Yesterday as I wrote about Grandma I thought, in my memory, she looks like a Norman Rockwell painting. A little old lady, slightly bent over, hair up in a bun, a big apron with big pockets, stockings, rolled on the top, and what looked like bedroom slippers on her feet. I remarked to my wife how Grandma's don't look like that anymore. Today Grandma might be wearing spandex, be blonde and wearing heels! Not an apron in sight. Then I thought, well Grandpa's don't look the same either.
I only knew my great grandfather and so only have him as a direct reference. He wore a three piece suit, white shirt and tie, carried a cane ( walking stick ) and smoked a cigar. On warm days, he would go without the suit jacket, around the house anyway, if he left his home the jacket was on! He wore a vest ( a waistcoat is what he called it ) and sleeve garters on his shirt. Oh, and a hat, a fedora to be exact. A retired gentleman he wasn't wearing work clothes, he was dressed for the day. Life for him was a bit more of a formal occasion than what we think of today. And that is the image I have of my great grandfather.
Now grandfathers I thought of as wearing a cardigan sweater, slacks of some description, a button down shirt, open at the collar and laced up shoes, mostly wingtips. But not today. Today grandpa is in blue jeans! I know, I'm a grandpa and I'm wearing blue jeans and I'm definitely not alone. Now that I'm retired I seldom wear work boots, preferring the comfort of sneakers. Yes, I still call them sneakers. I can usually be seen wearing a tee shirt, not a white one though, or a polo shirt. Button down shirts are a bit dressy for me. Well, they don't really go with blue jeans unless you are a cowboy. And that is where jeans really got their start, in the old west among miners and ranchers. In the 1950's when James Dean and Marlon Brando wore jeans in their movies it made an impression. You want to be a tough guy, you want to be cool, wear jeans and stick it to the man. Be a rebel without a cause! Roll a pack of cigarettes in the sleeve of that white tee shirt and grease that hair back. Yes, jeans became a symbol of rebellion. You know what's an interesting fact? Levi Strauss was the first clothing company to put a designer label on their clothes. Yup, that little red tag that became an icon. So men were actually the first to wear designer clothing. The women didn't start wearing jeans until the sixties, Jordache hit the scene in 1969 making quite a splash. Grandma's are still wearing jeans today. Of course they are Mom jeans these days. LOL. For Grandpa, they are relaxed fit.
It's really a funny thing if you think about it. Growing up we figured grandparents were pretty darned old. Most were in their fifties for Gods' sake. There days had come and gone and they were just stuck where they were. That's why they listened to that funny old music and dressed funny. Hey at that age what difference could it make? They certainly weren't looking for love or anything remotely like that. It didn't matter to them what they looked like. They weren't cool and looked ridiculous when they tried to be. No grandparents either stayed home all the time and worked in the yard, read books or went to bingo. They spent their days complaining about the " kids of today." Funny thing about that was, it was their own kids they were talking about. Well, that generation anyway, their kids were different, unless they weren't. Know what I mean?
Grandparents today are quite a different breed altogether. Grandparents today might be found at the skateboard park, not watching, boarding man. They might be riding bicycles, engaging in some sporting activity, streaming a video or checking out " our time " on the internet! They could be wearing the very latest in fashion, driving the coolest cars, or in the street protesting! Why grandparents today act just like regular people. And the products available to them today, well, I'm not even going to mention all of that. Let's just say it is all designed to at least give grandparents the illusion of youth. I guess you could say, life is what you perceive it to be. Todays grandparents, that includes me, have a bit of a different perception of time. Personally I figure I'll grow up when I become a great grandfather. Then I'll be dressed a bit more formally. Until then, I'm in blue jeans. Wasn't it Neil Diamond that wrote a song about that, forever in blue jeans? But I think the song was really about something else, I can't say for sure, wasn't a big fan of his. At that time I wanted to wear leather pants, not blue jeans. I'd still wear leather pants if I thought I could pull that off. Maybe when I am a great grandfather I will. Won't matter a bit will it? I plan on being cremated so it won't make any difference what I'm wearing when the times comes for that. But I still want to be dressed for the occasion, and that is a formal occasion! Well, first impressions and all.
What will the next generation of grandparents wear? Look at what the kids are wearing today. And by kids, I'm talking about our kids, the ones in their forties and fifties today. That's what they'll be wearing. Short pants and work boots, lots of camo and ball caps on backyards. The grandma's, well I'm not going to comment on the grandma's. Remember life is what we perceive it to be and many times our appearance is the same. We call it confident instead of denial, but as long as we are comfortable it doesn't matter. I'm just happy my generation didn't wind up as grandparents in leisure suits! At least we were smart enough to get past that disco crap! I expect I'll remain, forever in blue jeans.
