Over the years, a couple of adorable children in my friend's neighborhood had grown up to be very well-mannered individuals which everyone enjoyed talking to. With each decade that passed by, they would wear the fashion of the times. For example, when bell-bottoms came out, they would be the first ones to wear them. They would walk up and down the avenue talking with other individuals. Occasionally, a car would pass by and roll down their windows. One of the passengers would throw an occasional compliment like "nice outfit my dear sirs...". It was a nice town in general with a population of under 2,000 people, so everyone practically knew each other. My friend mentioned that he was one of the lucky few to join that group.
During the early 1990s, I felt that it was my time to shine just like my friend did. I would try to mimic the fashion just to get into the group of some really nice and cool kids in my own neighborhood. No matter what I would do, they would simply brush me aside as one of the individuals you would just pass by and give a small "hello" or "howdy" on the street. After talking with some friends, I found that in order to be on par with their social 'class' you would need to follow the latest trends even before they come out.
How am I supposed to predict the latest trends even before the popular kids have them? Most of my fashion ideas came from TV shows and billboard advertisements featuring popular artists of the time. For several years, there was a 'hip-hop' craze where people would try to wear baggy pants and mimic their favorite smooth chill rappers like Sugar Hill and MC Hammer. As soon as it came out, you could probably guess what I was wearing. Yes, I tried to find the baggiest pants I could find. However, the stores didn't have the exact type that MC Hammer had, yet.
It would take a few months before they came out on the shelves, but when they were out, it was basically too late and the group of popular kids in my neighborhood already had them. At that point, I knew I had to find a way other than what I saw on TV or on the store shelves to get the latest "kool" fashion even before the cool kids with their cool style and cool demeanors could have them. There must be a way, I thought to myself.
About a decade later, most of the popular kids in my neighborhood had already grown up and gone off to college. I myself was studying electronics at the time and everyone at that point was fascinated, but not deeply crazy about fashion. It was the early 2000s, and I still felt a sense of nostalgia for the times that I had missed. Where were those cool kids? Will I ever get to match their style?
As the 2010s became closer, I noticed that there was seemingly a change in style preferences. One particular style had the potential of making a comeback and I wasn't going to miss this opportunity. Even though it wasn't really "new" I still had the chance to enter the bandwagon even before the "wagon" was fully resurrected yet. I immediately went to the nearest clothing store in the downtown part of the city I lived in at the time.
By then, I had moved and there was much more activity where I lived. The city was densely populated with several high-rise buildings, malls, and entertainment centers. This was certainly the best place to showcase my fluency in the current fashion standards, I thought. Upon entering the clothing store, I was met with a wide selection of clothing that was potential candidates for my fashion plan.
Photo by Waldemar Brandt from Pexels
I eventually settled with the cost-effective, but stylish "relaxed-fit" option for jeans and a tight-fitting, V-neck t-shirt. I hurriedly rushed home and took the sharpest scissor I could find. Then, I started snipping away. Lots of cloth fibers, threads, and whole chunks of cloth went flying up and down as I furiously worked away at my modernized retro-fashioned clothing. I knew that I was going to be the one. The trendiest of them all.
When I was finished, I took a look at the fashionable modifications that I had made on my clothes and smiled for the first time in years. It was a genuine smile of pure contentment. I felt myself shiver in excitement as I raised my torn-up V-neck t-shirt and pants which were now barely recognizable because of how beautifully sliced, ripped, and frayed it was.
Without further adieu, I put them on and paraded myself on the street. People started looking and I felt so good. I drove to the central part of downtown and paraded myself there - strutting like a naked peacock. More people looked at me and, suddenly, I didn't feel like a 'nobody' anymore. I felt like a manly man. No! I felt like a famous man! Oh yeah!
But, I just had one more objective. I drove up to my old hometown and strutted like a peacock without feathers. When I arrived home, I was so happy about myself, I screamed at the top of my voice and sang without reservation. I guess my singing was so loud that a few of my neighbors went up to my apartment door and began pounding on it.
When I opened the door, I was greeted by a couple of visibly irritated people who threw a few harsh words before stopping mid-sentence. I immediately recognized all of them to be the kids who were once the trendiest kids in my original hometown! One of them quietly said to me, "you know, I don't mean any offense, but I saw you when you were at the town square earlier today and people were watching you like you were some crazy lunatic. I didn't recognize you at that point, but I was about to call for help with your wild movements and ripped-up clothing."
I was almost out of words! I said, "how dare you! I am ahead of the latest fashion comeback! I finally got ahead of you all. Haha haha..ha...ha....ha" I began to trail off as I saw no amusement or impressed looks in their eyes.
"What?", I asked angrily.
One of them summoned up the courage to say, "in the future, we hope you understand what you are doing today. We were once the trend-setters, but look at us now!" I could only mutter one-word questions at that point.
"What?", I asked again, this time confused.
"Look at us! We were trend-setters, now are just plain poor", they said solemnly. "We should have focused on studying in college and got a decent office job so that we wouldn't have to struggle to pay for rent and food!"
"What?", I asked slowly, as I began to comprehend what they just said.
It was at that moment that the realization hit me...