Odd fashion, Hidden Treasure

It’s amazing how things evolves. Humans, animals, tables, electronics, even attires seems to be the champions of them all in the arena of evolution.

I just recalled how things were in late ' 70s and early '80s when I was in primary school. How those baggy trousers were the start all and ends all of fashion of male folks and those mighty overflowing skirts for their female counterparts. For us kids then, it was coats of any color that was in vogue. 

I had that carton colored one that my old folks made for me. I recalled wanting to be in it in any occasions whether were being in coat is required or not. Is there any gathering my presence would grace?- it is carton colored coat and my red colored shoe. 

           Thinking back now, I wondered how my dad would enter market for shoes, pay hefty amount of money to a dealer and came out with red colored shoe. For Christ sake, why red? I mean, the shoe is foreign made of high quality, why didn’t he request for black, brown or even skin colored one but red. 

My dad is a man that doesn’t change his mind easily. He seems to have little knowledge of fashion of his era too. I suspect he was in one of those his swinging mood were he prefers to play passive role and I must have been in my “it is this or none” mood to have prevailed upon him. Truly, I don’t recall going for the purchase with him. That shoe lasted. 

Only kids likes shinny shinny things like red, yellow or other shouting colors. How an adult would dress his kid on carton colored coat and red shoe is confusing a little. It is what they call off color here. 

I can’t help laughing my heads off when I was going through our family picture archives. I came across pictures of late 70s and early 80s where I was in my favorite attire of carton colored coat and red shoe in about eleven different shot in eleven different occasions. 

   I was smiling with all pleasure in all oblivious as I was in all in comparison with what others kids wore. Almost all were in their casual wear and I was in my carton colored coat. I was clearly the odd boy out. 

     I suspect that that era was bad economically to many families too judging from the pictures of the adults in many shots dating from that era, many were in many occasions in the same attires too. Do I have to believe that they too behaves like me? Baggy trousers and senior skirts of same color in many different occasions. Unless if they had many of the same attire of the same color which I doubt, it must be economy problem.

On fathering Sunday this past week, I was in my pew in the church during the service observing many that came for the celebration as they entered the church, I realized that late '70s is here with us again. It seems to have creeped back on us fashion wise without our knowledge. Many were on carton colored coats and white shoes. I smirked non-stop in recalling my primary school days and my carton colored coat and red shoe. The only change is white shoe instead of red. What is the problem? Why always off colored shoes? 

I was even of the opinion that my dad made fashion faux pas then but how can 60 percent of the population seems to be making the same mistake in 21st century. It can’t be mistake then in 70s. Whoever came out with the combination must be every poor fashion aficionado. Can’t they see that the combination is an eyesore. It doesn’t March.

Do they thing crossing from red to white makes the combination OK?

The whole church was overflowing with them and the confidence the wearers were exuding shows the sense of camaraderie that controls the spirit behind any fashion in vogue. One guy beside me were vibrating non-stop with everyone that I spent half of the service dodging his legs he throws about here and there with reckless abandon. 

Before the carton colored coats, it was wearing T- shirts inside out that was in vogue. That fashion lasted for a decade. On the ladies part, it was clothes used in making cabinets that was in vogue. It became so popular that it triggered the prices of settee to sky locket that the Carpenters and their suppliers decided to focused on selling the clothes than using them on settees. The prices and rate of turn over was 100 times far better than that of the cabinets.

My in-law who was managing a super store cross carpeted on time into the business. He had imported the clothes from Asia. He made a wise move of shifting almost all his capital into that line and within six months had made 50 times what he had not in a decade from managing his superstore. 

I was surprised how crazy and odd fashions can enrich people. He bought a bus and a plot, what I am sure he wasn’t dreaming of in the next ten years. I was forced to enquire if something like this fashion had happened in the past. History always repeat. 

“ Had there ever been a similar fashion in the past when you were young?”

“ I have never witnessed anything of such nature before. I don’t believe it was even possible in the past. People were too poor them for something like this”

“But where do they learnt using cabinet clothes as fashion wear. Even in TV, there is nothing like that from western world”

“ I am not sure where this one came from. If the clothes were cheap, I would have narrowed it down to poverty. The thing was too expensive. The funny part is that it fits them well”

“ To buy cabinet now, you have to budget double what it used to cost before”

“ Yeah, most of the cabinet makers have lost their suppliers to tailors”

“ But people like you, it favored them immensely”

“ That is luck part of business we hear about. Take calculated risk, at times, you smile, at times you cry”

I was wondering who the off colored white shoes have favored this time around. Off colored fashions seems to be the hidden treasures of business men with foresight. For sure, some people are smiling to their banks now. The whole church was overflowing with them last week.