There I was, sitting on the couch with my belly hanging out of my Comfort Colors party shirt, stains all over my khaki shorts, in my Chacos with tearing straps, and with a backwards 1980’s styled rope hat. There was a twelve pack on the ground next to me, and a box of pizza on the other side. I was this grotesque stereotype of what a degenerate college kid looked like. My revelation came as I sat on that couch watching Scent of a Woman, which in my not-so-humble opinion is one of the greatest pieces of cinematic art that kids these days sleep on. I’d watched it a hundred times, but this time all I could think was, “Man, everyone looks so freaking good”. And don’t get me wrong, I mean it in a fashion sense. There are some actors in this film who have faces only a mother could love. Later that week I stumbled upon an episode of Mad Men as I was flipping through the channels, and it only made me feel worse about my wardrobe. You see, I used to not care, and I’d even ridicule friends who already graduated and dressed like complete and total Yes Man losers. But, that was before my views matured. I slowly started to realize that it wasn’t selling out, but doing what you had to do to get the position you wanted and the respect you demanded. Like it or not that’s the type of society we live in, and if we choose to participate in it, we have to abide by its standards. I don’t like it, but I’ll naturally lean towards people who dress nicely than someone in a summer festival tank. Especially now that I’m in the stage of my life where I’m supposed to make connections and start my career options.

I head over to my computer and make some google searches to further my wardrobe transformation. I see a couple of prices and immediately get really hot and pass out on the floor. Whenever I come to, I sit back in my chair and stare at the numbers. $2000 for a suit. Is it made of gold!? Can it make me fly?! WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE!?!? I knew it would be pricey, but I wasn’t expecting to have to sell a kidney on the black market for a two piece. I look at some more sites and everything is ridiculously priced. How could this be? I was so confused because even people in all of the Great Depression photos I saw in my history classes looked so dapper. Okay. Fine. I was looking at some pretty high end brands. But, I don’t want some middle of the mall material. If I invest, I want to be the person everyone is staring at in the room. But, I suppose now was time for me to get realistic. I wasn’t some Wall St. broker, so there was no need for me to act like one.

I went down to the local thrift shop in hopes that some old man who shared the same size as me donated his entire wardrobe. I was thoroughly surprised at the selection. Some, of course, were sub-par, but there were some real treasures here and there. Afterwards I went to some department stores and found great deals on clearance. Yeah, it wasn't Giorgio Armani, but it looked nice, and that’s what really mattered. I realized it wasn’t going to be as hard or as expensive as I once thought to mature my wardrobe, and I’ll be honest, I feel a lot better and much more confident in these clothes than I did in my PFG shorts. I know it’s not for everyone, but it’s not as bad as it seems. Hopefully one day I will be able to splurge and even buy some Gucci flip flops.