Why are you in such a rush to be old?

stylepoints:

I’ve recently noticed that a disproportionate number of hashtagmenswear bloggers are college students. To them, I say: what the fuck is wrong with you kids? You have your whole life to dress like a grown man, and a small window in which you can indulge your more whimsical side. DON’T FUCKING BLOW IT.

This is the time to engage in all that counter-cultural bullshit that makes for fantastic storytelling later in life. Instead you’re strutting around campus like a fratted-out Alex P Keaton. Oh, you like clothes? Then experiment with them. I can’t wear Dries Van Noten but you assholes can…and you don’t. Whats with the gratuitous formality? Nobody is mistaking you for a grown-ass man, son. Trust.

I used to look at those Street Etiquette dudes with the side eye. Those dudes were the emperors, and they were prancing around SoHo butt-ass-naked. I couldn’t understand how no one seemed to notice that more often than not, those dudes looked ridiculous. More recently, I’ve come to the realization that I had been projecting myself onto them. Everything they wear would be laughable on me because I probably have 15 years, ten inches and 100 pounds on them. You know what? Those dudes are dope. They know exactly who they are and execute that shit flawlessly. You look fucking ridiculous, Little Lord Fratleroy.

What happened to being young and only caring about getting wasted, hanging out with your friends, being a complete dickhead and meeting girls? You know, indulging whatever whims your underdeveloped, foolish mind can come up with. Clothes are great and looking put together is great, but when you are young you have the license to do so much more reckless and enjoyable shit than talk about clothes on the internet. Or document the evolution of your personal style. Or whatever it is you are blogging about. Waste your time doing that stuff after you graduate and you realize that your white collar job is killing your soul so much faster than you anticipated. That’s when you’re going to need a creative outlet so don’t burn yourself out. All of you have the rest of your life to work towards whatever unattainable goal the Internet has convinced you is within reach as long as you have a cool Tumblr. Or just keeping doing whatever it is that you’re doing because it makes you happy. That’s totally fine too. In a few years you’ll be bitching to someone younger anyway.

Regardless, you have my undivided support in all your endeavors.

Stay golden.

Actually, I have the opposite view of StylePoints and L.A.S.

Looking back at college, I wish I hadn’t wasted so much of my time being an idiot and been more serious. I should have buckled down and really pursued more of the things I was interested in and loved to do instead of being a drunken mess who ended up on academic probation (and yet somehow still managed to get into grad school).

How you dress really isn’t as important as how you spend your time. You don’t realize how valuable your free time is in college (and how much of it you have) until you end up at a fulltime job you don’t like with a commute that sucks. You begin to regret not taking all that free time you had in college to pursue an interest and turn it into a side career — and maybe a dream job working for yourself.

If you’re dressing to look older, then that’s fine. But also maybe really make the attempt to grow up mentally, too. Start thinking really damned hard about your future and seek out people who can give you harsh advice about what it means to have a career. Find a mentor and learn some skills in an area you care and love.

And just maybe you can avoid that white collar job that sucks your soul for years until you manage to claw and fight your way out of with enough luck.

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