I only knew my great grandfather and so only have him as a direct reference. He wore a three piece suit, white shirt and tie, carried a cane ( walking stick ) and smoked a cigar. On warm days, he would go without the suit jacket, around the house anyway, if he left his home the jacket was on! He wore a vest ( a waistcoat is what he called it ) and sleeve garters on his shirt. Oh, and a hat, a fedora to be exact. A retired gentleman he wasn't wearing work clothes, he was dressed for the day. Life for him was a bit more of a formal occasion than what we think of today. And that is the image I have of my great grandfather.
Now grandfathers I thought of as wearing a cardigan sweater, slacks of some description, a button down shirt, open at the collar and laced up shoes, mostly wingtips. But not today. Today grandpa is in blue jeans! I know, I'm a grandpa and I'm wearing blue jeans and I'm definitely not alone. Now that I'm retired I seldom wear work boots, preferring the comfort of sneakers. Yes, I still call them sneakers. I can usually be seen wearing a tee shirt, not a white one though, or a polo shirt. Button down shirts are a bit dressy for me. Well, they don't really go with blue jeans unless you are a cowboy. And that is where jeans really got their start, in the old west among miners and ranchers. In the 1950's when James Dean and Marlon Brando wore jeans in their movies it made an impression. You want to be a tough guy, you want to be cool, wear jeans and stick it to the man. Be a rebel without a cause! Roll a pack of cigarettes in the sleeve of that white tee shirt and grease that hair back. Yes, jeans became a symbol of rebellion. You know what's an interesting fact? Levi Strauss was the first clothing company to put a designer label on their clothes. Yup, that little red tag that became an icon. So men were actually the first to wear designer clothing. The women didn't start wearing jeans until the sixties, Jordache hit the scene in 1969 making quite a splash. Grandma's are still wearing jeans today. Of course they are Mom jeans these days. LOL. For Grandpa, they are relaxed fit.
It's really a funny thing if you think about it. Growing up we figured grandparents were pretty darned old. Most were in their fifties for Gods' sake. There days had come and gone and they were just stuck where they were. That's why they listened to that funny old music and dressed funny. Hey at that age what difference could it make? They certainly weren't looking for love or anything remotely like that. It didn't matter to them what they looked like. They weren't cool and looked ridiculous when they tried to be. No grandparents either stayed home all the time and worked in the yard, read books or went to bingo. They spent their days complaining about the " kids of today." Funny thing about that was, it was their own kids they were talking about. Well, that generation anyway, their kids were different, unless they weren't. Know what I mean?
Grandparents today are quite a different breed altogether. Grandparents today might be found at the skateboard park, not watching, boarding man. They might be riding bicycles, engaging in some sporting activity, streaming a video or checking out " our time " on the internet! They could be wearing the very latest in fashion, driving the coolest cars, or in the street protesting! Why grandparents today act just like regular people. And the products available to them today, well, I'm not even going to mention all of that. Let's just say it is all designed to at least give grandparents the illusion of youth. I guess you could say, life is what you perceive it to be. Todays grandparents, that includes me, have a bit of a different perception of time. Personally I figure I'll grow up when I become a great grandfather. Then I'll be dressed a bit more formally. Until then, I'm in blue jeans. Wasn't it Neil Diamond that wrote a song about that, forever in blue jeans? But I think the song was really about something else, I can't say for sure, wasn't a big fan of his. At that time I wanted to wear leather pants, not blue jeans. I'd still wear leather pants if I thought I could pull that off. Maybe when I am a great grandfather I will. Won't matter a bit will it? I plan on being cremated so it won't make any difference what I'm wearing when the times comes for that. But I still want to be dressed for the occasion, and that is a formal occasion! Well, first impressions and all.
What will the next generation of grandparents wear? Look at what the kids are wearing today. And by kids, I'm talking about our kids, the ones in their forties and fifties today. That's what they'll be wearing. Short pants and work boots, lots of camo and ball caps on backyards. The grandma's, well I'm not going to comment on the grandma's. Remember life is what we perceive it to be and many times our appearance is the same. We call it confident instead of denial, but as long as we are comfortable it doesn't matter. I'm just happy my generation didn't wind up as grandparents in leisure suits! At least we were smart enough to get past that disco crap! I expect I'll remain, forever in blue jeans.
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