You are being ridiculous. If I wore a fishing shirt with some khaki shorts...it wouldn't be to make some statement that I fish. When it is 95 degrees and humid outside, a fishing shirt is very practical. The material is very light and the air pocket on the back of the shirt makes the shirt breath easily.

Well first I don't live in Atlanta, however, there arent too many mountain ranges in Auburn, either. That being said, my shorts work great on lake martin and hartwell, and my north face/patagonia/mountain hardwear has served me well on the AT and hikes around Mt. Rainier. However, like I said, I find them nearly as useful walking to class. I guess if I was truly elite, I'd have 2-3 different sets of clothing exclusively for different activities, but I'm not there yet. Maybe one day...

Why am I ridiculous? Because my Wellies will keep my feet nice and dry in case there's a spill in the juice aisle? Because my huge straw hat will keep me from getting a sunburn if I am driving with the top down? Is it because my gardening gloves will keep me from catching a bacterial infection after touching a restroom sink faucet??? You are just a mean, mean person.

ETA: I just have to ask, though, since I don't fish. Are there actually shirts designed specifically for fishing?

That's the spirit, sweetie! Reach for the stars and just maybe you'll get there one day :) Meanwhile, just content yourself that you're displaying the famous Yankee frugality that would make a Brahmin Bostonian proud! :)

**********

I have to share the following from Michelle Lee's book, "Fashion Victims" (some of you boys might enjoy reading it if you haven't already)

But if a garment can create the illusion that it's functional as well, it's all the better. A part of us knows that fashion is frivolous, so we attempt to justify our participation in it by making our clothes seem useful. We're grasping at straws to rationalize making some of our unnecessary purchases. Shirts come with hoods whose sole purpose is to hang behind one's neck. The polar fleece vest was pitched as functional in a climbing-the-Alps way but if you really wanted something to keep you warm, wouldn't you give it sleeves? Cargo pants, with their multitude of pockets, seemed infinitely useful...imagine all the odds and ends you could carry. Countless designers, invluding Calvin Klein, Gucci and Versace, interpreted the military style for the runway, and mall retailers followed suit with their versions, like Abercrombie's Paratroopos and AE's Cargo Trek Pant. Ralph Lauren even produced an army-green cargo bikini with pockets at the hip (for toting beach grenades?). The fashion world's idealized image of the utilitarian future appears to involve lots of zippers, buckles, Velcro, pull closures, straps and strings - no matter if they actually serve a purpose or not.

I love that people in the south need a NF for walking to class. Seriously, it just cracks me up everytime somebody mentions it.

Yes that is pretty funny. I never even wore one up here...

Sorry, but I don't see how shorts that are halfway up your thigh when sitting down (as the author claims) are short. I don't equate those with the 70's shorts at all. Everything is shorter when you're sitting down.

And please, a sweater with shorts???? I see sweatshirts and jackets with them up here and it just looks silly. If it's cold enough to need a sweater, it's certainly not warm enough for shorts. And yes I've been boating.

Croakies are a MUST on a boat. Unless of course, you want to risk losing $100 sunglasses if you bend your head to much when you look over the edge of the boat.

Haha, damn yankees and their making fun of southerners intolerance to the cold. I mean, yeah I guess its true, but we can't help it. It's about the same as the folks up north reaction to heat waves. Sure we buy out bread and milk for a dusting of snow, but we don't hack off fire hydrants or start dying when the temperature eclipses 90 degrees. On a side note, I always thought GA or AL were probably the most humid places, but holy crap, Washington DC suckkkkks.

Oh, bless your heart. You don't think one should dress in a manner that is appropriate to the season, weather, and activity? Next thing you know you'll be telling me you're wearing seersucker already.

We don't hack off fire hydrants or start dying where I'm from either. I just thought it was hilarious when my friends in Alabama would break out a NF and I wanted to go outside in a polo.

People dress stupid everywhere. If somebody wants to start a thread making fun of the way people in the midwest dress, I'll chip in on that too.

