Thursday, January 26, 2023

Fashion is Awesome and the Kids Are Alright

On Christmas Eve, we went out to dinner as a family at a reasonably upscale local spot. There were men wearing blazers and slacks, women in evening dresses. To be sure, there were also those like me in jeans and a sweater - I said 'reasonably' upscale. And then there was my 21 year-old. 

Like, what even is this?
They wore an outfit that's a bit hard to describe, but maybe thrift gothpunk gets close. Black skirt, chunky belt, white t-shirt torn in the style of Sid Vicious, black men's suit coat purchased at, well, a thrift store. Funky eyeshadow and nubby spikes in their hair completed the look.

My little one was marginally more conventional, going with a skater hobo get-up that featured very ripped jeans and a baggy sweater over her Doc Martens. Very on-brand for her.

As it turns out, my kids are just two of many in their generation who've decided that convention is for other people in the realm of fashion. According to a Washington Post story that conveniently published on December 27, Gen Z don't give a damn about your rules. (You gotta read the article, if only for the pictures of the fashion on display. It's a riot of color and style.)

From the piece, describing the scene at St. John's in Queens, "...the student body — sometimes even the individual student — looked like a loud pastiche of late-20th century styles. There were miniskirts. Slip dresses. Bra tops, especially paired with gigantic blazers. Towering, chunky lug-sole boots and loafers. Skirts on men, cargo pockets on women. Thrifted items of every color, shape and era. It’s like a costume for ‘Clueless’ meets a construction worker."

That is my kids to a (ripped) T. 

And in recent weeks, the generation found a visible standard-bearer right here in the DMV. Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma showed up in the following fits at recent games:



I showed those to my kids, and they responded, "swag". Which I think is good. 

Gen Z has been through it like few other cohorts during this period of their lives. And they were raised by Generation X, casual, authority-questioning grungelords. As Ashley Fetters Maloy writes in the Post piece linked above, "Is it any wonder, then, that Gen Z — the born-skeptical children of Gen X — has similarly made “weird” its whole aesthetic?"

Weird is good, I tell my kids. Just don't ask me to dress like them.

23 comments:

T.J. said...

I stan for the fashion choices of my large adult son Kuz

Whitney said...

Hi, Stan

zman said...

Stan Smith?

rootsminer said...

That exxxtra long pink sweater gives off some Dr. Seuss vibes, no?

zman said...

Ilie Nastase?

rob said...

ill communication?

Shlara said...

The Kuz pink sweater bobblehead is amazing
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2023/1/13/23553482/kyle-kuzma-pink-sweater-bobblehead-video-wizards-knicks

zman said...

That really is amazing.

rob said...

out. standing.

rob said...

tribe wins! tribe wins! tribe (was up by 19 in the second half and almost blew it before holding on for a three-point victory) wins!

Shlara said...

the backstory on designing the bobblehead is good too
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/01/12/kyle-kuzma-bobblehead/

Marls said...

Shalom Gheorghies!

Whitney said...

I think the Tribe goes 5-4 down the stretch to finish 9-9 in conference play. Futility be damned. Mediocrity be heralded. You read it here first.

rob said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rob said...

billy packer, ovah. pour some out.

Mark said...

All I wore in my later high school years was thrift shop stuff save for a few pairs of JNCOs and, of course, expensive shoes. I heartily endorse young people wearing whatever the fuck they want.

rootsminer said...

For years my boys have dressed expressly for comfort. Warmup pants, tshirts, running shoes, etc.

The younger one went shopping with his gf in DC and came home with some standard cargo pants and jeans that he bought at Georgetown prices (the neighborhood, not the cellar dwelling college hoops squad).

zman said...

zson came home from school a few years ago with a stomach ache. The pain went away when he removed the corduroys zmother-in-law got him for Christmas and he reverted back to his sweatpants. zkids are so soft they can't wear pants with a zipper and a button.

rootsminer said...

Maybe the friction noises from his cords upset his little tum-tum.

When I pick mine up from high school, I am oft bemused at the gamut of fashions that I see walking by.

Whitney said...

https://newrepublic.com/article/170085/george-santos-george-costanza-seinfeld

Whitney said...

Tribe at Towson today. Prediction? Pain…

rob said...

marls and i will be there with fogtb fish, fogg, corky, and angus calajangus. core principles.

Danimal said...

“Fogg” as in Winchesterian Fogg?