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Comment by quantadev | Hacker News Reader

In modern times clothing became boring precisely when Mark Zukerberg first revealed video of his walk-in closet having nothing but racks of identical gray T-shirts in it. Legend has it that from that day forward no striped or colored shirts have ever been seen in Silicon Valley.

Then all socks went from white to black, oddly enough.

The other clothing tragedy that happened around the same time-frame was that someone in Hollywood declared Fanny Packs to be out of style right when tight jeans came into being. This was a true tragedy for the hipsters, because fitting large phones into yoga-fit tight jeans would've been something even Harry Houdini would scoff at.

I've worn Levis 501s and used a Fanny Pack forever, and I never plan to stop.

Don't get me started on grown-azz men wearing bead or string bracelets. Nothing is more cringe than that, except for maybe flip-flops on men, but don't get me started.

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> Don't get me started on grown-azz men wearing bead or string bracelets.

Unless it was made by their young daughter/granddaughter, it which case it is the mightiest of talismans.

That is very true. :)

I really don't intend for this to be a personal attack, so please don't take offense, but I think it's unusual to wear a fanny pack while calling other fashion "cringe".

The difference is fanny packs have utility. Even Batman has a utility belt. I call my fanny pack my "Utility Belt" in fact. Batman didn't wear beads. lol.

So do many other bags.

It feels weird to hear someone talk about the death of fashion, and in the same post, attack people's fashion.

If you want to wear your beaded fanny pack with sandals, more power to you.

I think you're missing the main point of vanity versus utility, in my light-hearted semi-humorous post.

There's nothing wrong with the vanity of choosing a fanny pack over pockets or another bag these days. I support your fashion choice. Especially if you prefer your fashion to be functional. I do, too!

You're correct that I care about utility, but incorrect that it's vanity/fashion.

It seems important to you that others understand you are strictly utilitarian, that you're not like the others that busy themselves with frivolities like jewelry and designer sneakers. You dress yourself in a way that clearly communicates that. Some items are off limits because they don't fit the look. Flip flops? Not even as shower shoes, because you're a grown man.

Deep irony here.

I find it interesting when people try to redefine words to have the opposite meaning. We now have someone saying `utility` choices are actually `fashion/vanity` choices. lol. They're just transparently playing word games, on purpose, but it's still amusing.

Not playing with words, I'll tell you straight up that you sound self-conscious about how you look.

Like I just told the other insult comic on this thread: "Bro it took me 6 years to even notice I was the only one still wearing white socks". Kinda shoots down your theory.

I think that we just think about fashion differently. Putting thought into what you wear for any reason, functional or otherwise, is fashion.

Beyond that, you're choosing a suboptimal and uncommon item for "utility" (a fanny pack) where other, better options would suffice. Why? I can't answer that, maybe to make a statement. In any case, this choice is "fashion".

Props to you for going out wearing what you like and not caring what other people think, be it flip flops or a fanny pack or a feather boa. Rock it!

You're just playing word games. Fashion means what's popular/trending and `utility` means the exact opposite.

> Fashion means what's popular/trending and `utility` means the exact opposite.

Does it? Never heard that one before. I see a lot of people wearing fashion that isn't currently popular or trending, and a lot of utilitarian fashion (look up "techwear")

I suppose I probably won't convince you otherwise, it seems very important to your belief system that utilitarian fashion choices not be considered fashion choices because otherwise it would mean you engage in fashion, a prospect you seem to find unpalatable.

I think Websters Dictionary can solve this for you, if you're still confused. You can compare both utility v.s. fashion and see who's right if you want. In the context we're using these words they're the exact opposite.

Are you sure you replied to the right post? Your reply doesn't seem to address either of the two points in the post to which you replied.

You should just admit some people genuinely don't follow trends. Bro it took me like 6 years to even notice everyone but me had ONLY black socks. White is Faux Pas. bwahahahahaha.

Are you sure you replied to the right post? Your reply doesn't seem to address the post to which it replied.

Yep 'utility' vs 'fashion'. Words 5yr olds can understand.

Do you cringe about clothes when you are visit other places too?

Adilettes (Adidas flip flops) und a fanny pack by Gucci are a legit clothing style in Germany. Maybe cringe for some, but state of the art for others.

Just how young are you?

