel good is honestly underrated advice. There’s something empowering about ignoring trends and choosing comfort and confidence instead. It’s funny how the same mindset applies to other areas of life too, like home projects — people are finally customizing spaces for how they actually live, not just for resale value. I’ve seen that shift a lot with things like garage conversions (https://qualityrenovation.com/services/garage-conversion), where homeowners turn unused space into something that genuinely fits their lifestyle. At the end of the day, whether it’s jeans or your living space, doing what works for you just makes sense.
I only get rid of jeans and buy new ones when they no longer fit. I rocked a pair of baggy acid wash until at least 2005 when the waistband and bottom hems started disintegrating.
Also I still have khakis and one pair of those is even cargo pants.
If they cover my ass and keep my legs warm, I keep them.
I have been wearing 32x34 Levi’s 505’s since about 1980, with some 501’s, Lee’s and an occasional pair of Wranglers in the mix. 501’s fit a little better but the button fly is still a pain.
Long ago I realized that I can just wear whatever I want and nobody cares as long as I am covered enough for comfort and modesty. Am I a spring or a winter? I am a magpie! A year round creature!
I stopped caring about fashion trends a long time ago. There are a few things that I've worn for at least the last 30 years and I have no intention of stopping. One of those things is boot cut or bell bottom jeans. I have other styles, but I'll never not have a pair of bell bottoms.
Other things that you'll pry from my cold dead hands are aviator sunglasses and hoop earrings.
I wore Levi’s 501s for years, decades really, but got annoyed at the button fly. Switched to 505s with the same cut but zipper fly, for the last 20 years or so. But the trouble is I buy new pants so rarely, that when I went to the Levi’s outlet store last week and saw they were 75 FUCKING DOLLARS for a pair of jeans, at the FUCKING OUTLET STORE, I decided never to buy Levi’s again. Except for the random ones I got for $14.99 in their discount bin…those I’ll wear, whether they are skinny or flared or boot cut or relaxed fit.
The advantage of being a 59-year-old dude, who has no fashion fucks to give.
the last time I cared whether I was wearing what was in style was high school. we wore "stitched down pendletons, white bucks ( with powder bags to keep them white) . after that I decided to wear what I wanted to .
F'ing brilliant! As a boomer, I can assure you fashion has tried to determine e what i wear from. Childhood on. Saddle shoes, for fuck's sake. I'm rocking my side part and I dont care!
Reminds me of my "You don't wear white after Labor Day" grandmother.
I hate buying jeans and only buy them every few (5+) years and historically only when a dear best friend drags me to a store. Now I live states away from all of my dear besties. My pants were falling apart. I wondered if I should get on a plane to have someone get me through the ordeal of buying new jeans. Sanity prevailed. I took my mini me to Nordstrom rack. We set money on fire and didn’t look back. Cheaper than flying. The ritual is complete and the beasts will slumber until 2030.
My preferred jeans are cotton leggings. Or velvet, in this weather. The only jeans in my drawer are a pair of high waist 80s that I'm unlikely to ever fit into again and my artfully patched and painted 70s highschool bootcuts. Which I will *never* get into again, but oh the memories.
Boomer here. So glad I don't care about my jeans, water bottle, tuna, etc. It's wonderful to be old!
I love fashion. Do I "follow" it religiously by forcing my own choices to adhere to the latest dictates? Yeah, no--that's no fun! What IS fun is stealing ideas from everywhere (runway, street, advertising) and trying them out. When they work for me, they become part of my style.
As a jeans addict, I have dozens of different pairs. As someone who is 5'2" I learned the hard way that the current "wide leg" trend looks awful on me. But more power to y'all for whom it works. I'll stick to skinnies...and a scattering of barrel legs of the "refined" variety.
As a man with a 42" waist and a 27" inseam (yeah, I'm short!), I have to buy dress pants from thrift stores and alter them myself.
It's also a pain to try to find men's size 8 1/2 shoes.
My fashion has always been whatever was handy. My Niece used to tell me how "cool" I was because I did not care. Meanwhile, I was not trying to cool, I was trying for "did I wash this one? Sure, let's go with that"
Make of that what you will
This was such a refreshing read — the reminder to just wear what makes you feel good is honestly underrated advice. There’s something empowering about ignoring trends and choosing comfort and confidence instead. It’s funny how the same mindset applies to other areas of life too, like home projects — people are finally customizing spaces for how they actually live, not just for resale value. I’ve seen that shift a lot with things like garage conversions (https://qualityrenovation.com/services/garage-conversion), where homeowners turn unused space into something that genuinely fits their lifestyle. At the end of the day, whether it’s jeans or your living space, doing what works for you just makes sense.
Let's also talk about the fact they're bringing heroin and cocaine chic, and the slue of eating disorders that came with them, back.
I only get rid of jeans and buy new ones when they no longer fit. I rocked a pair of baggy acid wash until at least 2005 when the waistband and bottom hems started disintegrating.
Also I still have khakis and one pair of those is even cargo pants.
If they cover my ass and keep my legs warm, I keep them.
I have been wearing 32x34 Levi’s 505’s since about 1980, with some 501’s, Lee’s and an occasional pair of Wranglers in the mix. 501’s fit a little better but the button fly is still a pain.
Screw fashion, at least with jeans.
Long ago I realized that I can just wear whatever I want and nobody cares as long as I am covered enough for comfort and modesty. Am I a spring or a winter? I am a magpie! A year round creature!
I stopped caring about fashion trends a long time ago. There are a few things that I've worn for at least the last 30 years and I have no intention of stopping. One of those things is boot cut or bell bottom jeans. I have other styles, but I'll never not have a pair of bell bottoms.
Other things that you'll pry from my cold dead hands are aviator sunglasses and hoop earrings.
I wore Levi’s 501s for years, decades really, but got annoyed at the button fly. Switched to 505s with the same cut but zipper fly, for the last 20 years or so. But the trouble is I buy new pants so rarely, that when I went to the Levi’s outlet store last week and saw they were 75 FUCKING DOLLARS for a pair of jeans, at the FUCKING OUTLET STORE, I decided never to buy Levi’s again. Except for the random ones I got for $14.99 in their discount bin…those I’ll wear, whether they are skinny or flared or boot cut or relaxed fit.
The advantage of being a 59-year-old dude, who has no fashion fucks to give.