SuperAlienation...Anyone else feel this sometimes?

[dry the rain]

So I'm at Tulane University in New Orleans, and I may be the only male here (or the only male I've ever encountered here, at least) interested in style/fashion at all. The uniform for most guys is bootcut seven jeans, an A&F or Polo shirt, maybe a tatty canvas jacket or oversized hoodie, old puma shoes and a backwards baseball cap.

I'm usually wearing either my JR calis or my corpus tal with vans sk8 his and a t-shirt with a cardigan or my military-ish H&M jacket. I wore some permutation of this or at least something pretty similar to a party last saturday, and found out last night that one of the hot topics among a group of people I've never met was whether or not I was gay (I'm straight).

So here's the thing. I don't mind if people think I'm gay, it's not a big deal to me. What bothers me is the fact that I was singled out by a group of strangers based EXCLUSIVELY on my (i thought relatively subdued) clothing choices. I think it comes down to the fact that people here dress about two years behind the civilized world (read: New York, or even Philly, my home area).

Has anyone had to deal with being somewhat alienated from the people around them based on their sense of style? or am i the only one?

please reply. i'm feeling a bit like i'm alone in the cold down here.

[cheapmuthafukr]

i had a gay friend tell me i was supergay for being interested in style, and posting on this fucking board.

im also known as the guy with tight jeans.

umm.... i just dont even try to talk about it...

[zelah]

So I'm at Tulane University in New Orleans, and I may be the only male here (or the only male I've ever encountered here, at least) interested in style/fashion at all. The uniform for most guys is bootcut seven jeans, an A&F or Polo shirt, maybe a tatty canvas jacket or oversized hoodie, old puma shoes and a backwards baseball cap.

yup, sounds like a college

[emaze]

felt the same way when I went to UMASS... it was like walking into a time machine where beige was the only color.

[therealcas]

yea. i feel you, im from san diego and the college i go to is pretty diverse when it comes to fashion. We have like the guys that dont give a shit and wear sweats and a sweatshirt, then we have some females that dont give a shit and wear jeans, chucks, and a sweatshirt. Then we move up the ladder to the A&F fags, which bugs the shit out of me because they think their the shit. Then we move to the hypebeasty kids, their are a few of them. Then we have the Japanese exchange students and they are straight out of one of those japanese fashion mags, which i love. they wear the sickest shit ive ever seen in my life. When i walk into class i usually get some stares, but i just brush it off, the stuff i wear is not really 'normal' at my school and people tend to think im of the homosexual orientation but fuck it. Im only doing it for the ladies.

[onemancult]

i feel the same way, and i'm in new york. so don't think the experience is unique to your sort of situation, people are like that no matter where you go.

[cuddlysheep]

liviing in cali, its all good.

[minya]

you're just as unique as everyone else -- except your uniform is different

[bluespring]

i like being superaliented and being different is goood

i hangout most of the time with people who have different style than me

and they sometimes they asked me about clothes i wear and where i bought it

so yeah its like opening doors to other people

[dry the rain]

yeah, i mean, i've got good friends who all have different styles and none of them leave me feeling superalienated. i suppose it's just a bit strange to feel so aware of my difference from the uniform here. it usually doesn't come to mind, but when i know that strangers took note of me as specifically "other" than them based solely on my clothes, i can't help but ponder a bit.

i find the whole issue somewhat disheartening, but i also kind of view it as a badge of honor. i mean, i certainly wouldn't want those A&F fuckwads (and they do tend to think they're the shit, don't they?) to look at me and approve of my clothing choices as something they would wear.

thanks for the responses.

and cheap: i've also been told that i'm known as "the guy with the tight jeans" to several people.

[DaBestSpoona]

I live in ny, it's same crap in the more urban parts of NYC. Everyone wears baggy pants, and a black northface and the same retro jordans on release date instead of A&F/Seven.

But why should you care, I am assuming you wouldn't want to associate with those kind of riff raff any way, cept maybe fingerbang a few of their gf's.

[sidneylo]

I can see how that could cause some stress... it's annoying in general when you can feel the eyes of others, judging you. I'd rather hang out with other people with varied tastes, though. As much as I get that shitty "you're a fag" attitude, I also get people who don't care. From that, I've realized that by doing the same thing and reacting that way to their fashion sense is no better--especially when I know lots of great people who are not interested in the same stuff as me.

[ghostdeini]

I know how you feel. Although nobody has ever verbalized to me whether or not they think I'm gay/straight based on my clothes, I have caught myself feeling uncomfortable wondering if what I wear brings too much attention to me. But you get over it, you move on, because deep down inside we all do it for the ladies (as mentioned above). I'd rather stand out as something refreshing and different than blend in with everyone else

edit: on second thought, you could show them up by walking around with a t-shirt that says "I LOVE PUSSY"

[fade to black2]

i dress pretty differently from the norm here at college and i don't really get any negative comments for it, if anything it's all been positive feedback. if it's alienating myself from anyone, at least nobody has spoken up about it to my face yet.

in general though, i live with a constant feeling of isolation, loneliness and alienation, for different reasons...

