(No) Generation Gap

This weekend I saw my father, along with a bunch of other guys his age. Looking at him, and comparing his style of dress to their "style" of dress, I was thinking, for almost 64 years old, he still dresses with style and class. It got me thinking about many of the style tips that my father imparted to me as a young man, that I've made my own.

- Wear your pants at your waist. Your waist is not below your belly. If you've gained weight, don't pretend to still be a 34 waist and wear your pants so low that your gut sticks out and you can't see your shoes.

-Invest in a shoe shine kit. Learn how to shine your shoes.

-Don't waste your money on rayon, dacron, or any other man made "material".

-Don't wear your clothes baggy, no matter what the current style meter says. It never looks good.

-Always have a little sideburn.

Now I don't want to pretend we see eye-to-eye on every style issue. There are plenty of things I wish he'd take my advice on, but I guess you can't win 'em all. I'm still the child in this relationship.

It's interesting how style gets handed down through the generations. For example, my father's father was a construction worker. You would've never known it though from pictures of him. When men of his generation finished their Monday thru Friday blue collar jobs, they hung up their work clothes for the weekend. In almost every picture I can find of my grandfather is him in a suit and tie, or at least slacks and a dress shirt. Shaved. Shined shoes. Tie clip. Fedora. Straw hat in the summer. Tell me how often you see that today? You don't even see gents wearing suits to white collar jobs these days, never mind on the weekends. I think the only time I ever saw my grandfather not dressed was when he was working in the garden.

Funny how time kills some traditions that would have been better off left alone.