Also, people die all across the country from the heat- usually the elderly and/or those who can't afford air conditioning. Poverty and aging are not restricted geographically.

Yes, there are shirts made specifically for fishing.

How did you get that from his post? And it is appropriate to wear seersucker now...don't really know what you meant by that.

"Auburn - The Loveliest Village on the Plains."

We've been talking about nothing but wearing alpine ski gear to class in the Southern United States- which is overkill, unless they are suddenly getting subzero temperatures there.

And where I'm from, you don't wear seersucker or white before Memorial Day. (And where I am at the moment, it doesn't get warm enough for seersucker til June or July anyway- that's what I mean by weather+season+activity- you need to dress with all three in mind.)

Yeah, location would have something to do with it.

Where in the South is seersucker before Memorial Day appropriate? Is it a town where you also wear white into October? Velvet in July? I'm curious... the fashion rules you're describing go against what I learned.

Don't do it here either but it rarely gets to 90 too.

Can we say Birkenstocks with socks...........(up here)????

After Easter is what I have always heard. Same with white.

A "Not Frat"?

It's worth it. It still gets cold in the miserable winter, thank god it's almost summer.

Hey smartass, wearing seersucker beginning on Easter is perfectly appropriate in the South. Sorry that goes against your fashion rules.

I thought you were all about classic, timeless fashion? Better be careful which rules you relax- next thing you know you'll be wearing hair product and neck chains.

ETA "my" rules about white and seersucker and open toed shoes (never before Memorial Day or after Labor Day) are followed by all my Southern family and my grandmother would about die if I broke them, though they mystify most good people outside the South.

With all due respect, I do believe that no self respecting Southerner (especially those who's people are of the Old South) would ever wear seersucker [or white] before Memorial Day unless they are attending an equestrian event or on Easter Sunday.

From Men.Style.Com "The online home of Details and GQ"

You should wear your seersucker when Memorial Day arrives or when you travel between 23.5 north latitude and 23.5 south latitude.

And from Soco's Guide to Being a Southerner, vol. 1

Seersucker: You don't wear white before Memorial Day, so you don't wear seersucker, either.

Hmmm..... Have you ever seen the movie "Serial Mom" ? There is a scene where the mom kills a women because she was wearing white shoes after Labor Day.

You come from good people!

as my Sister pointed out when this article ran in the Red and Black, fraternity boys here at Georgia would never, ever wear a pastel date night t-shirt. Good southern boys wear pastel polos and regular colored tees. :cool:

Seersucker is suitable on Easter Sunday and up to labor day throughout the South. I would probobly wait to wear white until Memorial Day.

And just to comment on "Soco's Guide to being a Southerner..." This guy sounds like a huge douchebag. Some things that I thought he should be shot for:

1.) Insisting upon wearing Oakleys with Croakies and that designer shades can be worn if not excessively. (Oakleys and Gucci sunglasses are for GDI's and guidos.)
2.) That a bowtie can be substituted for a long tie on "any" occassion.
3.) Birkenstocks should be worn as much as possible, even with shirt and tie. (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.)
4.) Dockers should be prevalent in your closet. (Sorry I don't wear pants you can buy at Target and Wal Mart.)
5.) You don't have to be good at golf, but you better know how to dress for it. (Not only does this sound extremely gay, it makes you look like a complete poser. Any true fratdaddy can hold his own on the golf course. Is it really that hard to dress for a round? Polo, khakis, shit its not rocket science.)

Agreed.
Oakleys are okay, but Gucci is unacceptable. Bolles, Costas and Ray Bans are for sure.

Also agreed on the Dockers, it can only be brooks bros and polo and a few others. I like Vineyard Vines dock pants but they're definitely for after easter in some of the colors they come in.

Also Birkenstocks? Is the guy a fucking hippy? Rainbows and Reefs are the only acceptable sandals.

EXACTLY what I was trying to say earlier. It's all relative!

