Something that needs to stop.....

I just wanted to ramble on about what I see as a tragic situation that has developed in men's fashion. I've done a lot of shopping lately and many things genuinely trouble me. Foremost amongst these though, is the "shiny" dress shirt and the fact that it's increasingly pervasive. This is the case even amongst designers that should know better. I'm talking to you Calvin Klein.

Now, if you don't know what I'm talking about let me tell you. I'm specifically talking about monochromatic shirts that have something of a gloss about them. As far as I can tell, these came to prominence due to Regis Philbin. He even developed his own line of these shiny shirts and ties.
Now, I have nothing against Regis Philbin - Morning Show Host. The Regis I have a problem with is Regis Philbin - Frickin' Fashion Icon. How the hell did this happen? Is our dearth of fashion heroes so out of control in this country that we look to Regis for guidance? If so, that's just sad. Step up Brad Pitt. Step up anyone. I beg you.

I spent plenty of a Sunday looking for a respectable maroon dress shirt. I couldn't find a single shirt in this color that wasn't shiny. I just couldn't. This is sad on so many levels. Here are couple of them -

1) Does no one make quality monochromatic dress shirts in colors like maroon anymore? Maroon is a tremendous color. At a minimum, it pairs fantastically with gray. This is not up for debate. We're good with the white, black, blue, and a few others but there are serious gaps here in the dress shirt realm these days. Maybe we should lay off the chunky stripes and get some of the basics correct.

2) By having no viable options in this color available in respectable fabrics, the message to men is "sure it's okay to wear maroon, but make sure that maroon is SHINY." Who the hell wants shiny maroon? Maroon is much more "preppy east coast polo fan" than "sleazy club guy with a hideous gold chain." Really, that's the only guy that I could reasonably recommend the shiny maroon shirt to. You think Harvard is changing their school colors from crimson to this shiny maroon crap? Hell no. Why? Intelligent people over there at Harvard, that's why.

3) I came to the conclusion that Regis had actually influenced fashion in my nation and possibly worldwide. This wasn't just what men were wearing, but many respectable fashion lines adopted this sort of styling. All of this is hard to swallow. This might be due to demand, but standards need to be set. Demand is no excuse. I have to even question demand. No person whose fashion sense I respect rocks these shirts. Plain and simple.

What's the bottom line here? This needs to stop. How do I make it stop? I don't know. I just want it to. Thanks for listening.