Seasons, Uncategorized, work

Funny Clothes

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It was always interesting to people watch in Winnipeg in early Spring, since people dressed so oddly.   We would see folks strolling in downtown Winnipeg wearing winter parkas, toques,  and shorts. It wasn’t quite winter, nor yet spring,  so they dressed for any eventuality.

I had the same experience the other day at work. I rode the elevator to the first floor to pick up a client from the waiting room.  I saw one man wearing a parka and a knitted, gaily colored Scandinavian stocking hat with ties and ear flaps. Next to him was a fellow with a top hat festooned with a feather. Standing by the receptionist desk was someone wearing a yarmulke.  I guess it was the day for special hats. We seldom have  such a variety of head gear. Caps and cowboy hats are the norm.

My wardrobe consists mainly of corduroy pants and sweaters.  I don’t wear hats since I think I look weird in them. I think it has something to do with the shape of my head.  I don’t like to draw attention to myself with my clothes. I wish I was brave enough to  wear a top hat to work, or maybe one of those Dutch lace caps with wings. I suppose, though, that people would say I dress “funny”.

Were you ever a flamboyant dresser? What do you wear that draws attention?  Did your mother used to dress you funny?

32 thoughts on “Funny Clothes”

  1. No, nothing, and no. Clothes just aren’t my thing. I dress practically and comfortably. I also dislike hats because I have a large head and a hat only draws attention to it. But I wear a cap or straw hat on the golf course now because my hair is thinning so much I get sunburned on the top of my head in mid-day if I don’t wear a hat. 😦

    Chris in O-town

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  2. Lately the most flamboyant I get is wearing shamrock earrings and a bright green shirt for St. Patrick’s Day – and they always get noticed.

    I posted this not long ago, though, hope there’s someone who hasn’t read it: “I remember back in 1970 San Francisco, I had a pair of bell bottoms in a bright red-and-white check; the blouse that accompanied was navy-red-white pattern that included the checks. with billowing sleeves and a huge collar. I was only brave enough to wear the set once to a party, and I felt so “on display” that I never wore them together again. (The blouse was great with jeans, though.) Wish I had a photo…”

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  4. I am such a flamboyant dresser. I’ve had to buy a lot of new clothes lately and I’ve just gone wild. I now have a fairly bright red mock turtleneck and an orange turtleneck. I also have some pants that are not blue jeans – two pairs of corduroys, light gray and tan. One of the most exciting features of these new clothes is that none of them have any holes in them. I feel so dressed up and fancy.

    Do they attract attention? Well, actually not. Nobody at any of my medical appointments has said anything about them and neither has anyone who lives here. What is wrong with them? I suppose my clothes would get more attention if I wore my old clothes, especially if the too-big pants fell down.

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  5. Twenty-five years ago I purchased a purple mumu as a joke. My friend, Tia, and I had planned a road trip together to celebrate our twenty-five year friendship. I drove to her house In Oswego, IL, dressed in my purple mumu and a big red hat (also bought at a thrift store for the occasion) to pick her up.

    Tia has always been a fastidious dresser, and I knew arriving in this outfit would blow her mind; she would not approve. I hadn’t quite expected her reaction, though. She absolutely refused to leave the house with me dressed in that outfit. I claimed it was the only outfit I had, and since she’s about six inches shorter and 50 lbs. heavier than me, I couldn’t borrow any of her clothes. So I had my way.

    We laughed a lot during that trip. We visited mutual friends in St. Louis, and headed on down to see Revel, another mutual friend, in Carbondale where we first met.

    To this day Tia will bring up that purple mumu. We laughed even harder, though, when she, her husband Bob, and their two kids visited us one time. Due to extreme allergies, they couldn’t stay at our house, so had found rooms in a local motel with an indoor swimming pool. For some reason I couldn’t locate my swim suit, and had to use one of Tia’s. I am so glad this was before the ever present cell phone and photo opportunities. The image I have in my mind is more than plenty, but I have to admit, it is funny.

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      1. As I recall, BiR, I wore a brown paper bag over my head when we went to the pool. Seriously, it was such a joke, you wouldn’t believe that anyone would be seen in public like that.

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        1. Even Tia and Bob”s kid thought it was funny, and you know teens, they don’t think anything is funny.

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  6. I generally don’t wear flamboyant clothes — only in the 60’s & 70’s when it was kind of the fashion (ugly as it was). In high school, I remember I had sewed myself a pair of uber fashionable pants –high waist, cuffed, bell bottoms in a bright green plaid seersucker. I thought they were “da bomb” back then. Now I shudder at the thought of them.

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  8. At some point in the 70s, (and we became parents in 1970, so this was somebody’s dad wearing this outfit and thinking it was a good idea), husband had a pair of red and white plaid bell bottoms that, as far as we can remember, he wore with his burgundy patent leather and black
    velvet platform saddle shoes. Man, I wish I could find a picture!

