Collared Shirts

Since as long as I can remember, my wardrobe has been dominated by mainly collared shirts. What makes collared shirts better than t- shirts? They seem more professional and seem to provide a different appearance. Of course some collared shirts provide a different look than other collared shirts which depends entirely on the brand. Brands such as Hollister, American Eagle, or Abercrombie & Fitch, dominate most wardrobes. Why? Because of the name, because of the logo.

The difference between a shirt that carries no brand name and a shirt that looks exactly like it except with a Hollister logo, raises the price and value in society. The majority of my wardrobe consists of clothing from either of the three brands mentioned above. How do I feel wearing a brand other than those? I start to feel suspicious, as if the clothing no longer contains value. How can you describe this reaction? Like everyone else's. Whether people admit it or not, they are attracted to the finer brands, to the globally accepted and expected brands. Yet is a person wearing clothing from American Eagle or Abercrombie worth more than a person wearing clothing from the Salvation Army? No as human value is not determined by clothing, but the person they are on the inside. Yet the idea of fitting in, going with the crowd, causes society to often reject these folks or force them to convert over to being like everyone else. So in general, to be yourself, does it mean that you avoid brands such as Hollister? Does it mean that a person who truly wants to be different will find style in other stores? these brands are just names; the popularity of these brands are created through society. If we reject to wear Hollister, it will become yesterday's news and a new brand will appear to dominate the market.

Today, if a scout were to come looking for future models, what might they think of my orange collared shirt? Honestly they would probably just mix me in with everyone else as it is a Hollister shirt which has become the norm. It would not stand out as much compared to a shirt from an unknown brand. They could think I am stuck-up, self centered, and care how I look because those are general feelings connected to wearing such brands as Hollister. They could view me as just following what the media thinks is good and not thinking for myself. They could consider me another mindless drone who can not make decisions on his own. Yet they might view me as prepared, as somewhat professional, because collared shirts produce that image. Yet nothing would really cause the shirt to stand out, it would just be another among millions.