Hacker News Reader

Hoodies and t-shirts?! That's so 2012. What part of San Francisco are you in? All the cool startups in SoMa are enforcing a strict lumbersexual dress code these days.

This comment is bleeding edge: https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Anews.ycombinator.com%...

http://imgur.com/ZUyBZMt

Where's Waldo?

somebody sent me a post about the lumbersexual thing ( I think it was this one : http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/6235-the-lumbersexual-... ). Sort of bugs me that some basic clothing that's good for outdoors and daily life in the northwest gets co-opted into a fashion thing

Sigh. I grew up on the Olympic Peninsula (far western Washington) and this is basically my whole wardrobe. Moved to the bay area over the summer and now I feel gross wearing it. Hopefully fashion moves on soon and I can wear the clothes I have and like in peace.

Don't worry. In another year or so, everybody will shave their beards and trade in their plaid shirts and blue Wrangers so that they can revolutionize fashion by disrupting some other group's wardrobe.

In the meantime, you should consider setting up shop as a recruiter. You could probably place your Washington friends in jobs at startups here fairly easily. If they can memorize a few words/acronyms (Angular, MVVM, etc.) and are willing to show up to the interview with an axe for good measure, you'll be cashing checks in no time.

here here :) btw - I regularly drive from pdx to port angeles on way taking my kids to the grand parents' on vancouver island. That is some beautiful country. Don't stay away too long :)

I guess I'm too old; can someone explain the diff between a lumbersexual and what was called 'grunge'?

Lumbersexuals weren't born yet when grunge was popular. Feel old yet?

Also, lumbersexuals have fancier hair. Grunge has more spiritual similarly to t shirts and hoodies, a rejection of expensive fancy fashion, than the fancified hipsterism that chased after it.

Ahh, yes, I forgot the grooming part. Very good point. I should know from when I used to browse uncrate and the abundance of grooming products they advertised.

Lumbersexuals have better personal hygiene.

Sort of bugs me that some basic clothing that's good for outdoors and daily life in the northwest gets co-opted into a fashion thing

So it's the 1990s again? Cool, cargo pants must be coming back, too. I wonder if it has anything to do with the rise of Portland in pop culture. Portlandia's got it right: it's still the 90's in Portland (I'm from the area, it's pretty much true).

i'm in pdx too -- you're right on all counts. cargo pants ftw :) the problem with fashion is when my crappy cargo pants or vest go from $$ to $$$+

You are positing an extreme cultural relativism. There is a huge difference between status plays that are very expensive and exclusive and resource-intensive, and status plays that are accesible to anyone who chooses not to be a wasteful exclusive jerk.

Compare Burners who fly a helicopter into camp, vs people who go for a hike in the city park.

That's why everyone wears hoodies and tshirts: to show that they're different from MBAs and the suits and the bankers.

That's a really weird conclusion to come to. I wear hoodies and tee shirts because 1) my job doesn't require more, 2) my hoodie and tee are comfortable and easily adaptable to changing temperature, and 3) clothing shopping is a chore, an extreme annoyance.

Well-fitting "slob" clothing looks better than poorly-fitting mid-range "nice" clothing, particularly when one doesn't fit the body type of the target audience for the latter.

I really glad some of you in Tech started a trend to kill the Tie. I never saw the need for a tie. Plus, I honestly never found a tie that felt mildly comfortable. I graduated college in the late 80's, and the thought of wearing a tie was always on my mind. It has no function, other than conformity. A girdle at least has a purpose--a bad purpose, but at east there's some logic behind it? My father felt the same way. Plus, it seems like every time I felt taken advantage of in business, the guy was wearing a tie?

It's a counter-intuitive argument, but an extremely astute one. Consider: Many people would rather not wear an ill-fitting 'nice' outfit, or may not have the sartorial education to do so, but feel obliged to do so as a condition of their employment. You won't be able to get a job as a bank clerk if you show up dressed in a hoodie and jeans, for example; you need to show up in a shirt and tie (if you're a guy) even it's the cheapest item that you could find at Men's Wearhouse and you don't look very good in it.

'Well-fitting slob clothing' not only signals that you're not subject to some sort of onerous dress code imposed by your employer (within reason), but also that you can afford to spend money on what most people could consider leisurewear. Further, while you may genuinely not be interested in clothes, picking them out in the morning, looking at other peoples', or shopping for them - and while I can sympathize with your disinterest - that very indifference is itself a mark of affluence. Most people work hard at that stuff because they feel obliged to create a certain image to get employed, get laid, and maintain their self-respect. If they don't care about clothes and they choose not to spend money on them, and they don't happen to put out certain other socioeconomic signals, then they will just be dismissed as scruffy bums.

not only signals that you're not subject to some sort of onerous dress code imposed by your employer

If anything, that signifies low status. The vast majority of people in hoodies and tees are not six figure engineers and designers.

but also that you can afford to spend money on what most people could consider leisurewear.

Oh, come on. Hoodies and tees are cheap. Really cheap. And versatile.

Give me a couple of basic color tees, one hoodie, and two pairs of jeans, and that's my wardrobe. I don't need to cycle my shirt colors and patterns, monitor my tie usage, iron my clothes, etc.

I don't buy your argument at all.

Try asking some of your friends who are interested in clothes about this. You may be surprised at what you learn.

Oh, I see, no true Scotsman. Great argument.

Conspicuous non-consumption and conspicuous consumption are both playing the status game, for sure. But non-consumption is surely an environmentally better way to play it.

Perhaps if conspicuous philanthropy found its way down to everyday people, that would be a nice addition too.

Reminds me of those 70's Dr Pepper ads: "Join the non-conformists!"

You logic can be applied to anything: any behavior meant to be observed by others would become an attempt to show off status. It has little explanatory power.

I dunno, some people are just slobs/lazy

i think im doing comedy. :)

i like choco tacos but wendys and ramen cups are pretty tereible.

That was the most amount of words I've ever seen anyone use to call someone else a hipster.