tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6959871.post-1127925639106117402005-09-28T11:51:00.000-04:002005-09-28T14:54:06.016-04:00A couple years back my parents and I were watching the footage of when our house was demolished after it was nearly torn in half by an earthquake in 1989.<br /><br />There the three of us were standing there in early 1990 as the house that I had grown up in, the house they built, was ripped apart by bulldozers and tractors.<br /><br />My mom turned to my dad and said, "What the hell were thinking with that shirt?"<br /><br />A little over a decade later and my dad's bright orange and green shirt did look absolutely ridiculous.<br /><br />"Mom, it was 1990, we were all wearing obnoxiously bright colors."<br />-<br />I woke up this morning and found my roommate up earlier than usual semi-frantically searching the internet for something.<br /><br />"I just realized its Fall and I haven't gotten any new boots yet."<br />-<br />I need new shoes as well. The ball of my foot is literally touching the concrete when I walk. It gets sore.<br />-<br />I peaked over her shoulder to see what styles she was into this year. Later, I cross -referenced with my "fashion forward" friend to get the inside scoop.<br />-<br />"I will be wearing them because a big look right now is short<br />skinny jeans so the detail of the boot is shown, it's a variation of the<br />jean tucked into the boot thing, but cooler.<br /><br />Most people would think that shoe is kind of ugly but when you put it on<br />with skinny jeans it looks great, totally modern.<br /><br />Another good look is a boot with a lot of detail, like a gray boot with<br />laces that go all the way around the boot.<br /><br />You also can't go wrong with last year's black slouch boot. Heeled or flat.<br /><br />But flat, short and slouchy (continuing the summer boot trend) is probably<br />the most trend forward look without being risky."<br />-<br />Fashion is 100% aesthetics. Maybe not 100%. PETA tries to throw in some ethics. Others some function. But for the most part, its simply about looking good.<br /><br />But how can shoulder pads look good on a girl one year, and seem so awful another?<br /><br />How can the opinions on high-waisted pants and pleats change so drastically so quickly?<br />-<br />Is there no such thing as true beauty? an objective sense of aesthetically pleasing form?<br />-<br />Is it just a constant search for the new? Do we get bored?<br />-<br />You get sick of stripes so you mix it up with some plaid.<br />-<br />Everyone has short skirts so you wear long to stand out.<br />-<br />separate yourself from the crowd to be noticed.<br />-<br />We all need to feel different.<br />-<br />But in the right way.<br />-<br />Or maybe our species needs a sense of progress.<br />-<br />Stagnation is depressing.<br />-<br />We change to feel alive.<br />-<br />We change looks as our continuing experiences change us.<br />-<br />It doesn't feel right to wear a cocktail dress after a hurricane.<br />-<br />Finally women fought back and can feel liberated enough to express their inherent sexuality.<br />-<br />Welcome the bikini.<br />-<br />Maybe.<br />-<br />I have a friend who claims that eventually your fashion stops changing and that whenever you see someone wearing something out of date, you can pinpoint the year that they were the happiest. That the day you finally love yourself the most, you stop searching for a new pair of boots.<br />-<br />Just a theory.<br />-<br />Maybe thats what happens with old people.<br />-<br />Or maybe they are just tired of the hustle and hassle.<br />-<br />I understand the business of fashion. Clothes actually do last but this is capitalism and we need our economy to grow at a continually growing rate so we create need when things are unneeded. Clothing companies need to sell more clothes to people who don't really neeed new clothes. magazines need to write new articles about new trends so that they can get money from advertisers to make a new issue.<br />-<br />But this was happening long before that.<br />-<br />Did the puritans wear those silly hats to create a sense of identity?<br />-<br />The hasids in my neighborhood seem pretty content with their look.<br />-<br />Does it ever bother you that the boots you love today, you will hate tomorrow?<br />-<br />Aren't you sick of cringing at your outfits in old photos?<br /><br />or do you laugh?<br /><br />or do you still think, "damn that was a good outfit" even if you would never get caught dead wearing it today?<br />-<br />How can you stay committed to a lover if you can't stay committed to a shoe?<br />-<br />The shoe won't change.<br />-<br />But people do. Sometimes it doesn't work, but sometimes it does.<br />-<br />Like with my parents. With new interests. New friends. And of course, a new house.<br />-<br />Still there together, just in different clothes and older skins.<br />-<br />And by the way Mom, I'm pretty sure you bought Dad that shirt.Greg the Boyfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11569833044286075680noreply@blogger.com