It's Not That He's Stylish...

...it's just that he stands out.

Which, I think is the most important point to being fashionable. I spotted this dude, an emo-skater splash of color in a sea of polo barongs and golf shirts, in the Glorietta food court while enjoying a Hungry Pac chocolate cake. He's definitely your picture of today's "rebellious" youth (what they're rebelling against is anyone's guess) with his choice of color combinations and patterns with his lime-green and black striped hoodie and his black and white checkered Vans skater shoes. There is a statement shirt under that hoodie and there's not doubt in my mind that his ears are connected to his MP3 player. It presents a strange dichotomy: youth is tuned into his own world in noisy place, wanting to be alone, while his clothes scream for him to be noticed. It is, essentially, the definition of adolescence to anyone who has gone through it.

While his clothes look "faddish" (and perhaps they are, color-wise anyway) their forms are basic and therefore already belong in the category of clothing staples. The hoodie that he's wearing, according to some sources, started in the 1930's as workwear for laborers in the frozen warehouses of New York, much like jeans that is now a beloved staple (only Levi's originated in San Francisco, the other side of the country) It's history can go back as early as the Middle Ages, in the form of ecclesiastical wear.

Hoodies have also been an object of much controversy. It has been linked with anti-social behavior and criminal intent. It gave the wearer instant anonymity, mystery and an edge of rebellion. Starting with the flourishing Hip-Hop culture of the 1970's to today's skater culture.

In the Cycle Chart, the lime green black hoodie is a fad. Trends evolve, fads don't and I don't see a lime green and black striped hoodie as something that could really evolve, but the hoodie in its pure form? Classic. Therefore, the hoodie in neon colors with black stripes is on the decline, while the classic hoodie is still at its peak.


-Lyra Kristine Meneses