(ThyBlackMan.com) “I don’t want no scrubs,
A scrub is a guy who can’t get no love from me.”
There is nothing sadder than seeing a man fully committed to his late 40’s wearing clothes that were designed for someone 20 years younger than him. Actually, watching him walk, or rather, shuffle down the street is a much more depressing, and comedic, sight.
Undoubtedly the song Scrubs by TLC was referencing this guy.
This is a truly depressing trend, grown men racing men half their age to the same clothing rack. In many cases the clothes for the young guys don’t even come in the right size for these older men. Still that doesn’t stop them from squeezing their often out-of-shape bodies into a t-shirt or pair of jeans just for the sake of looking younger or cool.
In reality the look neither. Truly TLC had it right.
The problem is that, along the way, something incredible happens in their minds. These very guys who are older and should be more mature suddenly feel that a grown woman should respond to them the same way that a younger girl responds to a guy who the clothes were really made for. They feel that a grown woman should be so excited to be seen with someone who is wearing a trendy outfit, and when they don’t react the same way an 18-year-old would react, of course the problem isn’t them. It’s the woman.
If the saying is true that clothes make the man, then sadly there are a lot of boys walking around.
From men in the 50’s and 60’s walking around in sagging jeans and t-shirts the size of dresses to the slick, and very out of place 80-year-old cat daddy wearing too-tight jeans pulled up above his navel the state of male fashion is in dire need of a style stun gun.
Too many grown men today seem to be stuck in an unending cycle of a child’s fashion choices when it comes down to the clothes that they wear. For the sake of comfort, and in some cases as a result of complete fashion blindness, men who should be setting an example for the younger generations are racing against them to grab the trendiest t-shirt or most ill-fitting jeans off the rack. As society has become a lot less formal in men’s and women’s attire, it seems that a lot of men have accelerated their decline in the fine art of dressing like a man for sake of, well, I don’t know.
There are several benefits to dressing like a man.
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Dressing like a man means that you understand there is a difference between a man and a boy. Hint: If you’re above the age of 28 and can’t run at full gate because your jeans are intentionally too tight, you’re not dressed like a man.
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Men and boys want different things because men and boys are looking in different areas. Hint: Boys destroy, men build.
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Boys chase trends, men establish styles. Hint: People notice trends when you walk into the room. They remember your style when you walk out.
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Boys attract girls, men attract women. Hint: None necessary
In a recent controlled study, men and women rated the attractiveness of two opposite-sex targets that wore one of three costumes varying in social status (high, middle, low). The groups of men and women were asked to provide the likelihood of engaging in several types of relationships with the other based on their attire. The conclusion of this study showed that men didn’t change their response in the type of relationships they would engage in with the women based on their clothing. However the findings with the women were completely different. There was a direct correlation between how the men were dressed and what level of relationship engagement the women were willing to have with them. In other words, with women, clothes truly do make the man.
So, what does it mean to dress like a man? You might think that dressing like a man means that you have to wear a shirt, tie, sports coat, dress slacks and shoes that hold a shine. While that might be more easily identified as a manly uniform it does not accurately define, in its totality, what dressing like a man means. Let’s face it, there are many parts of the world where men don’t wear these types of clothes at all, and they are just as manly as the guy who does.
Dressing like a man means that you’re not overly concerned with fitting into the crowd; it means that your style flows from within and not from the iron-on name prominently displayed across the front of your shirt. Dressing like a man is timeless. It means that when you walk into a room you are the statement. Dressing like a man means you’re wearing something that doesn’t hide who you are under layers of fluff, but rather lets who you really are roam free. Dressing like a man makes people remember you long after you’ve gone, and you don’t even care.
There are powerful nuances that separate dressing like a man from dressing like a boy. One says “respect me”, the other says “laugh at me.” Sadly the latter seems to be the growing trend with many of our black men today. As a result too many women have had to “dumb down” their hard-wiring just for the sake of not being alone. Hopefully this trend ends soon.
Staff Writer; Steven Robinson
This talented brother is just an email away; StevenRob@ThyBlackMan.com.
