Ah, the innocence of youth. I remember it well, in all its various colours and adventures. In particular I remember wearing T-shirts. I resented fashion, and anything to do with the “in crowd”, because that never fitted who I saw myself as. I wasn’t a sheep. I wasn’t a popular kid who needed everything that everyone else had. I made my own statement about who I was, mostly by wearing cheap T-shirts with no branding on them, in defiance of the fashion industry. In fact, that rule still applies most of the time.
However, I found myself looking on YouTube the other night at instructional videos about men’s fashion, and what every self-respecting young man needs in his wardrobe. It was quite an eye-opener. Admittedly the videos were American and were aimed at a slightly different audience, but it still made me sit up and think. There were the different choices of shoes and what they were for, and the importance of matching belts with shoes. There were tips on how to choose a suit jacket that accentuates various features depending on your build, to make you look taller or slimmer or broader. There were various different shirt designs and they explained what the difference was. And what struck me most was that there were no T-shirts. Apparently men don’t wear T-shirts any more. And that’s when something else struck me. I’m 26 years old, running my own business, married, with a child on the way – I’m not a teenager any more, I’m a man.
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