Originally posted by shinerbock
I guess style just depends on what you're going for. For example, when I was in DC this summer, a few of the california interns were allowed to wear like jeans and flip flops. I doubt their constituents cared, but nobody else could really do that. So it probably goes both ways, as we laughed at those kids all summer, and we might not fit in wherever they were from.

Where was your intern deal in DC, or what did yall do?

I had an internship with a Senator from Texas two summers ago in DC and I wore a suit or a Blazer every day. Not to criticize, I just find it odd that they would allow someone to wear jeans and flip flops as an intern. I would think a more classy individual would think better to do that even if given the oppurtunity.

Agreed...the only time I ever saw anyone on the Hill in jeans was on Fridays during recess.

not to crash the topic but i read post after post and this is my response to each of them:

seriously? am i reading this?

Since when was the south the fashion capital of the US? I could've sworn that fashion was centered in New York (city) and LA.

And seriously? are a bunch of guys debating what can be worn before/after labor day etc?

give me a break! I hope you are not serious.

nothing described in these posts are casual wear at all all. Maybe good golf clothes or nice clothes for a less than casual occasion.

If you're a college student...dont' dress like you're 40 years old....but by all means dress accordingly to the event you are attending.

maybe i'm just not into rich yuppie looking guys.....give me a man in a pair of khakis cargos and a wrinkled and faded vintage (or faux vintage) t-shirt.

So says the girl from Jersey.

The worst place I have ever been to. Do you carry oxygen bottles around with you? Bullet proof armor is also advisable for anyone who plans on going to Jersey any time soon. How about that Jersey shore? Isn't it awesome!?!?!

I don't think anyone who is all about this form of fashion consider it "the height of fashion" it's traditional, it's southern, it's nice. We like it, and look down on those who love their abercrombie and hair gel. That's them. They won't make it into our exclusive fraternities, and that's okay. That's their choice. I will take a ralph lauren polo, some non-cargo pair of shorts, and my rainbows over a bunch of Gucci or Abercrombie crap.

I may just be ignorant, but how are you supposed to comb your hair without gel?

Use matte texture cream in your head and you'll be the coolest Beta on campus.

These southerners also consider mullets to be classics and are the reason why there are Shop at Home television stations dedicated to selling knives.

-Rudey

Just thought I'd point out that her location is Greensboro NC. ;)

Your style may be Abercrombie "vintage" Gucci etc..., but the style I personally like and wear is the polo and khaki look. (Not every outfit but a lot of the time.) It's something you can dress up, or be casual with. I'm not saying my style is superior to your style because it's just a preference.

I grew up wearing polos and khakis, so it's normal to me. It's not something I acquired when I went through rush, more so the style in my area. I never really knew it was such a bad thing to wear polos and khakis before 40. Regional differences, I suppose.

uhhhh, maybe i'm the ignorant one here, but just combing the hair with a comb has always worked for me. If your hair is too shaggy for that, try a brush.

-Eric

But when guys don't use product their hair gets poofy and it doesn't stay in place!

My dad has used Groom & Clean for as long as I can remember. Guys don't have to have crunchy gelled hair. But I don't know any guy who has good looking hair that doesn't use something to control it.

So what is your definition of casual wear? How I was raised, casual was khaki pants and a tucked in polo or button down or slacks and a polo. I really don't think anyone is saying the South is the fashion capital of the US. We have a style that we like and that is appropriate for the surroundings that we were born and raised in. Personally, I don't give a shit if anyone likes it or not. I care much more about looking respectable and presenting myself in a positive manner to others. Down here, gelled hair, torn up abercrombie and hollister, and "vintage" faded too-tight t-shirts won't do that.

Man-boobs are presentable but tshirts aren't huh?

-Rudey

I guess you can't really help it if you are a fat ass. Allthough i'm sure most people would rather choose to look at a fat guy in a Polo than a fat guy in a too-small vintage t-shirt.

And actually, I never said that t-shirts aren't presentable. I wear party t-shirts to class often. I do think there is something wrong with buying a queer as t-shirt that doesn't fit and costs 50$+