Taste

I once knew a woman who made a blanket condemnation of the way many Americans dress. I frequently reflect on this, because I am a rather casual dresser myself, and had I the motivation for this domestic pursuit, I wouldn't mind being a better dresser. Like this young women in the photo.
There is merit to the idea that many Americans could do better in this regard - in fact the situation spawned a TV show - Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, a TV show where 5 gay men do makeovers of men in dire need of improvement by redoing his wardrobe, redecorating, and advising on grooming, lifestyle, and food.
There are many manifestations of the badly dressed American. When I used to travel to the Caribbean, guides warned visitors not go to town in shorts -it was considered inappropriate. And in Europe, it is easy to spot many Americans based on wardrobe alone - very frequently with garish running sneakers and other heinous articles of clothing. We are a nation where sneakers, jeans and oversize T-Shirts rule the day.
As I have written of before, the size and style of NYC is one that really tolerates and embraces the eccentric - see the related postings below for some of the more outrageous. It also is a great place for one to dress in a stylish way that is perhaps a little unusual, like the quasi-retro look of the woman in today's photo.
Obviously there is plenty of style and good dressers in the USA. It's just that the bad ones really are a blight to the landscape and tar the image of people here in general.
One of my favorite quotes was from a real estate broker I was dealing with at one time. We were discussing this exact subject and he said: "One day I hope to wake up and find that all the people with taste have money and all the people with money have taste."


Related Postings: Out There, Fashion Forward, Spike, Narcissism Gone Wild, Color Brigade.