Wednesday, August 27, 2008

DOWN WITH THE TEE!



Is this what young fashion/style has come to? Has good taste been replaced by the graphic tee? The presence of the t-shirt is strongly felt, especially amongst young American style, but to me it is simply a cop out, or a sorry excuse for actually taking time to construct an ensemble. Fashion and style is about diversity, so while I do feel that some t-shirts are acceptable, it must be done with the proper taste. Demographically, particularly in New York City, it seems that the uniform for those between the ages of 16 and 25 are a pair of sneakers, skinny jeans, and a t-shirt that's not worth the prices these young people are paying. If I'm going to wear a t-shirt, I'd much rather it come from the Marc store in SOHO for $30, mix it with a cropped pant or a pair of chinos, and a flat loafer style shoe. Young Americans have become less and less image conscience. What happened to the days of being clean cut, or the days when every day it appeared that you had on sunday's best? I attend school with many Parisian students, and the first thing I noticed about them is their impeccable taste, and attention to detail. The young Parisians, first of all, are so tall and lean that most everything looks good on them, their aware of their bodies and how their clothes should fit, and they've managed to dress-up the not so popular sneaker. I asked one of the students why you see so little Parisian students in sneakers like the typical American, and she explained to me that in France, people look down on you if you wear sneakers, unless you're riding a bike. France is not the only European country that takes such pride in appearrance, Italy is in strong pursuit. Whether a man from Milan is riding his Vespa with a sport coat, and a pair of $35 converses, the european's manage to make great sartorialistic style come off so effortlessly. I am considering relocating for a year of two to Paris or Milan, just to re-invent. New York City is full of FABULOUS fashion, but I'm young and I don't want to be influenced by my age group. Young people do not take pride in getting dressed, everyone is a clone of each other, and quite frankly I'm fed up. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Paris and Milan, would in a perfect world uniform us all. Your thoughts?

9 comments:

Hippy Lyfe said...

I have to agree with you solely , but to talk down the sneaker .

damn

there is so much plaing that goes into making a sneaker .

from the stiching to the colorways to the way they fit and look at the bottom of your feet .to which designer made the shoe.

look at jb classics ?

they are limited to as lil as 3oo pairs world wide he also designd alot of the jordan shoe .

sneakers esp a vintage pair can bring you back to childhood memories as a kid when you could not afford certain kicks and bring you back some childhood feelings.

I like to see gucci do that .

yes italy and france are on the front for design .

but they are very influanced from american style from the 5os and 60s .

no ?

well maybe a lil bit

america was also full of ugly peeps during that time and the uk influanced the states with the longer hair .

ie the beatles

but now we getting ino fashion history and if e do that we might have to take it way back to when people used to wear rocks tied with seaweed to make the first flipflop .

or flop flop in that case.

I think american style is being felt the world over and the influance it has on street culture is huge .

plus you think france dont rock the skinny jeans and sneakers ?

your frenchies are misinforming you

heres a video of how the clubkids dress and dance in france, its a style called tektonik .

more less vouging meets uprocking another style stolen from new york .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36e9kZcRWGI

plus alot of these street wear comps are in start up stage,they dont have the money to produce full lines as of yet .

I think you are not going to the right stores in nyc to be exposed to some ill shit even though you always look fly.

I rather shop in nyc for gear then go to england or paris and get raped out the ass for gear.

Ido agree skinny jeans and kicks aint much of a statement but the fall season is coming , that means more layers and am excited cuz am sick of wearing the t shirt as well.

I do also partly because I am a fat fuck , I dont think I can do a turtle neck .

looking like some weird foreskin sweater monster ,gross !


am going shopping this weekend , gonna grab a m 65 military issue jacket probs some new nikes a polo sport button up and a detroit tigers hat .

thats how I do

cant be dressing all french that goes on salad .

I just wrote a blog in yer blog , lol.


rebuttal ?

Unknown said...

The Parisian students you go to school with have money to pay for school visa's, private school, and apartments without having jobs in one of the most expensive cities in America.

What do the kids who live, work and attend school in there country wear?

I would agree with you about Paris and Milan having the best fashion sense, but honestly, I don't believe the average 16 to 25 year old is wearing something revolutionary. I would have to take a trip out there and find out myself. It could all really be smoke and mirrors.

B. FLY AND THE CITY said...

AFTER THE GOLDRUSH: The post was talking down the t-shirt, not the sneaker. When I stated that the Parisian student mentioned that sneakers are looked down upon, it was just to give an example of how they rarely dress "down." Ofcourse, they wear sneakers, but when they do it, they do it with great STYLE. I love sneakers, just not for me because I'm extremely girl and if my toes aren't out I'd die. My favorite look happens to be a pair of nice pants with some crazy kicks. Again, the main focus here is the T, and how young American's don't take pride in their appearances. Yes, I understand we're in a recession, but that doesn't stop one from the use of soap and water. I'm over the grundgy greasy hair look.

EXBN: You're right, the students I attend school with are wealthy, but that does not take away from the fact that Europeans in general have a tall lean bodies, and they really have an eye for what looks good on them. Notice, I mentioned how they're able to take a pair of chino's coupled with a pair of $30 converese's and make it look smashing. I've seen some not so stylish young Europeans, however from what I know personally, even the young elite in NYC have nothing style wise on the young Europeans. I've seen it with my own eyes.

GENERALLY SPEAKING:Aside from fashion, I love how European's live their lives. I like the fact that they ride bikes and vespas, buy bread every morning and still manage to stay thin, in some countries shut down their city in the middle of the day for lunch, sip wine with their dinner, and care about how they look. Once I'm there, I can come to a more solid generalization.

Unknown said...

Well said.

Will I throw away my countless amount of plain tee's and graphic tee's? Probably not. But next time I spend my little bit of cash on clothes, I'll def think twice about what I cop.

Hey lets all agree that were are better off than what was hot years ago. Ha At least our tees don't touch our knees.

Anonymous said...

You're entirely correct, American style lags way behind European style.

Unfortunately street style wise it isn't good news either, London takes that crown.

Detail? The Japanese - they're incredible.

All told I think it's wise not to be too critical of the 'sneaker'.

B. FLY AND THE CITY said...

DUNCAN: I'M NOT AGAINST THE SNEAKER, BUT I WISH YOUNG PEOPLE WOULD REALIZE THAT THERE'S MORE TO STYLE THAN A PAIR OF KICKS AND A T-SHIRT. EVERYONE SEEMS TO THINK I'M ATTACKING THE SNEAKER LOL IT'S MORE SO ABOUT THOSE DAMN T'S! HENCE THE TITLE OF THE POST. AND YES, THE JAP'S (JAPS, WAS THAT DERROGATORY?) HAVE SHIT ON LOCK AS WELL. AGREED!

.asha said...

I'm one of those sneakers-jeans-and-a-tee wearing Americans... ::walks away in Eeyore fashion with my head down::

B. FLY AND THE CITY said...

ASHA, YOU'RE CUTE. YOU COULD WEAR A POTATO SACK AND LOOK STUNNING. <3

.asha said...

Thank you lover 0=]