Fashion (a)musings

Tomorrow I'll post pictures from Nate & Julie's London visit, as well as the promised review of Guinness Red (CliffsNotes = not good). It's raining today, which leads in nicely to some random musings on accessories and style.

Umbrellas
Name a more dangerous accessory. My friend Brad Miller could never understand this because when he walks down a crowded street on a rainy day, all he experiences is occasional random dryness. When I do the same, I'm constantly aware of pointy umbrella tips narrowly missing my eyes and face over and over again. It's amazing what a foot of height will do to change your perspective (Brad is incredibly short even for an Anglosaxon).

But even Brad would agree that children have no right carrying an umbrella. They simply don't have the presence. They're never going to be successful at staying dry and not running into people.

Backpacks
This was a real anomaly in the States, but here I see at least one person per week running while wearing a backpack. Are they on their way to/from the gym? Are they Scandinavian? It doesn't really matter. There's no excuse for it. Running is fine, backpacks are fine, but both at once is ridiculous. End of story.

Oversized sunglasses & boots
Humungous shades are popular here even when the sun is not out. (Which, like Goshen IN is never.) I'm undecided. Like a lot of fashion trends, I'm fine with them if they're worn by the right people in the right situation, but more often than not this isn't the case.

Same general party line with boots. They're definitely worn excessively here, and a wise person once said "it's never the right temperature for a mini-skirt and Uggs." We'll say they're fine in moderation, but only for the ladies.

also only for the ladies...
Leggings
I'm for them.

Hoodies
Hoodie gangs are giving a good 1/2 of my mild-weather wardrobe a bad name. If you didn't know, London is full of little dangerous packs of youngsters wearing their hoods up. They do things like stab people and also less serious stuff like jaywalking. So wearing your hood up puts you in poor company. A real shame.

Haircuts
I don't know where to start. And I need one. Brad Miller once TRIED to get a fashion mullet at a London salon and failed. I'm going to try NOT to get one and hope I succeed. My job probably depends on it.

Tuxedos
No experience with these here as of yet, but this is something I've wanted to bounce around for a while: Are these really that nice? The short answer is probably yes, but I'd reserve that for those gentlemen who own their own and have couth (mind the bowtie and stick with black). But the rental community bothers me. Why is it nicer to wear a rental tux that doesn't fit me and has probably been worn to a high school prom than to wear a nice suit that I own, has been tailored to my exact size, and has been worn only on the most special of occassions (business meetings)?

Just consider it.

Hope that was helpful.