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The Wall Street Journal hates denim

mossrockss

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From the Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123751483315591559.html


If there is a silver lining to a financial crisis that threatens to leave the entire country dressed only in a barrel, it is this: At least we won't be wearing denim.

Never has a single fabric done so little for so many. Denim is hot, uncomfortable and uniquely unsuited to people who spend most of their waking hours punching keys instead of cows. It looks bad on almost everyone who isn't thin, yet has somehow made itself the unofficial uniform of the fattest people in the world.

It's time denim was called on the carpet, for its crimes are legion. Denim, for instance, is an essential co-conspirator in the modern trend toward undifferentiated dressing, in which we all strive to look equally shabby no matter what the occasion. Despite its air of innocence, no fabric has ever been so insidiously effective at undermining national discipline.

If hypocrisy had a flag, it would be cut from denim, for it is in denim that we invest our most nostalgic and destructive agrarian longings -- the ones that prompted all those exurban McMansions now sliding off their manicured lawns and into foreclosure, dragging down the global financial system with them. Denim is the SUV of fabrics, the wardrobe equivalent of driving a hulking Land Rover to the Whole Foods Market. Our fussily tailored blue jeans, prewashed and acid-treated to look not just old but even dirty, are really a sad disguise. They're like Mao jackets, an unusually dreary form of sartorial conformity by means of which we reassure one another of our purity and good intentions.

There was a time, of course, when not everyone wore denim. In the 1950s, Bing Crosby was even refused entry to a Los Angeles hotel because he was wearing the stuff. (Levi Strauss obligingly ran him up a custom denim tuxedo so he wouldn't have that problem again.) By then denim was a symbol of youthful defiance, embraced by Marlon Brando, James Dean and -- well, just about every self-respecting rebel without a cause. Even Elvis, who didn't often wear denim in public during the early part of his career (like many Southerners, he associated it with rural poverty), eventually succumbed. Now we're all rebels, even a billionaire CEO like Steve Jobs, who wears blue jeans and a black turtleneck whenever unveiling new Apple Computer products.

Although a powerful force for evil, denim has achieved a status that will come as no surprise to fashion historians. Like camouflage fabric, aviator sunglasses and work boots, blue jeans were probably destined for ubiquity thanks to an iron-clad rule of attire adoption. "The sort of garments that become fashionable most rapidly and most completely," Alison Lurie reminds us in "The Language of Clothes," "are those which were originally designed for warfare, dangerous work or strenuous sports."

I can only hope the Obama administration sees denim for what it is: a ghastly but potentially lucrative source of much-needed revenue. Let's waste no time in imposing a hefty sumptuary tax on the stuff. It's a great example of "soft paternalism" (especially if the pants are pre-washed). We can close the budget deficit at the same time we eradicate the fashion deficit. All we've got to do is impose a federal levy on Levi's.
 

whacked

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Originally Posted by mossrockss
I can only hope the Obama administration sees denim for what it is: a ghastly but potentially lucrative source of much-needed revenue. Let's waste no time in imposing a hefty sumptuary tax on the stuff. It's a great example of "soft paternalism" (especially if the pants are pre-washed). We can close the budget deficit at the same time we eradicate the fashion deficit. All we've got to do is impose a federal levy on Levi's.

http://pyro.cynonyte.com/gallery/d/5571-2/wtf+is+this+****.jpg


I hope this is a badly worded joke, because if otherwise, the WSJ got it all wrong. BKE, for instance, which sells lots and lots of denim (not SW&D approved, btw), has been the brightest star among apparel retail stocks.
 

fcuknu

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ive been wearing less denim. I usually only wear it when Im too lazy to get dressed.
 

Felix Krull

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I actually concur with much of this gentleman's position. Walk into almost any public place and the vast majority of people there will be wearing jeans. There is so much conformity with respect to the way people dress these days its repulsive. Jeans are simply far too ubiquitous and for the very reason posted above, they are perfect for people who are too lazy to really get dressed. I can practically guarantee you that in almost any non-business setting, all of the men present in any non-uniformed space will be wearing one of two kinds of pants: jeans or chinos.

The next time you are in a mall or shopping center pay attention and you will see that my assertion is correct. What's even worse is that women have bought into the jean phenomenon just as much as men which means fewer women in dresses and skirts, which I personally find a crying shame.
 

babygreenspots

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While the association to the financial crisis might be misplaced, he is right in stressing that denim is severely overrated and rarely as attractive as people might think. I've never quite understood why it is considered so comfortable.
 

eg1

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Gee -- I wondered why I wasn't allowed to wear jeans on "non-uniform days" in high-school. Now I know.
plain.gif
 

Metlin

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Well, I can't say I disagree with some of what the article says (other than the whole socio-political mumbo jumbo).

I find denim to be too heavy, too harsh on the skin and it doesn't really go well with anything. Worse yet, it automatically makes everything look rather casual, making it less versatile.

Now, khakis on the other hand rock. Easier on the skin, much more comfortable and very versatile. It can look casual with a polo shirt and loafers; and it can look reasonably dressy with a dress shirt, lace-ups and a sport coat.
 

Metlin

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Originally Posted by Felix Krull
What's even worse is that women have bought into the jean phenomenon just as much as men which means fewer women in dresses and skirts, which I personally find a crying shame.

On the other hand, whale-tails rock.
 

AJL

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Post this over on SW&D and watch the sparks fly. Of course, there's "good" denim and "bad" denim. Most of what is produced and consumed is of the latter variety, so the writer may have a point. On the other hand, who gives a **** what the WSJ thinks about matters sartorial, cultural, political and, very nearly, financial.
 

JoeWoah

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More reasons to hate the WSJ. The stock market collapse was their fault!!!!11!!ELEVEN! WHY DIDN'T THEY DO THEIR JOBS AND SEE IT COMING!!!!!111!ONEHUNDREDELEVEN!!
 

Composer_1777

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People wear denim because it's easy. It's easy to figure out, the care of it is easy, and they usually last a while. People don't wanna waste time ironing things and putting together pant outfits; It's funny all the people sharing their detest for denim is just overcompensating for their own insecurity. Are you that insecure in social settings that you stereotype an entire culture? plz, get over yourselves. No one at the WSJ counts, this is life - it outweighs any overthinking assholes sitting behind a desk.

Denim is actually efficient and saves GDP in the form of time saved and production resources. All talk no substance, trying to cover up insecurities with well worded speech doesn't work. Denim is efficient, bam this is over.
 

AJL

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Originally Posted by Metlin
On the other hand, whale-tails rock.

Whale tails? WTF? Is this something akin to "camel toes" or "moose knuckles" or whatever? Sounds very classy. Maybe Penthouse Forum can fill in the blanks for me.
 

contaygious

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they do have a point about fat people wearing denim though haha. i think the reason to wear it is because it goes with everything and is extremely flexable for an active lifestyle.
 

polar-lemon

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I like denim because you can wear it for days on end, take minimal care of it, and it will only look better. Spend an entire day traveling in wool pants, and they are wrinkled and uncomfortable; do so in jeans, they look no different. You spill something on them, no big deal, adds to their character. They're not appropriate for all situations, but I appreciate their versatility.
 

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