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  11. I do recall having to wear hand-me-downs from older cousins that were slightly passé fashion-wise, and these girls had smaller waists than I did, so they weren’t always comfortable. I’m sure in my teen years I rebelled and refused to wear them anymore.

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  12. I remember, in the ‘60s during the Carnaby Street trend, buying a couple of flowered shirts with oversized collars.

    And then there are the cowboy shirts I’ve mentioned before. This was in the early seventies and I was sewing them myself. The goal was the sort of western shirt that the singing cowboys wore, with curved slash pockets with arrows on the ends and fancy contrasting yokes and pearl snap buttons. The ones they sold at western shops were usually some awful satin material for square dancing or something. Mine were cotton but sometimes in non-western prints, like palm trees or carrots.

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  13. I’ve been thinking about this all day and realize that most of my clothing choices have to do with ease of wearing. I favor pullovers, pull ups, slip ons, etc. I don’t like lots of buttons or zippers down the back, not a fan of shoelaces.

    I have a handful of clothing pieces that get comments – a black, turquoise and orange dashiki, two different Indian tunics (one red, one green), a purple sundress. I have a great tunic w/ musical notes that people seem to like. And I have a LOT of dangly, colorful earrings.

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  14. i remember being is a group where the guy said ok i got the kansas city chief and the drresser. i said the dresser? and he said yeah. i dont see people who wear nice clothes very often. most folks are jeans and a t shirt
    i have worn a sports coat since garage sales in high school. i used to be flamboyant and enjoy it flag shirts during hippy days. african dashiki shirts shoes have always been a thing, remember the saturday night live platforms. i had a wonderful pair of yellow natural color buckskin platforms i dont know what happened to. i had bell bottoms and flop hats and then i started wearing fedoras. when i got into sales i got to paly dress up. a suit was the deal and i loved good suits. cedrics in minneapolis was a hot store and i would buy a couple of suits a quarter and it was always a good suit not a jc penny suit. the brand names like christian dior givincy oscar de la renta, von furstenburg, then into the current trends of ralph lauren, hugo boss, zenga and nordstrom. in my online business i have been purchasing and selling mens wear for so long i no longer have any attatchnment to the suits. i used to pick out a couple of facvorites and keep them in my closet but i found i dont really have any trouble finding one i like just as well whenever i need to grab a jacket or a suit. same with shirts mpants shoes top coats hats etc.
    i laugh today because i look at my outfit and realize i have an investment of under $50 and the hat underwear and socks make up the majority of the expense. jacket shirt a=pants shoes and top coat $15 total

    hart shaffner and marx, jack victor, loro piano brands that are common in the fashion industry that i get such a kick out of knowing. i was in goodwill a couple weeks ago and a guy who was a charachter said you look like a buyer… i said yep , he said dond miss that blue zenga over there its a beauty. normally i dont buy anything but the 75% off tag on tuesday so a 8.99 jacket end up being 2.25 a 4/99 shirt is 1.25 5.99 pants 1.50 20 topcoat $5 but this was a $1000 coat for 8.99 so i sprung for it. it in a bag in my warehouse along with thousands of others. i have a thousand listed and need to ge the rest up and offered.

    my mom used to think sunday dress up clothes were the thing. litlle kid suit and ties black slipons and a preperation for a tie every day at catholic school.
    i am the opposite of kondo. i keep everything. i love looking at and wearing the shirt i wore in 10th grade on the 4th of july ( the armpit finally gave way at the seam)
    i have boxes of shoes and coats and stuff form the old days, it does bring joy so i guess i am the guy who gets to keep it according to the spark joy lady. it really does spark joy for me.

    i have a friend who is a very rich guy ad he asked me one time how come i get dressed up all the time. he is kind of a meatball who wears pants and a shirt and thats the requirement. and it shows. i told him life is possible to live well, good food, good music, good books and the beautyful choice instead of the ordinary one. he kind of got it. the italians all get it. life i beautiful is the first rule in italy, the frendch get it for the most part with those beautiful blues. the germans with their purple stripped pants well its the germans…

    i getting over the crud. hope you all alvoid it. i am not a good patient anymore. i went so many years without ever getting sick i am now well versed in how to deal with it.
    onwarsd and upward.
    pretty custom made italian coat today a designer shirt perry ellis i think, chaps black skinny leg cords, born mule shoes ( i found these 30 years ago and they stopped making them. i have been buying them on ebay for all these years and am down to my last pair)
    yesterday i had a wonderful cotton shirt with hidden buttons and it was so comfortable i was thinking i should send it over to my hong kong tailor and tell him to use this as a template. (kind of the opposite of not getting attatched to a particular shirt.

    coming into hawaiin shirt and shorts season . out with the birkys and coats are lined up according to light weight appeal along with the light weight pants to match and an occasional shorts and linen suit coat combo. i do like dressing. dont i?

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