The dichotomy: the "Edgy" old guy just looks silly

[Alan H]

I'll tell you up front that I'm 54 years old. I've been told that I don't act my age which might be a good thing and might be a bad thing, depending on the situation, and who's telling me!

A couple of months ago I had on a camouflage kilt, and I was walking around downtown...banking, hardware store and so on. A woman I didn't know stopped next to me at the crosswalk with her older-teenage son ( I assume it was her son). She said that she liked my kilt and asked the young lad what he thought.

The kid said something along the lines of how it was cool but seemed weird on someone as old as myself. I asked him if it would be better if I had worn a Scottish kilt...you know, one of those plaid ones. He admitted that would probably be better, as in "not so weird if I was Scottish, anyway". At that point the light changed, we crossed the street and parted with smiles all around.

No worries!!

I've been thinking about that. Me...50-something... BALD, no less...and a camouflage kilt with boots. Do some people see that as weird? ....as in kinda like the "old guy" trying to look all "sick" and trendy. Sometimes that just looks silly.

Not that I care, eh? I'll wear what I want as long as it suits my taste, doesn't draw a crowd and doesn't break any municipal regulations, but what's your take on it? What's your take on the "old guy" (anything over about 30) and the contemporary NON-TARTAN (like UK's Amerikilts, Alt.kilt, X-kilt) kilt thing?

[rondo]

Do some people see that as weird?

LOL...The short answer, Alan, is yes. Some people see that as weird, but no worries right? We march to the sound of a different piper.

Rondo

[pugcasso]

"weird"

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from 'wyrd' ... "fate, destiny"


I like the word 'weird' ... once you know the root of it, it feels better to be weird haha

[auld argonian]

At 58 I still wear jeans and black t-shirts a lot...sometimes with a sportcoat...sometimes the jeans with a blue oxford button down collar shirt and a paisley tie. I wear a kilt...either with a black t-shirt or a collared shirt, vest and necktie. Leather bomber jacket...sometimes a fedora, sometimes a flat cap...found a really neat 3/4 length tan trenchcoat so I wear that with the fedora...makes me look like some future incarnation of Dr. Who but I'm havin' fun with it. Mostly hiking boots, sometimes oxfords, sometimes cowboy boots...

...long winded way of saying that I still can't bring myself to dressing like the other fellas "my own age". What does that mean, anyway? Most of the guys aroound here my own age are stiffs who wear dockers, cross-training shoes and polo shirts...they also drink lite beer and think a shot of Jameson's is the hight of gustatory excellence when it comes to whisky.

Who's side do I want to be on?

Years ago (in my pre-kilt days) someone asked me why I showed up for work in jeans, a sport coat and a shirt and a tie (I was working in creative then). I simply said, "In a war, if they catch you behind enemy lines in your uniform, you're a prisoner-of-war and they have to keep you alive and feed you till the war is over. If they catch you behind enemy lines wearing their uniform, you're a spy and they get to shoot you on the spot."

...they're still feeding me so I must have gotten it right.

Do not go gentle into that good night...keep dressing like you did in high school!

Best

AA

[Chirs]

...

Do not go gentle into that good night...keep dressing like you did in high school!

Best

AA

Well... no. That would not be a good idea. I was in high school during the seventies and that is an era best forgotten. But your point is valid and I completely agree!

[ForresterModern]

Class (or the lack thereof) has no age limits.

I am 52 (also balding) and I know a lot of people who throw the "Act your age" comment at me when I wear an Angry Birds t-shirt or a goofy hat or a funky sweatshirt one of my kids might wear, but hey, you are as young as you feel, so I feel like I am acting my age for how I feel at the moment. You do not slow down because you get old, you get old because you slow down.

I have however taken up the torch of a certain retail company that puts out "Old Guys Rule" clothing with various logos and activities such as snowboarding, mountain biking, etc.. generally considered a young person's domain.

Alan, you may be weird, I don't know personally, but it has nothing to do with wearing a camo kilt with boots and a t-shirt. Wear what you like, like what you wear, and keep moving on down the highway of life with the rubber side down. As long as you are walking on the grass instead of pushing it up, life is good, and I say (pardon the cliche') go for it.

jeff

[Tobus]

the "old guy" (anything over about 30)

Wow. I'm actually getting close to 40, but I don't consider myself an "old guy" yet. I'm sure the 20-somethings see me as that, though. I've forgotten what it was like to be young enough to think of people over 30 as "old". That seems rather silly now.

But by your definition, I am one of those "old guys" who wears a Utilikilt. Do I feel like it's weird? No, not really. But I guess I had never thought about it in terms of age. I started off wearing traditional kilts (and still do, most of the time), which actually seems more appropriate to older folks than younger ones. So I never really changed my thinking when I started wearing contemporary kilts too.

[biblemonkey]

I don't see the problem.

[brewerpaul]

At the age of 56 I look back on my years of wearing what I want and realize I have never given a tinkers darn about what people thought. From my years in cowboy boots and Wranglers to doing grunge before the word ever came down from Seattle to now wearing kilts. Ive never seen branding as an association to quality or status and felt comfort preceded looks any day. Jeans and t-shirts with overshirts in the winter, army surplus jackets and more have cluttered my wardrobe. I live in a college town where looks are quite important to both the young and the old. I would draw plenty of attention when I started wearing my East German Military knickers, both wool and cotton. Paired with thick wool socks and boots they are grand. Now I get the looks as I walk into a pub or store in my kilts. For the most part the reception has been fine, I still await the day someone decides to give me the "skirt" statement. For me I guess Ill never conform to what peer and commercial pressure put on me. When asked by a co-worker "when and where does one find the occasion to wear a kilt", ,my response was quite simple...
"Any time and any place I damn well want to."

I dont feel like Im the "old guy" doing weird things, Im just being myself. I often wonder what the other people are trying to be.....

[CopperNGold]

Alan, Maybe our generation (I'm nearing 60) has kept more fit and has had the advantage of modern medicine, and therefore, many look younger than their years. Remember when we said to never trust anybody over 30? Ha!

I'm petite, and in relativley good shape for my age, but two years ago, I stopped at a small outdoor bistro for an appetizer and a glass of wine while shopping. I was by myself. Unbelieveably, I was carded! I smiled, thinking it was a joke, with people all around me watching this unfold. I asked the server if he was joking. No. I laughed, showed him my ID, kissed him on the cheek and told him that he had made my day, month and year! The crowd applauded. Seriously.

Most of my family on both sides live past 100 years old, so it's nothing I've done, and I dress age appropriately.

But who do you have to please but yourself? Enjoy wearing what makes you feel good and look good! Here's to your continued good health and happiness!