# Why dont American straight white men wear red jeans? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 24, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216 "2017-12-24T18:56:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/21 "2017-12-24T20:53:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I guess the question would be: Gay or Hipster? 😃 I would prefer to though to be gay because gay is not a choice. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/22 "2017-12-24T20:57:45Z")
> [@jonpluc](#): > > But why? Red is just as primary of a color as blue is, why is blue “normal” and red virtually unused? It’s not just red. It’s any bright color. Men don’t wear jeans in bright green or yellow or orange or purple or sky blue. You can get away with a dark navy blue because it’s dark. You could get away with a dark brick red but not scarlet. The reason is mostly that under the fashion code prevailing since the early 1800s men are not supposed to dress flamboyantly outside of a few permitted exceptions such as casual shirts, or in formal wear, ties. That fashion code was relaxed briefly in the 1960s, and it could change again in the future. We’ve had an unusually long run where men’s fashion has been highly conservative. Men’s formal attire has barely changed in 150 years or more. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/23 "2017-12-24T21:03:29Z")
Serious answer. The same reason why most men usually look pretty sharp in a black tux. A man tends to look as good as he can look when he pulls off a V shape, projecting an image of broad shoulders to a narrower bottom half, ideally pulling attention up as much as possible to his face. The tux works by the slimming effect of black with the V of white expanding the sense of chest and pulling attention up to the face. Red jeans create a sense of a wider bottom half and thus narrower shoulders and chest. They pull attention away from the face. Also many men may want attention but few want to broadcast that they want attention. Red jeans do the latter. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/24 "2017-12-24T21:04:37Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The reason is mostly that under the fashion code prevailing since the early 1800s men are not supposed to dress flamboyantly outside of a few permitted exceptions such as casual shirts, or in formal wear, ties. Or [golf attire](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0b/0c/8b/0b0c8bd1cbbb02fdc53787d698f7e813--golf-outfits-golf-attire.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/25 "2017-12-24T21:17:27Z")
I wear blue jeans. I prefer Levis. It’s been like that since I was a kid, I don’t question it or even think about it. I like those, they’re available when I need more, so that’s it. I once had a pair of black “blue” jeans, that was during my trendy phase. I’ve since returned to my roots. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/26 "2017-12-24T21:22:31Z")
They’re selling loads of red mens jeans in places like Germany, Greece or Argentina? Seriously, is that something that is going on? If the premise here is that gay men have more fashion sense then shouldn’t we expect they will have sense to stay away from red jeans more then hetero men? I confess I once had a pair of green jeans that I liked, especially when they faded. They also reminded me of the Captain Kangaroo character. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/27 "2017-12-24T21:25:47Z")
I’ve always guessed that men dress in dark clothes, because for many men, there’s a pretty reasonable chance of staining the clothes through work activities. Having developed a wardrobe of darker clothes for the, let’s say, 75% of the time you might want to wear them for practical reasons, you just develop personal taste for darker clothes which covers the remaining 25%. Repeat for a few generations & you get a bunch of people who will only wear dark clothes & have no idea why. That said, I remember green & red jeans back in the 1970s. Nobody had bell bottoms that were wider than mine. You’d have to sew small dresses on each leg to come anywhere close. There’s no accounting for taste. I wear only dark clothes to the lab every day. At home, it’s exclusively tie dye or Hawaiian prints. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/28 "2017-12-24T21:34:57Z")
> [@jonpluc](#): > > I was putting on a bright red polo shirt the other day and being a straight white American male it occurred to me that almost nobody of that description ever wears red jeans of similar color. They exist and can certianly be purchased easily on Amazon, but ill bet 99% of said described men dont own a pair. I think they are perceived as being “gay” maybe? But i dont really understand the origin of this, i would wear a shirt of the identical color and no one would think to question my sexuality over it for a second, so why is it different if its on a pair of jeans instead? Why don’t YOU wear such? Afraid of being labeled “gay?” ---
**Author:** ![jonpluc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jonpluc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonpluc)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/29 "2017-12-24T21:59:27Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Why don’t YOU wear such? Afraid of being labeled “gay?” I looked into it with that intention and they seemed to be marketed almost exclusively to the “skinny slim” style which i am not so i started to wonder why. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/30 "2017-12-24T22:16:40Z")
I saw a live stage play once, wherein one of the main characters dressed in white shirt with bright red tie, bright red coat, bright red pants, and bright red shoes and socks. To be sure, the play was “Damn Yankees”, and the character in question was the Devil in those scenes where he appeared as himself. He dressed in regular clothes in those scenes where he appeared as Mr. Applegate. (I wonder if some of those bright red garments had to be custom made?) I had a friend back in college days (early 1970’s) who I think was the “very secure in his masculinity” type, who wore paisley corduroys. I recall it being mostly dark-ish colors, but definitely colorful and paisley. