Giggling with joy!!!!!!!!! You hit a topic that gives me an excuse to take
a break from grading papers! YIPPEE!!! Many, many thanks.
I gave birth to the best example of metrosexual! He has fit the
metrosexual description perfectly since he was born in 1976! My #1 son has
matched ALL of his clothing since he was 3 y.o. when he started dressing
himself. Not only does the shirt and pants have to match but his socks,
shoes, underwear, belt (with shoes) ties, caps, etc. My favorite saying
about him, "He took my matching fashion colors way to seriously when he was
3 years old." He even takes this matching to extremes, colors and styles of
cars have to match and their accessories. This child also spent too much
time in front of the mirror. He makes sure to look at himself and adjust
hair or clothing everything he passes something that reflects... like
windows.
He wanted so bad to major in fashion in college, but decided college wasn't
for him after two years. But he married a fashion major. She is as bad as
him with the color/fashion matching and that their fashions have themes,
including their "Better Homes and Garden" home. Theirs and the children
wardrobes' volume are unreal! Of course, all their kids' clothing are
perfectly matched. Needless to say they are both perfectionist. Every
morning she gets up earlier, and finds out what kind of businesses he will
be visiting that day or business meetings. She pulls the appropriate
ensemble for the day. He has corporate wear, medium-size business and small
business wear. This breaks down even more by if the business is located in a
large city, small, or rural. Even their casual wear is very preppy and very
organized. I guess this business dress theory works. He is one of the top
five salespeople in a national Fortune 500 business. My son says that you
don't go into a small rural business in an expensive dress shirt and tie.
They are scared to talk with you. So you dress the part, a polo shirt and
Dockers. He says that the people feel comfortable to talk, if you dress the
appropriate way for the clients.
My son has the perfect tan year round, waxed eyebrows, and body hair trimmed
(everywhere visible). He started taking my coversticks when he was a
teenager. He used them to cover zits. He still uses them. He and his wife
have perfect skin, due to visiting spas on business trips. His wife will
not go a the trip if there is not a good spa at the hotel/resort.
A couple of months ago, Bazar magazine declared the term metrosexual was
out, on their "What's In and Out" monthly list. I guess that was the formal
declaration. There is a new term for this type of person, but I can't
recall it at this moment.
The other day I had a good giggle while driving my teenage daughter and her
girlfriends around . They were discussing the types of guys they liked.
Each one would say the types of guy and why. Every girl liked a different
types of guy according to their mode of dress and hairstyle. After each
girl said their guy's style, my daughter would say, "Well you would like my
brother _______ and the type of fashion style." Another girl would say what
type of guy they liked. My daughter would say the same thing but with a
different name.
There was a new girl in the group. She asked, "How many brothers do you
have?"
My daughter said, "Five and they all have different styles."
The other girls said, "Yes, she really does have five big brothers and they
all dress differently."
My daughter stated that her #1 brother was a metrosexual and the girls asked
was he gay.
The term metrosexual refers to a male who cares about their fashion sense as
much as a well-kept female. That is why some people think that this term
metrosexual is a gay man. Some people assume that only gay men dress
extremely well and care about their appearance, and straight guys do not.
Ironically, my #1 son wanted to fashion major in college. He decided
against it because he believed people would think he is gay. I believe my
son thinks this because when I was a fashion major student in the 1970s and
1990s, male gay students would come to our home to study for our fashion
tests, write papers, etc. Another irony, both my best college friends in
these decades were gay guys named Rodney. My son assumes that all guys who
are fashion majors are gay. His wife or I can't him otherwise. I have told
him that there are gay and straight fashion designers, salesmen, retailers,
buyers, etc. and named some of the famous ones. I guess, he is not the only
one who thinks this way. Last summer after the Calvin Klein's Biography
show in class, several of my students remarked, "I thought he was gay." We
had a long talk about assuming someone's sexually because of their career
choice. I was expecting this same "gay response" when I showed the same
video in last week's class. These students discussed a lot about Klein's
career and never mentioned his sexuality.
Nowadays, I wonder how many other men decided not to be a fashion major or
seek employment in the fashion industry for this same fear. During my
classes, I teach the students how to pop handfans and another session, what
it feels like to wear 1950s starched petticoats. Before each session, I
explain to the students that my sons are straight and love to pop my
handfans and have tried on my bags of petticoats. They have even taught
their friends, male and female to pop fans and have tried on the petticoats.
So far, I have had one guy in every class to refuse to do these things. It
is fun learning experience to pop fans and the students had a blast. The
best way to know how 1950s females felt when wearing one of those
petticoats, is to wear one for a little while.
Well...I've enjoyed the break! Time to get the red grading pen back out
again.
Penny Ladnier,
Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
www.costumegallery.com
www.costumelibrary.com
www.costumeclassroom.com
www.costumeencyclopedia.com
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