Your 501s are an echo of Steve Job's wardrobe, "black long-sleeved mock turtleneck made by Issey Miyake, Levi's 501 blue jeans, and New Balance 991 sneakers", quoting his Wikipedia entry. Elizabeth Holmes was one follower of that style.

I can assure you that tight jeans came into being many years before cell phones, even if you date from the first demonstration version in 1973.

Fanny packs were in dubious style when I was in college in the early 1990s.

Much comedy was born of the "bathe wearing your jeans" and lying on the bed trying to get tight jeans over the thighs, especially during the late 80s. Then came leggings and lycra woven into jeans that now allow slipping tight jeans on without too much fuss.

On the flip side, from 1972 at https://archive.org/details/mensupermen0000coop/page/22/mode... :

"Today youths ... wear clothes which disconcert their elders, including tight jeans to emphasise a bulging crotch. They spend most of their time strumming on guitars or trendy-looking girls who look as though they’ve just crawled out from underneath a rolling stone. Secretly these girls will worry about tight jeans making a man impotent."

I was in High School in the late 1980s, so yeah we had some pretty narrow ankle pants for sure, but what's funny about today is the comical pairing of super tight up top too, along with a massive phone jammed into a front pocket that looks like you'd need crow bar to get it out. The obvious solution is a fanny pack, but the kids are trapped by circumstance because fanny packs are out. lol. Perfect Storm of fashion comedy.

You think kids now care don't use fanny packs because "someone in Hollywood declared Fanny Packs to be out of style" back when you were in high school in the 1980s?

How amazingly influential this mysterious someone was, to influence things some 35 years later!

Certainly more then how the beatnik and hipster styles of the 1950s influenced your generation of HS students.

Since purses are another obvious solution, I place no faith in your interpretation.

Fashion trends come and go and come back again. So that fanny packs are out of style again doesn't surprise me.

They've only come back in the form of shoulder slings. The "Waist Wear Phobia" is still very real.

Fanny packs have never been in style. The jokes about out-of-style dads wearing fanny packs have been around since they were invented.

Oh they were definitely in style. They were/are a great way to carry stuff. Just look at all the yoga-tight pants on kids today with front pockets bursting at the seams. lol. These kids would LOVE to use fanny packs, but are too scared too.

I am so surprised everybody calls them out of style. Youth around here (German speaking countries) just throws them over the shoulder. This slowly creeped from 'dealer on the corner look' to the default norm.

Right I'm aware of the 'over the shoulder' style happening in Europe right now. People recognize the utility of a fanny pack sized bag, but would never dare to wear it around the waist, for fear of being ridiculed.

Exactly, and rightfully so. It just looks weird having it around the waist.

I still even carry my phone in a belt pouch. A major Fashion Faux Pas, because I should be cramming it down a pocket, instead, like a civilized member of society. lol.

Oh, now you made me remember the dedicated phone holder! That is another accessory that just went the way of the dodo. I guess the size of today's phones is to blame.

Right. I'm the only one on the planet still using a belt-loop phone holder. :) I'm just old enough not to have `phone addiction` so I just wear it around and have no urge to take it out every 3 seconds.

Well, if anything, it makes your phone much more easily accessible. Like a modern "phoneslinger". :)

Fashions in everything. At one point I wanted a new fanny pack for some reason and you just couldn't find them. Then they became more common again. I have a friend who loves her pickleball carrier for carrying odds and ends around.

In Texas most fanny packs are for guns, I bet. I wear my gun cowboy-style in a holster, but most women don't want to do that.

I just hate shoes. I'd go barefoot if somebody hadn't filled all the walking environments with broken glass, so flip-flops and huaraches it is.

I love my 5-fingers, but they are too hot for general wear.

Don't get me started on the harm "normal" shoes do to your feet.

There are excellent non-5F barefoot shoes that work well in hot environments.

Like flip-flops and huaraches?

> Nothing is more cringe than that, except for maybe flip-flops on men, but don't get me started.

Are other sandals acceptable?

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Yeah, it's interesting, your phrasing in this comment thread comes off very serious and sincere with little if any hint of sarcasm. Maybe throw a "lol" in there somewhere so the rest of us can get a hint.

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This is just Poe's law in action, no need to be smug about it

You are also club socks in sauna?

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