Article published February 05, 2009
A method to the madness of 'Grandpa's wardrobe'
Thumbing through the latest Newsweek, I come across a photo of a guy.
Just a guy.
Red-and-black plaid wool jacket, the kind with two large patch pockets. A button-down shirt that looks to be a blue-and-black plaid flannel. Rag wool fingerless gloves. Blue jeans, cuffed. Brown leather belt. Black lace-up shoes.
Just … a guy, the kind you stand in line with at Kroger. Except the headline on the accompanying story reads: Authentic Americana: Why Grandpa's clothes are suddenly chic.
So, yes. It's come to this.
But let's start with the obvious: In many parts of the country - especially here - those aren't Grandpa's clothes.Those are your clothes. Or your husband's, or brother's, or co-worker's. You don't have to be a retired geezer to get up in the morning and put on hunting duds or working-man garb.
Especially now around Ohio because, let's face it: If you aren't lucky enough to be a genuine working man, odds are you may have to turn to hunting if you want to put food on the table.
At the same time, in cosmopolitan America now there are dead-body chalk marks outlining the corpse of the metrosexual. And in his ultrafashionable place, it seems, is … us.
Well, costlier versions of us. Newsweek reports that certain city streets "now resemble catwalks crowded with bookish lumber jacks," men who "are leaving home looking like middle-class, mid-20th-century men. And they're happily paying upper-crust, 21st-century prices for the privilege."
Woolrich. Pendleton. Red Wing boots. Chambray shirts. Levi's-as-fashion-statements.
It's back in vogue now - not that it ever wasn't around here.
For nearly three decades, Mike Seeger has owned a Red Wing shoe store in Reynolds Corners, which might be among Toledo's bluest of blue-collar neighborhoods.
He does about half his business in steel-toed boots, the kind OSHA demands on job sites. His average sale is around $150, but he knows just what I'm talking about when I mention the recent fashionista cred of his store's Red Wing shoes. ''They got some shoes they just came out with last year. They're handmade, handcrafted, genuine leather. They start at about $200 and go up to, like, $329. Yeah! That's outta my league! You're not gonna sell a lot of those around here."
Which brings me to Michelle Obama.
Remember when she wowed the press corps by showing up in clothes from J. Crew? I loved all those gushing stories about this demonstration of her sensible frugality; it drove home the point that, yes, the national media really are utterly out of touch with - ach, how was it Newsweek described our existence? - oh, yes: Americana.
Trust me: An awful lot struggling Ohioans consider an $80 wool sweater from J. Crew an unimaginable luxury.
Still, I get all the fuss about the First Lady. Whether or not you liked that white inaugural ball gown, reasonable people can still agree that she looks beyond fantastic, even in off-the-rack sportswear.
And I think I might even get this whole kerfuffle about "working-man chic," too.
Question: What man these days willingly risks venturing out in Manhattan looking like a bespoke Wall Streeter?
Roberta de Boer is a columnist for The Blade.
Contact her at:
roberta@theblade.com,
or 419-724-6086.
Permanent Link
|
|
 |
|
Search
advertisement