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Colibri](#): > > > > The reason is mostly that under the fashion code prevailing since the early 1800s men are not supposed to dress flamboyantly outside of a few permitted exceptions such as casual shirts, or in formal wear, ties. > > Or [golf attire](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0b/0c/8b/0b0c8bd1cbbb02fdc53787d698f7e813--golf-outfits-golf-attire.jpg). Or, as **DrForrester** beat me to saying, a few posts above, Hawaiian shirts (aka “Aloha” shirts), which are worn (a) at certain kinds of parties or other festive events, or (b) in Hawaii, any time any place all occasions. I have a colorful floppy hat I wear in the rain or cold weather sometimes, which has attracted occasional commentary, usually positive. [Photo from my YouTube thumb-nail (yes, that’s me)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IhBx9bhFIGs/hqdefault.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/31 "2017-12-24T22:19:10Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Most American women don’t wear red jeans either. It’s been a good 20 years since I last saw women’s jeans in red, green, orange, or purple more than once in a blue moon. Do they still exist? Sure. If I visited 20 brick and mortar stores today would I find some in those colors? Probably not. No more than 3 years ago the Lil’Wrekker had to have colored jeans. It was an old navy/gap thing. She had several pairs in odd colors. They were cute on her. All her friends had them too. Yes, it was a fad for about 5 min.! ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/32 "2017-12-24T22:20:49Z")
> [@jonpluc](#): > > But why? Red is just as primary of a color as blue is, why is blue “normal” and red virtually unused? Well, given todays tense political climate, whatever you choose to wear today may end up being what you wear to eternity. I really don’t want to be know as the new guy in red jeans for my first eon in heaven or so. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/33 "2017-12-24T22:50:52Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Serious answer. > > The same reason why most men usually look pretty sharp in a black tux. A man tends to look as good as he can look when he pulls off a V shape, projecting an image of broad shoulders to a narrower bottom half, ideally pulling attention up as much as possible to his face. The tux works by the slimming effect of black with the V of white expanding the sense of chest and pulling attention up to the face. Red jeans create a sense of a wider bottom half and thus narrower shoulders and chest. They pull attention away from the face. > > Also many men may want attention but few want to broadcast that they want attention. Red jeans do the latter. This. I won’t wear red jeans because I don’t want to draw attention to my butt. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/34 "2017-12-24T23:03:55Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > No more than 3 years ago the Lil’Wrekker had to have colored jeans. It was an old navy/gap thing. She had several pairs in odd colors. They were cute on her. All her friends had them too. Yes, it was a fad for about 5 min.! Is she a child or an adult? Kids’ clothes have always been more brightly colored than adults’. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/35 "2017-12-24T23:04:09Z")
You could ask your spouse/partner “Do these red jeans make my butt look big?” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/36 "2017-12-24T23:05:28Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Is she a child or an adult? Kids’ clothes have always been more brightly colored than adults’. She was 16/17 at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/37 "2017-12-24T23:47:43Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > She was 16/17 at the time. So, almost one year old? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/38 "2017-12-25T00:08:12Z")
Try finding red men’s pants of just plain solid red just about any time we want to talk about. Ages ago in the carefree days of my youth our “official HD factory racing jerseys” were this blue and white mesh with a little red trim. For walking around, before I put on my leathers, I wanted a bright red pair of pants. It took well over a month and finally ordering them special through the umpteenth store before I secured a pair. I then went one step further and slit the outside of each leg and sewing in white panels like you would see on drum and bugle corps uniforms. What can I say? It was the early 70s. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/39 "2017-12-25T00:15:13Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I would prefer to though to be gay because gay is not a choice. > > 😃 And 9 times out of 10 I would pick “hipster”. > [@DSeid](#): > > Serious answer. > > The same reason why most men usually look pretty sharp in a black tux. A man tends to look as good as he can look when he pulls off a V shape, projecting an image of broad shoulders to a narrower bottom half, ideally pulling attention up as much as possible to his face. The tux works by the slimming effect of black with the V of white expanding the sense of chest and pulling attention up to the face. Red jeans create a sense of a wider bottom half and thus narrower shoulders and chest. They pull attention away from the face. > > Also many men may want attention but few want to broadcast that they want attention. Red jeans do the latter. The true alpha male wants you to notice his trophy wife, not him. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/40 "2017-12-25T00:24:20Z")
Back in my high school days (early 70’s), I had a pair of red bell bottom pants. Wore blue and white platform saddle shoes with them. Thought I was pretty stylish then. Wouldn’t be caught wearing something like that today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216.md?page=3)