Grown Men Are Dressing Like This?

Blogging, fashion, humor, lessons learned, Wall Street Journal 2 Minutes

It’s been a while since I’ve written about a men’s fashion piece from the Wall Street Journal. Back then, I referred to it as the annual comedy issue of the WSJ.

Here were some of the photos I had included with those posts:

The basic point of each of those posts was questioning whether or not normal guys actually dressed like that, since I had never seen it.

Well, this weekend there was an article about one of the latest trends in men’s fashion, referred to as kidcore.

Kidcore refers to adults dressing like teenagers, and apparently, it has exploded during the pandemic (maybe bad fashion taste is a side effect of COVID).

Lyst, a British company that tracks the behavior of more than 150 million online shoppers in 2021, ranked kidcore as one of its top trends of 2021, based largely on the strength of searches for things like charm necklaces and cartoony Crocs. “A lot of people were searching for comfort and familiarity,” said Pierre Lavenir, a cultural specialist at Lyst.

According to reporter Jacob Gallagher, kidcore is defined by an attitude rather than any specific combination of clothes or accessories. It is about revisiting the way you dressed before anyone told you what was cool—when you really dressed for yourself.

As stringent corporate dress codes become passé, many men see little reason to leave their youthful sense of style behind when they get a quote-unquote adult job. “I could literally wear anything I want” to work, said Julian Davis, a 24-year-old copyright-infringement specialist in Austin, Texas. Mr. Davis takes full advantage of his company’s lax standards, often wearing a sweater spattered with little golfer images, and a fleece traversed by wolf motifs that reminds him of growing up in Alaska.

One of the things I always enjoyed about these WSJ fashion articles was when they shared the price of some of the outfits. While these prices aren’t as outrageous as ones I’ve seen in the past, it’s still much more than I would pay for a comparable item., except for perhaps the clogs.

In all fairness, Gallagher does note that he has yet to see a man in his sixties dress this way, so I feel like I’m not missing out on any fashion trend.

But if I were to start dressing like I used to, there would be a lot of bellbottoms in the winter, and speedos in the summer…

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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71 thoughts on “Grown Men Are Dressing Like This?”

  1. Confession- I have a thing for cows.. cow prints lol… I want that pull-over LOL… also, the most confusing thing for me about men’s fashion is when young men where their pants below their bums… like you full out see their boxers or briefs… the belt is buckled but it’s at the knee.. WHAT IS THE POINT?? And it impedes their ability to walk fast.. like why?!?! I don’t get it… it gets to me every time lol (I feel old now) 🤣

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  5. Aren’t sweatpants in style for men in their 60s? And socks in sandals, also. And I also understand that it’s fashionable for men in their 60s to lounge around in their underwear while watching football. Anyway, I’m always careful to follow the latest fashions for men in their 60s.

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  6. I don’t mind the fashion. I just wonder where people go and what they do when they dress like that. In all my years, I’ve never been anyplace where guys wore outfits like that. The shorts and jacket in the second photo looks pretty tame compared to the others.

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    1. how nice to have a job where you can wear shorts and t shirts. that’s my retirement goal – to live somewhere where I can dress like that all year round…

      I’ve never owned a pair of crocs; don’t think I ever will. and as a swimmer, I was often in a speedo from morning until night…

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  11. Ah, men’s fashion prices are mow comparable to women’s!
    I was happy when, around 2010ish, men started wearing crazy socks. I’m happy they’re now enjoying freedom of attire too.
    I haven’t seen anything wild at the office on men but the younger women (not young, just younger) are dressing like shit at my job!!

    I want to re-dye my hair teal but 4 girls have grown out blue hair (half length black, half length blue… unintentional ombre) and will def think I’m copying because all but one is insanely vain.

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  12. I’m all for the freedom to dress however people want, but I think we’re just giving the younger generation more ammo to make fun of us when adults dress the way kids do. I can see them rolling their eyes right now.😊

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  13. Wear stuff like that in a few villages in the North of England and you’d be putting yourself in harm’s way! Part of the “look at me” era in which we live. Facebook goes live!

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  14. No! -cringe- a definite no-no for crocs and speedos or sox with sandals as for the rest maybe in Bangers(BKK)…although my grandson’s purchases lately coupled with the hair are slightly extreme in colour and style hopefully it is a fad as his father is a very conventional dresser and always has been…x

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  16. You had me at the title: ‘grown men’. 😅
    Why can’t men dress a little out of the box sometimes? Why should women have all the fun? I think it’s about time men lightened up their dress style.

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      1. The styles didn’t appeal to me either, Jim, but I think we need some on the outlandish side to encourage a little more flexibility.

        Is that how you interpreted my statement??? 😉

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  19. The colour of regular men’s fashion this year is black, grey, and white (sometimes navy). In fact these have been the colours for years. I now shop in the women’s department, but don’t you just hate it when you come home to discover your wife is wearing an identical outfit?

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    1. those are my go to colors. If I am going somewhere formal, I’ll try to jazz things up with a colorful tie…

      and just think how convenient it would be if you and your wife wore the same size 🙂

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  20. My winter attire is jeans and a hoodie when I’m not at work. This is identical to what my son wears, so I guess you could say I dress as a teenager. Mostly, I just find it comfortable and warm. Actually, he dresses nicer than I do because he often wears boots whereas I wear ratty old running shoes. Maybe I should start looking for some more outlandish styles and fully embrace my kid-core.

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  22. I think this trend was popularised by the rise of K-pop stars. You often see band members dress as ‘young’ as possible, to probably try relate with the target audience.
    Times are changing I suppose🤷🏻‍♂️

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  23. Haha, as an ex-hairdresser, I have to say that those looks are pretty tame. Though the one with the dinosaur skull is quite avant garde. Fashion goes in circles though (e.g. bell bottoms, skinny jeans, saggy pants) so it’s only a matter of time before we find something new to laugh at. I myself don’t mind joining in, so don’t be surprised if you see me in samurai pants, lol.

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