Popularity Breeds Contempt

[griffer]

I have noticed that as much as I have wanted a seersucker the last 6 or so years, the faddish resurgence has put me off.

Has anyone else had this experience?

I personally waited until I felt I could 'pull it off', and until my wife stopped wrinkling her nose at the merest hint of a seersucker.

Granted, the popularity of the suit has helped me soften her resistance to the idea, but a friend of hers actually texted me an update to say that where ever she was just lousy with seersucker suits.

Now, I feel I have to wait years again to wear one. Buying one now makes me look like a Brooks Bros Bot. Wearing one next season makes me look like a Clearance Clarence. I want wearing one to be daring, not conformist.

So just as it fades from the zeitgeist, then I shall resurrect it.

So am I alone in this eccentric craziness?

 

[scotrace]

Yes, you are alone.

Sorry, old sport.

 

[Tomasso]

I see your point but I've been wearing seersucker my whole life and I'm not about to shy away from it due to the visisitudes of Fashion. [huh] I try my best to ignore what's In or Out at a given moment.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

seersucker is popular right now?

bk

 

[scotrace]

OK that was a joke.

I feel the same way about trends. If everyone else is on, it's not so appealing. If it's already in my schtick, I'm sticking with it and damn the little people.*


Re: seersucker. I've never thought for a minute I liked anything in seersucker at ALL.
Then I saw Quigly in his jeans and seersucker jacket pic, and I gotta find me some.




* the railroad goes through!

 

[Tomasso]

I've never thought for a minute I liked anything in seersucker at ALL.
Then I saw Quigly in his jeans and seersucker jacket pic, and I gotta find me some.

I wear my seersucker suits as separates more often than as suits, the trousers go particularly well with a blue blazer.

 

[griffer]

Yes, you are alone.

Sorry, old sport.

You are mean, sir, and a cad!

Yes, BK, it went from being obscure to humanity to being in Lauren, Brooks, Orvis, etc., etc.

Shirts, shorts, women's wear, etc.

Of course those that know me are actually surprised that I DON'T have at least one seersucker.

I guess I don't have to tell anyone its new.

But, given that folks like Tamasso have been wearing them despite trends for years, for me to do that seems disingenuous.

 

[Rooster]

Golly, I even have seersucker PJ's. Never been upfront in style before!lol

 

[Orgetorix]

I feel a bit like you do, Griffer. My consolation is that I bought mine when I was just beginning to be style-conscious, a few years ago when I was still in college. It was just before the look became mainstream. I bought it and wore it around campus, and took a fair bit of grief for dressing like an old man.

Next school year, everybody was wearing them.

 

[griffer]

Grrrr... i wish i was accidentally 'fashion forward'.

And, yes, that's the proper term for it.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Once I got past wearing powder blue stripes I found the material quite comfortable.Damn the trend its just clothing.

 

[Fletch]

25 year seersucker wearer here. I was wearing it back when it was so out there, people would throw used chewing gum at you. (Teenage people, that is. I was one at the time.)

 

[Teacher]

I see your point but I've been wearing seersucker my whole life and I'm not about to shy away from it due to the visisitudes of Fashion. [huh] I try my best to ignore what's In or Out at a given moment.

That's my sentiment exactly. I had a goatee before they became ubiquitous...I continued with it through the years of its popularity...and now that they're waning, I still have it (mine, however, is much fuller than the typical goatee, so I guess it's still a bit different). I'm not really motivated to move with or against the current of trend.

 

[AlanC]

Brooks has always had seersucker, in fact they claim to have introduced it to the US. Mine's a Haspel, the old Southern maker of seersucker. It seems odd to me to champion classic style, but if classic style is popular then not to want any part of it.

 

[herringbonekid]

It seems odd to me to champion classic style, but if classic style is popular then not to want any part of it.

this dichotomy arises here often. we want to be unique, but at the same time we want MORE classiness among the many, therefore we would no longer be quite so unique.

personally i've always been an elitist snob. i've always wanted to look different to the masses. i see mass acceptance as a sign to look elsewhere.

 

[Marty M.]

Sear's sell Seersucker's?

It is weird that I now have guy's in their twenty's asking for Seersucker garments. It used to be that only older gents and an occasional "Boomer" would buy one. I guess one really good think about Seersucker being fashionable, is that it points more gents towards classic dressing.
Marty Mathis

 

[Orgetorix]

It seems odd to me to champion classic style, but if classic style is popular then not to want any part of it.

I think it's a somewhat convoluted, yet understandable, bit of logic where we think that if an element of classic style becomes fashionable, then in wearing it one risks people thinking that he's doing so because it's fashionable, not because it's classic. One doesn't want to be known as someone who follows the vicissitudes of fashion, so one eschews the flavor of the month, regardless of its own merits.

 

[Undertow]

Personally, I like to believe I purchase a certain material (or item) based on its usefulness, it's durability and its charm.

If classic style was back in fashion, I would be thrilled because the availability of the clothes I like would rise. However, one downside, in my opinion, is that vintage clothes and accessories seem to be snatched up more often now than ever due to the boom in demand.

If everything went back to the way they were, I'd be just fine blending in with all the well dressed gents walking down to the barber to get their shaves; sitting at diner counters eating the blue plate special; reading over the newspaper while waiting for the train...call me crazy? [huh]

 

[griffer]

I think it's a somewhat convoluted, yet understandable, bit of logic where we think that if an element of classic style becomes fashionable, then in wearing it one risks people thinking that he's doing so because it's fashionable, not because it's classic. One doesn't want to be known as someone who follows the vicissitudes of fashion, so one eschews the flavor of the month, regardless of its own merits.

Exactly, for those of who have NOT been wearing a type of clothing, picking it up when it is ubiquitous undercuts the image we cultivate and the personality we have developed.

In other words, I never suggested that anyone who has been wearing seersuckers stop just because they are popular again.

I was underscoring my regret that most people won't notice my hypthetical seersucker as unique or vintage. They'll just see me as marching in time with 5th ave fashion sense, or at least a frequent Brooks client. NOT the image I want to cultivate.

I am just glad I have been wearing bow ties, hats and smoking pipes for so many years, I can stride through the waves of interest in these with my integrity intact.

The last thing I want people to say when they see me is 'fashion' or 'trendy'; I want the impression to be 'classy' or simply 'well dressed'.

So this season, perhaps a cream linen suit and I will save the seersucker for a time when the masses have passed it over and it is left alone to sulk in the corner- a time when it will appreciate my renewed attentions will be much more.

 

[Quigley Brown]

OK that was a joke.

I feel the same way about trends. If everyone else is on, it's not so appealing. If it's already in my schtick, I'm sticking with it and damn the little people.*


Re: seersucker. I've never thought for a minute I liked anything in seersucker at ALL.
Then I saw Quigly in his jeans and seersucker jacket pic, and I gotta find me some.




* the railroad goes through!

Thanks for the compliment. When I wear that out I get compliments from the ladies and THAT is all that matters to me...