And Pop Culture

I haven't blogged in a while and Warren has been on me about that. I told him that I haven't seen any good movies lately. I have searched the HBO lineup and nothing seems to jump out at me. I did see "Elizabeth, The Golden Age." But I had seen that in the theaters during my "out-of-work, see a movie for free" days. That whole period is another story. Anyway, Warren and I discussed "Elizabeth, The Golden Age," and we both decided that it was a good movie, but the first one was better. I will also add that if you are going to do a sequel, you should probably do it a little sooner than 12 years later. This comment goes double for the latest Indiana Jones movie, which I haven't seen because everyone who has seen it has told me that it sucks. That is too bad. I liked the Indiana Jones movies. All right the second one was stupid, but they "finished up" the series nicely with the third one. Sean Connery was funny. He and Harrison Ford had chemistry on screen. It had suspense and thrills and a hot chick seducing both of them. And then it had a nice resolution. So even after thinking all these things about the "final installment" I thought maybe I should see the final final installment. Well, the theater reviewers panned it, but they are just reviewers. Then some friends of mine saw it in the theaters and they didn't like it. So I waited for it to come out on DVD. Well, my brothers saw it on DVD, (they are as cheap of bastards as I am) and they say that it sucked. So that concludes it for me - I'm not ever going to see it. Unless it comes on HBO.

Speaking of sequels. Before I left Phoenix, Warren dragged me to see the latest Rambo film. Oh My God. Sucked. Well, no. It was Rambo. What can you expect? But really, Stallone, (like Harrison) has got to hang up his adventure star delusions. He doesn't have any other talent other than being a big moose, so I see why he insists on doing adventure movies. He can not act. So in order to earn income for his lifestyle he has to continue to flex the muscle and emit guttural screams while firing a gun or throwing a punch. (Note: I have not, will not, can not see, Rocky 17 or whatever the hell he put out last - not even on HBO) Hopefully he has gotten enough paychecks so that he will just go away. Like Brian Bosworth. Another big moose who couldn't act. But Brian had the decency to hang it up after three or four B movies. He flexed and faded. That's what these guys need to do.

But that isn't what I wanted to talk about today.

I haven't seen any movies, so I will write about my job. It relates to the pop culture aspect of this blog. I sell Men's Clothing. Believe me I would rather be doing something else. But since that is how I am currently earning a buck, I might as well take an interest in it and attempt to do well. So I have been paying attention to fashion. I work at Banana Republic. They are celebrating their thirtieth year in business. When they first started out they were the old upscale safari shop. They sold safari jackets, Gurkha shorts, pith helmets, western dusters, and big photo bags with a tremendous amount of pockets. All for the "Urban Adventurer!" And if you purchased any of this stuff and wore it around the city you looked like a complete tool. I know. I think I wore a safari jacket for a season back in the eighties. It was a style.

But now Banana Republic sells "Urban Chic." They call it "City Style." For the fashion forward man. I don't know from fashion forward, but they are well made clothes that look good coordinated together and I get a decent employee discount, so I am currently updating my wardrobe. Coincidentally, my oldest brother (who lives in the City also) decided that his look needed a bit of updating. So he went out and bought the latest fashion advice book put out by the people at "Details" magazine. As I got into the whole fashionable man scene, I have found that "Details" is the most approachable magazine for guys trying to update their look. GQ, Fashionable Male, and especially American Male are way too homo-erotic. I just want to see some guys who look somewhat like me (admittedly they look better - they are models) wearing clothes that I could afford (if I get an employee discount). The over-waxed, pouty, weirdly made-up, models wearing mismatched, angular clothing in discordant colors doesn't make me picture myself wearing what they are wearing. I, like most guys, tend towards solids. I wear white, blue, an occasional grey. Now I know that I need to mix it up a bit. Get a little out of my comfort zone. Throw in a stripe or on an especially crazy day a polka dot or a plaid. But I can't wear them every day or, god forbid, all together in one outfit. I need to stick to solids with a little splash of adventurous color or pattern. So "Details" it is for referencing what might work for me.

Don, my oldest brother, bought the latest "Details" fashion book. I choose to go over to Borders Book Store most days before work and read another section. Why pay thirty bucks for a book that is just going to be out of style in a year or two? And Banana Republic has fashion books for the employees to read so that they don't start dressing the customers like buffoons. The customers are already buffoons, some of them. I do get to advise some of these guys to try on outfits and then I can decide that the particular look wouldn't look right on me, because it doesn't look right on this guy.

So the latest fashion forward look is to throw a pattern into the pants that you wear. Not just the pinstripes on a formal "go-to-an-interview" suit, but even in casual pants. Banana Republic has what they call "Novelty Chinos." Comfortable pants made of cotton, sort of like what is commonly called khakis. Although I have been corrected that khaki is a color and chino is really the name of the pant. Anyway, beyond just the basic khaki color, blue, black and grey, Banana Republic, sells; blue with a muted red and light blue stripe, blue with a muted white stripe, brown with an intertwined brown and white stripe, grey with windowpane pattern, tan with windowpane pattern, chinos and several others. So now I am trying to figure out what any of these pants coordinate with. We have tons of striped shirts and patterned ties. I haven't been able to match up anything that looks right. Banana Republic suggests striped shirts with striped pants. I don't think I could carry that off. "Details" magazine and book are silent on the whole patterned pants look, although it is supposed to be the next big thing. Obviously matching a solid shirt to a patterned slack would be easiest.

I may just stick with a white shirt and blue pants.

Matthew