The War on Modesty, Decorum and Appropriateness

   I have asked, but never received,  an answer why sane people are paying inflated prices for ugly clothes: faded, old, patched, muddied, holey, and ragged clothes. Now there are shoes “dirtied, tattered, and seemingly held together by adhesive” selling for $535 a pair. Sorry, you can’t run out and purchase a pair since they have sold out. You can purchase a “ripped crewneck sweatshirt for $1,165.” Or, for less than a thousand bucks, you can own a frayed red fisherman’s sweater. T-shirts have bullet holes and have been buried in dirt for months to advance disintegration. For an additional premium, shirts and jeans are available that have been ripped by lions, tigers, and bears. 

   Is this a matter of style or sanity?

   This is called the “distressed” look.  My words  would be depressed or disgusted look.

   You have a right to look poor and be poor and designers and stores have a right to sell trash clothes, but who in his or her right mind wants such trash and is willing to pay big bucks to get it?

   When I was young — back when dinosaurs walked the earth — it was a delight, although infrequent event, to wear new clothes or shoes. Usually, I wore hand-me-downs. When a shirt was torn, it was immediately repaired by Mom. There was no possibility that a torn shirt or jeans with a hole in ...

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