The new elegance
Well, I’m not quite sure what to say about this, except that I had no idea who Nick Jonas was before I looked him up. And that at least he won’t trip on his shoelaces:
The New Neo
A blog about political change, among other things
Well, I’m not quite sure what to say about this, except that I had no idea who Nick Jonas was before I looked him up. And that at least he won’t trip on his shoelaces:
My first response was that it this is the new elegance, the apocalypse must be near.
On second thought, polka dots over stripes over laceless shoes is not so unreasonable compared to some of the stuff we see–say on the red carpet.
I keep telling my wife when I don’t shave for a day or so that I am striving for the scruffy hunk look. She isn’t buying.
This a male version of the peacocking normally expressed by women.
Other than the flamboyant look of the clothing, note the cut of the sleeves to emphasize Jonas’s arms like a woman’s dress might be designed to show off her toned legs.
Traditionally, men’s appearance expressed a uniform standard of masculinity, with military uniform as the apotheosis, while the seemingly unlimited variation in women’s wear was meant to show off their individual plumage. Eg, the taboo of 2 women showing up in the same dress at a social function, eg, Neo’s recent post on the subject. Men did not have that taboo.
There is variation and nuances are magnified in traditional menswear, but in the manner that soldiers can read military uniforms by recognizing slight variations that non-military people would overlook.
Jonas’s appearance is not traditionally masculine. Instead, his is a traditionally female aesthetic translated to menswear.
Reminds me of the kind of ensemble my granddaughter would pull together when she first started dressing herself.
Epic whores with epic failures.
Yes, it could be and has frequently been much worse. Young men in baggy pants with visible underwear worn dangerously close to falling off gets my vote for the lowest possible bar in taste.
Diamonds over stripes bespeaks a lack of sophistication, perhaps that’s the point. If not, far higher standards have been achieved many times. The laceless shoes are a kind of non-sequitur(?), why have holes if they serve no purpose? If form does not follow function, then it is an empty affectation at best.
Eric:
But what about these guys?
Neo,
Good point. Modify what I said to the traditional American Protestant aesthetic.
Ach. No shoelaces, no belt, no close shave and he’s wearing his mom’s blouse.
Eric,
About that “traditional American Protestant aesthetic”: Wasn’t there a difference between Puritan-influenced New England and the Southern states? Think of Thomas Jefferson with his fondness for red breeches. John Adams must have shuddered.
Ann,
Like I said, there is variation in traditional menswear. There’s variation in American military uniforms, too.
I’m sure regional tastes differed, but I tend to think Jefferson’s flair was influenced more by his Francophile tastes than as a Southern gentleman. George Washington was a Virginian, too; of course, the father of our country was a military man.
Salvation Army chic? No offense to the homeless intended, but it looks like the kind of ensemble homeless people find for themselves at the various charities- but most of them wouldn’t choose to look that way if they could afford something else.
I long for the day when grown men no longer wear sneakers with dress trousers.
These fashion postings always entertain, perhaps because they tend to show that there are those in the world with worst taste than I- at least according to my standards. 🙂
Did you all know that men in the Elizabethan Court used to dye their hair orange, purple, and green??? and that they would weave gems into their beards? One brave soul even showed up with a purple beard with large orange dots!!!
So crazy fashions come and go. Oh, and there was a time in the Middle Ages (IIRC) when men wore hose and had shoes with toes sooo long that they had to use a leather lace leading from the tip and tie it up to their leg just below the calf. Picture that one, and you’ll realize we’re still closer to the early 19th-century Dutch burghers in dress code than to our earlier ancestors.
He kind of reminds me of a refugee from Eastern Europe boxing team in the 1970’s who defected while participating in an athletic event. The kid has the arms of a boxer and looks as if he perhaps grabbed other people’s clothes while making his escape. All he is lacking is a pair of bell bottom trousers and he would be a “Wild and Crazy Guy”.
Neo, if you had a teenage daughter you would instantly have known who he is. He currently occupies a portion of my daughter’s wall in her room. 😉
Beverly, they were just following the anime tradition before the anime.
If you had shown me that photo, and said nothing, I would have asked “Who is the dork?”
All three of the main visual components — the pants or shirt by themselves, much less together, as well as the shoes without laces, say “Dork Dork Dork”.
And the hair style does not match his face well, either: Dork Special Mention.
If that’s elegance, I want off the planet.
Elegance? In WHOSE dictionary?
Well, he’s dated Miley Cyrus (before she got weird), Selena Gomez and Miss Universe Olivia Culpo. I don’t think he is too worried about what we think. In fact, we should probably be asking him for dating advice.
Cyrus became like that because of that date.
That’s some dating advice for decadent, corrupt, bastos that think they are the upper echelon of human worth.
I figure he just woke up hung over and late and dragged himself into the top two items in his laundry hamper. No big deal, happens all the time.