# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/81 "2017-12-29T08:36:51Z")
I honestly can barely remember seeing jeans in any color other than blue–whether lighter or darker. The few ones I remember were worn by people who wanted to stand out as different. I mean, my parents still occasionally say bluejeans, and my grandparents never just said jeans. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/82 "2017-12-29T08:53:00Z")
I’ve never seen red jeans in the wild. The only major manufacturer that makes jeans my size is Carhart, and their palette is pretty limited. I live in a country with many fine, inexpensive custom tailors and among the items I’ve had made for me in Seoul, I have some ["]Royal Stewart plaid]([http://rlv.zcache.com/classic\_royal\_stewart\_tartan\_plaid\_fabric-rab9eba26665340cda255ba36ad9bfaf1\_zl6qn\_630.jpg?rlvnet=1&view\_padding=](http://rlv.zcache.com/classic_royal_stewart_tartan_plaid_fabric-rab9eba26665340cda255ba36ad9bfaf1_zl6qn_630.jpg?rlvnet=1&view_padding=)[285,0,285,0) dress slacks and some burgundy red chinos. The local tailors draw the line at denim, though. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/83 "2017-12-29T17:21:25Z")
I read once that most [straight] American men are so conservative that you couldn’t get them into brightly-colored pants and suits if you gave them away. Not for nothing: but for the odd red T-shirt, most of my wardrobe is blue, black, and gray. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/84 "2017-12-29T19:50:25Z")
> [@susan](#): > > This thread inspired me to buy a pair of red jeans at Macy’s today. I’ll let you know if I become a gay man. If you do, will you change your name to Mary? Or just go by Suzy? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/85 "2017-12-29T20:46:02Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > If you do, will you change your name to Mary? Or just go by Suzy? I’m guessing Sister something or other, but only in a nun’s habit with red pants at Gay Pride, IF the red pants change my gender and my object choice. There’s a lot about this phenomenon that is as yet unknown. Sister Mary Suzy says: And a lot that may be ultimately unknowable, this being the nature of the Divine. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/86 "2017-12-29T22:35:15Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I read once that most [straight] American men are so conservative that you couldn’t get them into brightly-colored pants and suits if you gave them away. > > Not for nothing: but for the odd red T-shirt, most of my wardrobe is blue, black, and gray. Apparently you don’t golf 🙂 or remember the short lived popularity of the dreaded leisure suit. 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/87 "2018-01-01T20:54:55Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > [Howard Wolowitz](https://pre00.deviantart.net/e4f4/th/pre/f/2017/286/d/f/howard_wolowitz_by_rj_renders-dbqh0qi.png) wears red jeans. > > I have no fashion sense because I am not interested in having fashion sense. Therefore, I try to wear the most nondescript, unremarkable clothes possible. Red would be right out, for shirts or trousers. Those Mondrian shoes are actually pretty dope. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/88 "2018-01-01T22:51:07Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Apparently you don’t golf 🙂 Yeah, was about to mention – head to the Country Club and you’ll see some presumably straight white gentlemen rock some pimptastic color. Going over my own trouser inventory… black, brown, dark grey, light grey, navy, suntan khaki, olive drab, blue denim. Variously in either dress or casual versions. Last I remember having vivid-colored jeans/chinos in other than blue must have been almost 40 years ago. There WAS a brief period of very pale-washed denim in the 1980s but it passed. My warm weather tops OTOH include bright green, red, blaze orange and goldenrod. So it’s not like I run from bright colors, but I like for my pants to be as “neutral” as possible ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/89 "2018-01-01T23:21:35Z")
I don’t know why we’re talking about red jeans specifically. What about yellow, or pink? Or mirror-like chrome pants? The answer is pretty simple; if you imagine a spectrum between conservative and bold fashion, men’s fashion in the West tends to be the left of women’s. And American fashion is to the left of Europe, say. It will probably shift over time and then it will just be a matter of whether red is “in” at the current moment. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/90 "2018-01-01T23:26:46Z")
Red will never be “in.” ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/91 "2018-01-02T09:51:05Z")
I own a pair of red Dickies. Back in the day, there seemed to be a lot more colors available at Orchard Supply. I’ve got red, prison orange, and burgundy plus the usual black and blue. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/92 "2018-01-02T12:19:55Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Red will never be “in.” I would argue it already has been “in”, recently too, in much of the western world. That’s if burgundy trousers, like [these](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/484348134903938624/)say, count as “red jeans”. A couple years back this color was very popular and many stores in europe had racks of these to choose from. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/93 "2018-01-02T17:08:35Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I would argue it already has been “in”, recently too, in much of the western world. > That’s if burgundy trousers, like [these](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/484348134903938624/)say, count as “red jeans”. > > A couple years back this color was very popular and many stores in europe had racks of these to choose from. Nope, not _red_ enough. Red is one of those colors that everyone (except the color blind) can look at and quickly/offhandedly describe it as red. There are many shades of red, and some people even know the names of those shades, but red is red. And red pants look best when calliope music is playing. just sayin’ ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/94 "2018-01-02T18:26:17Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Nope, not _red_ enough. Red is one of those colors that everyone (except the color blind) can look at and quickly/offhandedly describe it as red. There are many shades of red, and some people even know the names of those shades, but red is red. And red pants look best when calliope music is playing. just sayin’ If we’re saying burgundy doesn’t count that’s fine, but I disagree with the idea that everyone agrees 100% if something is red or not. There are thousands of levels of redness that humans can see, and it’s arbitrary where you draw the line. Plus a lot depends on surrounding colors. A good illustration of this point is this [color wheel of world flags](http://time.com/patriotic-flag-colors/). Many flags that we’d trivially say contain red actually contain a very pink, magenta or orangey red when seen in isolation. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/95 "2018-01-02T18:49:20Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > If we’re saying burgundy doesn’t count that’s fine, but I disagree with the idea that everyone agrees 100% if something is red or not. There are thousands of levels of redness that humans can see, and it’s arbitrary where you draw the line. Plus a lot depends on surrounding colors. > > A good illustration of this point is this [color wheel of world flags](http://time.com/patriotic-flag-colors/). Many flags that we’d trivially say contain red actually contain a very pink, magenta or orangey red when seen in isolation. - “quickly/offhandedly describe it as red” - Given enough time, we could correctly identify any color/shade. Well, not me personally, but some people could. We could discuss coffee, salmon, and chocolate. We’ll first need to decide if we’re talking about having lunch, or the colors for redecorating a room. 🙂 fyi - Your linked article asks and answers this question. - _What is the most patriotic color ? ANSWER: IT 'S RED_ Then it says, “_The Star-Spangled Banner’s particular shade of red shows up in 14.3 percent of all national flags, making it the second most common color after white_.” According to the wheel, white shows up 17.7% of the time. Wouldn’t WHITE be the most patriotic color? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/96 "2018-01-02T18:51:24Z")
Because white is not a color, it is the absence of color. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/97 "2018-01-02T19:59:59Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Because white is not a color, it is the absence of color. Yes, but in practical situation, there are many shades of white thread available for making flags or pants. The colors of the French, British, and U.S.A. flags are red, white, and blue, not natural cotton, natural flax, or undyed silk. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/98 "2018-01-02T20:36:24Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Because white is not a color, it is the absence of color. Black is the absence of color, i.e., the absence of visible light. With white there is no absence; it is the sum of all of the colors. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/99 "2018-01-03T01:53:46Z")
Well it’s what we see when all kinds of color cone on our retina are activated for an area. It’s a bit misleading to call it “all colors”; would we see the same thing if we were tetrachromatic and all cones were activated, for example? The concept of “color” is usually defined to mean “hue” by which black and white are not colors as they have no specific hue. But the word color is actually used to cover a broad range of meanings in English, and that flag link is an illustration of the problems this can cause. If you asked me what color I painted my walls, and I answered “white”, that’s a valid answer, because you didn’t really mean hue specifically. And with the flags, I’d say white is the most popular “color” just because there’s no everyday word for “specific hue saturation lightness”. Or is there? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216/100 "2018-01-03T17:07:29Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > If you asked me what color I painted my walls, and I answered “white”, that’s a valid answer, because you didn’t really mean hue specifically. And with the flags, I’d say white is the most popular “color” just because there’s no everyday word for “specific hue saturation lightness”. Or is there? (post shortened) I’m hoping you’ll enjoy the following scene from the 1948 movie “Mr. Blandings builds his dream house”. It sums up our families color selection process perfectly. We’ll be shown three samples of white. My wife informs me that the first sample has just a touch of pink, the second sample has just a touch of green, and the third is just right. All I see is white, white, and white. I respond by wander off to the tools department looking for the latest and greatest, high tech, paint applying tools. I don’t have her gifts, and she doesn’t have mine. Together, we make a good team. 🙂 [https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mr+blandings+builds+a+house+color+youtube&view=detail&mid=2AA9FDD6E27D78FABF592AA9FDD6E27D78FABF59&FORM=VIRE](https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mr+blandings+builds+a+house+color+youtube&view=detail&mid=2AA9FDD6E27D78FABF592AA9FDD6E27D78FABF59&FORM=VIRE) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-american-straight-white-men-wear-red-jeans/805216.md?page=6)