No nostalgia: Fashion phases I regret

I had a knack for awkward self-styling 10 to 15 years ago. It’s a truth made evident by old photos, depicting pambahay T-shirts matched with beige cargo pants, loud Chucks, and then-trendy accessories. Dressing up bored me to no end and so I worked with whatever looked wearable, much to my regret.

I guess now that I’m older, the idea of respect somehow caught up: you respected people by dressing up appropriately — not even greatly; just appropriately and properly — and you respected yourself by putting on something of quality.

But before I get all wisdom-crazy, allow me to recall some of my own style letdowns and how they occurred.

Wrong sandal brand, bro.

I remember the jocks had beige Birkenstock sandals to change to after school, you know, to look more laidback than us dorks in dusty leather shoes. I attempted the sandal look but for   reasons forever unknown to me, I ended up with a pair of Rusty Lopez look-alikes instead of the much-hyped Birkenstock ones. It’s sad I did not get the brand right and I wish I had just kept to my classic black leathers. Damn you, Ralph Mendo circa ‘01.

Buddha bead bracelet and puka shell necklace party for one, please.

I wore both at the same time, yes. To me, combining both the beads and puka shells just made cool eccentric sense in high school. I don’t know what I was trying to exude, but it sure looked like some fake Buddhist beach guy without the tan.

It was org T-shirt time — every time.

I was hardly active in college orgs, but apparently, I found hardcore use for their org T-shirts. I wore them at home, then to class, the mall, and even to a number of dates. The lack of variety still kills me up to now. Why did I find the need to represent Ateneo Comtech wherever I went when I wasn’t even the least bit active?

The slippers outdoors kind of guy

Manila’s hot as hell, but you can’t go out in slippers unless you’re walking by the beach or trudging on the way to your car after basketball practice. I had neither of those activities on my plate and yet there I was, opting for the slipper look even during a rainy day. At least I wasn’t like those kids in fake Havaianas (Havanas) with skinny jeans cuffed inwards. But still.

Oh, he’s a band guy.

Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, The Beatles — all great bands, yes, but why wear them almost every day? I had no sense of moderation, or balance. I had no sense of T-shirt timing.

I made it tight-fit everything.

I even had pins in my bag to clip the insides of my T-shirt’s sleeves so the cloth would cling to my arm. I hated anything loose and because of that I would lose breathing room. Imagine the sweat I would soak my tight-fit T-shirt with as I walked from class to class on a simmering day. Unnecessary wet look, man. Thank God I gave it all up and found a way grow up — even just a little.