George Will: Denim is the Devil

XenoX101 · Apr 16, 2009

I agree with him, there's really not much else to say, he's right, jeans don't suit the lifestyle most of us live and everyone wears them because everyone else does. I was thinking about this about 6 months ago, I really wanted to buy pants instead of jeans because I was sick of the same crap washes and the general chunkiness that comes with most jeans, it was appallingly hard to find casual pants at the mall (didn't know any better at the time), everyone assumed that pants are dress wear and therefore what I found came in a great, wide variety of pleated blacks, greys and browns. Suffice to say, I didn't end up buying pants.

Al-Wahid · Apr 16, 2009

Insofar as George Will is railing against the increasingly casual, "whatever is comfortable" mindset that pervades much of American society, I think this article is very trenchant and spot on. Denim is the most obvious target because of it's ubiquity. However, I also think George Will is being a bit of a curmudgeon with this column. I think he would have had a much better target if he railed against Ugg Boots, the baggy look, or my favorite Crocs. While exceptions can certainly be made for members of forums like this one, I think the Americans among us must accept the fact that we are primarily a nation of fat slobs.

Black Cherry · Apr 16, 2009

As repulsive a fabric as this vile denim seems to be, it seems perfectly appropriate for a nation of such fat, lazy slobs!

otc · Apr 16, 2009

One thing I like about my cords or my new(ish) khaki 501s are that they are a sort of escape from normal blue jeans.

I don't have to worry about taking care of them/ironing/getting stained....I can wear them for days on end and be fine. Lately I have been using the khaki 501s as an excuse to not change between class and my half day at work on the non-fridays that I work (jeans are ok in friday).

Oxnard · Apr 16, 2009

I think that the kind of "jeans" he is talking about and the denim seen on styleforum are two completely different things anyway. Yes, fat Americans should stop wearing the bright blue saggy jeans with the carpenter loops and extra pockets bought for $24.95 at wal-mart jeans. However, Americans should stop wearing a lot of the ugly **** that you see on the common man, woman, and child. I am baffled as to how he thinks its a revelation that Americans, on average, dress like ****, as this has been true for a good while now. So just because hundreds of thousands of people in this country wear crappy chinos, t-shirts, and polos than we should abandon those too? Gimme a break. Seriously, we all know that denim isn't the symbolic plague of this country's bad average fashion tastes. The real enemy here is the snuggy! I saw someone wearing one of these in a ******* gas station!

DrPat · Apr 16, 2009

Originally Posted by Oxnard

The real enemy here is the snuggy! I saw someone wearing one of these in a ******* gas station!

Next time have your camera ready. I would love to see a pic of that!

tagutcow · Apr 16, 2009

Originally Posted by Al-Wahid

Insofar as George Will is railing against the increasingly casual, "whatever is comfortable" mindset that pervades much of American society, I think this article is very trenchant and spot on. Denim is the most obvious target because of it's ubiquity. However, I also think George Will is being a bit of a curmudgeon with this column. I think he would have had a much better target if he railed against Ugg Boots, the baggy look, or my favorite Crocs. While exceptions can certainly be made for members of forums like this one, I think the Americans among us must accept the fact that we are primarily a nation of fat slobs.

Has George Will met MrSmith2U?

djf881 · Apr 16, 2009

I don't understand what Will poses as an alternative to denim. Cotton chinos? Wool trousers? Denim is machine washable, relatively difficult to stain noticeably, and doesn't have to be ironed.

Do the fattest people in the world look appreciably better if you dress them in khakis?

Al-Wahid · Apr 16, 2009

Originally Posted by tagutcow

Has George Will met MrSmith2U?

Two words: pure genius

justlurkingthanks · Apr 16, 2009

This rewrite of someone else's column is just further evidence that George Will has not had an original idea in years.

Mr. Smith, however, I nominate as king of the world. Anyone who can write this should be:

The opposite of which the above gentlemen exist in tension is those of the leisure wear culture which has overtaken much of the English-speaking world: sports clothes on immensely fat sluggards, T-shirts with cartoon characters worn by people old enough to be dead; athletic shoes worn, reeking, everywhere; ball caps; jeans; shorts ( and shorts which look like slimy uinderwear out of which one would be alarmed but not astonished to see a rugose testicle slithering) in public, vests in public, matted dank armpit hair and an (imaginary?) reek of onions from the sodden oxter.

I especially love T-shirts with cartoon characters worn by people old enough to be dead

Lostinthesupermarket · Apr 16, 2009

The best bit is: shorts ( and shorts which look like slimy uinderwear out of which one would be alarmed but not astonished to see a rugose testicle slithering) in public, vests in public, matted dank armpit hair and an (imaginary?) reek of onions from the sodden oxter. Fantastic! Sheer HP Lovecraft.The eldritch terror! Also he used the word "rugose". He gets triple word points! MrSmith2U is an infinitely superior writer to George Will, has a much better grasp of the comedic and would also kick his motherf****ng ass at Scrabble. That thread should never have been allowed to die.

KitAkira · Apr 16, 2009

He would get global support if he waged war on uggs but denim is indestructible

brohymn · Apr 17, 2009

What a ******* idiot god damn

reprehensible · Apr 17, 2009

George Will is an idiot, no doubt. He takes shots at video games as being childish, but worships baseball? And the whole thing about jeans is clearly uninformed by any sense of historical perspective about clothing, or, well, any thought at all.

There's a ghost of a real point behind all of it: that people are slovenly. If only I (or anyone else who's been to a Walmart or a grocery store) could get paid to have such insights.

whodini · Apr 17, 2009

MrSmith is a genius for talking like the protagonist in a 1940s drama, almost straight out of "The Third Man."

I looked up his coordinates one time and found that he was supposedly located in a small village in Switzerland. How appropriate.

George Will: Denim is the Devil

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