Some weeks ago I was surfing channels and caught part of a recognition banquet given to director Ron Howard, where Michael Keaton set up a film clip by acknowleging the stupidity of his appearance in a zippered sweater and excusing this to both the bygone era of 1980, and that it provided us a short-cut into his character’s stupidity. What could be as un-hip as something that has to be apologized for its un-hipness to Ron Howard’s?
Some fashon maven must have caught this show, too, because as I was looking for a sweatshirt without any printing on it (admittedly a fool’s errand, but not impossible) I found the racks loaded with sweaters with zippers. If I’d been grocery shopping, this would have been the equivalent of flash-frozen dead kittens in the ice cream section. My sweet tooth for shopping was ruined.
Years ago I worked in graphics for a department store. IMHO, buyers were models whose looks had passed their sell-by date, but whose sense of uber-mensch prevailed. They must think we’re stupid. (Buy Old navy crap for one of two reasons: A. your’e stupid enough to think you’ll look good or B. you “get” the joke and want everyone to know you’re on the inside of it. Either way, Old Navy deserves your $).
So, the bad news for those of us who seek timeless, unadorned apparel is that we’ll have to endure a period of Brady Bunch revival wear, until a tribute to Bill Cosby is held, after which we’ll be expected to buy splashy vomit-weaves to demonstrate our sense of hip irony.
Oh, wah. Zippered sweaters don’t even begin to compare with the abominations that are low-rise jeans, way too tight everything, and ankle-breaking high stilettos. Actually, come to think of it, just about all of women’s clothes for the last five years have been abominations. You get no sympathy from me. (I have a very nice zippered sweater that I wear at work. I love it. I don’t have to pull it over my head, and it doesn’t look as stupid as a cardigan.)
Boy, I’m glad somebody else has this opinion. I figured I was just getting “old” because the fashions all look stupid to me. (But then again, maybe I am old-- I’ve started saying, “It’s all just noise,” when I turn on the radio.)
The sight of my teenage neighbor boy is something that always makes me shake my head. Right now, he and his brother sport mops of long, shaggy hair. The younger of the two actually uses a curling iron to put in something akin to ringlets at his temples. Their clothing seems to be a mixture of grunge and Mod Squad. I’ve wanted to say, “Really-- you look like a dork. Are you actually getting your school pictures done in that get-up? Well, I suppose everyone needs some embarassing childhood pictures that their co-workers can post at their retirement parties, but damn, son!”
When I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s, I at least had the sense to eschew the bang-poof that was the ubiquitious girls’ hairstyle at the time. I noted the fact that it looked stupid, even if everyone was wearing it. The only embarassment I get from my childhood photos stems from the fact that I was an ugly duckling. The two neighbor boys are sort of unnatractive, too, but they’re making it worse.
I’d considered a side-pitting remark against the insults occasioned upon the female buttock by the fashion industry in the last 15 years in my OP, but deleted it since that deserves its own thread, nay forum.
Contrition for pizzabrats pit-back: I’m unable to parse, please accept pidgin: Me no like clothes belong 1970’s, Dem all buggered up. Fashion-buyer fellah think shopper-fellah head all knock-knock, play big ha-ha. But me give zipper-belong-sweater big stink-eye, say to fashion-buyer fella “bother you?”
You can have my zippered sweaters when you pry them from my cold dead hands. They’re one of my favorite items in my closet, good for keeping warm and easy to take off if I get too hot. I started buying them as a way to get around a ban on tank tops in high school, but they’re nice and comfortable. Not to mention easy to get on and off, which is more than I can say for the rest of the shirts I find in stores.
Now if only I could get people to stop randomly petting the fuzzy blue one.
Are we talking about something other than zippered cardigans (i.e. shirts that are warm like sweaters but are not pullovers) ? The impression I got is that there are sweaters with zippers that don’t go all the way down, or something.
Be that as it may, I love my cardigans for the reasons already given - in this kind of weather, I can wear it outside and easily remove it when I go into the metro/a building.
I can stand a zippered sweater if it isn’t done in an alpine pattern. The one that currently annoys the bejezus out of me is the BELTED sweater. Hello! Does everyone need to dress like my mother? Cut. It. Out.
Skinny jeans are great on the right person. There are very few right people out there and I’m sure we’ll see an overabundance of “wrongs” wearing 'em.
(Pssst! Wear 'em with pointy, slutty boots. Faaabulous, dahling!)
Zippered sweaters are weird because I don’t think of a sweater where you can see the knit pattern as having a zipper. To me, even if a sweater is machine made, it should still retain something of a “handmade” quality, and normally handmade sweaters don’t have zippers. Would a sweater lovingly knitted by your grandma come with a jagged metal zipper? No, it would have buttons. Conversely, sweatshirt hoodies are “machine” clothes, so a zipper makes sense there, and it’s the buttons that would be bizarre. Of course, one CAN sew/knit a zipper into a sweater, and one CAN made a hoodie by hand with fabric you make yourself. This is all connotative. Still, when I look at a zippered sweater/buttoned hoodie something in my brain says “that shirt ain’t right.”
Living in a place that isn’t exactly the fashion capital, I’ve got to say that I haven’t seen these zippered sweaters and I’m not even sure what they look like. Is this an old fashion that has been brought back? Are we talking about sweaters that you wear over your outfit for warmth, or sweaters that you wear *as * your shirt? Someone help a sister out here with a photo. I will say that the idea of a zippered sweater doesn’t *sound * too good, but I’d have to see one to actually form an opinion.
Living in a place that isn’t exactly the fashion capital, I’ve got to say that I haven’t seen these zippered sweaters and I’m not even sure what they look like. Is this an old fashion that has been brought back? Are we talking about sweaters that you wear over your outfit for warmth, or sweaters that you wear *as * your shirt? Someone help a sister out here with a photo. I will say that the idea of a zippered sweater doesn’t *sound * too good, but I’d have to see one to actually form an opinion.
I’m guessing your complaining about an abundance of these , because you want something like this .
First, I dispise pull over hoodies. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got several (mostly gifts from various colleges and such) that are nice when it’s very cold out (CA cold= <70 ). Most of the time though, you’ll find me in zipped hoodies. Why? They don’t mess up my beautiful hair : pats hair :. Also, have you ever tried taking off a pull over hoodie in public? Hello, boobies! My shirts always cling to the pull over hoodie and I blind small children. It’s not good.
Zipped hoodies are easy on, easy off. That is why I love them.
And if you just want plain, simple, sturdy hoodies- go to a discount store. Kmart, Walmart, Target, etc have tons. Here we have places called “T Shirt Outlet” that sells basic tees for $3- the big hoodies are $10.
). Most of the time though, you’ll find me in zipped hoodies. Why? They don’t mess up my beautiful hair : pats hair :. Also, have you ever tried taking off a pull over hoodie in public? Hello, boobies! My shirts always cling to the pull over hoodie and I blind small children. It’s not good.