[Guest jmatsu]

So here's the thing. I don't mind if people think I'm gay, it's not a big deal to me. What bothers me is the fact that I was singled out by a group of strangers based EXCLUSIVELY on my (i thought relatively subdued) clothing choices. I think it comes down to the fact that people here dress about two years behind the civilized world (read: New York, or even Philly, my home area).

Has anyone had to deal with being somewhat alienated from the people around them based on their sense of style? or am i the only one?

please reply. i'm feeling a bit like i'm alone in the cold down here.

at least you do not feel the hellish social pressures of a big city. be that big fish in the small pond! you will probably be judged by your appearance regadless of where you are. would you rather the critics be ignorant of your fashion choices, or would life be easier if they scrutinized every single garment, from your socks to your watch? i often travel to honolulu. if you think that someplaces in the continental u.s.

are behind, try visiting that isolated rock. it's not the fact that there isn't shit to buy, it's the fact most people are crazy.

[Selegna]

LOOKS LIKE YOU FUCKED UP THEN..

move to a big city.

PROBLEM DONE.

[the wit of the staircase]

are you the guy with the nudies cuffed to your knees? if so, stop that.

[goldengloves]

i often travel to honolulu. if you think that someplaces in the continental u.s.

are behind, try visiting that isolated rock. it's not the fact that there isn't shit to buy, it's the fact most people are crazy.

Not to discredit what you say or anything but I too have spent plenty of time on all the Hawaiin islands and they are in no way 'behind'. For the most part, people over there have a different outlook on life and are not influenced by everything that is 'new' and 'hip'. I know plenty of people who live out there who surf in the morning and work thier 9-5 and are plenty happy with life.

[Guest jmatsu]

Not to discredit what you say or anything but I too have spent plenty of time on all the Hawaiin islands and they are in no way 'behind'. For the most part, people over there have a different outlook on life and are not influenced by everything that is 'new' and 'hip'. I know plenty of people who live out there who surf in the morning and work thier 9-5 and are plenty happy with life.

not at all!

in terms of this thread, i feel that they're behind. i am speaking about them as fashion/apparel consumers, and obviously i don't mean everyone there. what you say makes sense, but has really little to do with my statement. i don't deny that alot of people living out there are happy. if they weren't they probably would move.

alot of consumers in hawaii are grossly influenced by what THEY CONSIDER TO BE NEW AND HIP, just as the people in new orleans who judge that the writer (of this thread) is gay. they probably think that they are new and hip by wearing abercrombie and whatever. liberally in the context of this entire forum, i personally don't think that 90% of the people in honolulu are fashion foward.

[Double D]

Not really. Then again, I live 5 minutes from the gay district of Europe's San Francisco, so we have somewhat different standards of what makes you look gay.

Then again, in my girlfriend's shithole of a hometown on the West Coast, it happens all the time, until I point out that they, with their buzzcut hair, leather jacket and gold jewellery blend in better with the gay community here than I ever will. Then again, I can think of at least one gay pub here where based on the clientele you'd assume it was a thug pub - the only real giveaway is the dodgy house music/80s synth pop.

[goldengloves]

True, I would say most people there are not fashion forward. But everyone is a product of thier environment. Someone coming from California going to NY might be in for a culture shock especially if they tried to walk down the street in flip flops with pants on and this is true for many places.

I think the point of this whole thread is to just be yourself. Clothing is there to express ones self so of course people are going to judge you by what is put on your body.

I've always lived through life with the notion of being the same towards everyone no matter where they are from, what they do, and what they wear. You give respect, you get respect.

[fade to black2]

i've noticed that as long as you look comfortable and confident when you go out, regardless of what you wear, people won't say anything. It's all about confidence and nonchalance.

[sidneylo]

I've always lived through life with the notion of being the same towards everyone no matter where they are from, what they do, and what they wear. You give respect, you get respect.

Exactly. I mean, I've done my fair share of "oh where did you get that" as well as explaining what type of things I wear--point being, the whole who's fashion forward and who is not isn't important. When people, regardless of what side they seem to be on, become discriminatory toward people for preconceived notions, then we're going into a different topic altogether, imo.

[Guest jmatsu]

True, I would say most people there are not fashion forward. But everyone is a product of thier environment. Someone coming from California going to NY might be in for a culture shock especially if they tried to walk down the street in flip flops with pants on and this is true for many places.

I think the point of this whole thread is to just be yourself. Clothing is there to express ones self so of course people are going to judge you by what is put on your body.

I've always lived through life with the notion of being the same towards everyone no matter where they are from, what they do, and what they wear. You give respect, you get respect.

i can see how you could interpret your theme of "give respect, get repect. everyone is a product of their environment," but that is such an easy/obvious-common sense sentiment. the writer of this thread wanted to know if anyone else felt alienated because of their clothing. the answer is def "yes."

someone else on this thread told the writer to just move to a big city. although the statement may seem cold to many, i cannot totally deny this logic.

i really don't understand what we are talking about anymore. you stated a universal truth, but it doesn't help the writer's situation of being judged a homosexul because of the garments he wears. i didn't mean to say that i hate honolulu, i somewhat like that rock. i was basically trying to convey to the writer of the thread that, no-he is not the only person to feel alienated. obviously there are more and less fashion-foward places then new orleans.

[goldengloves]

Some times the simplistic views are the ones that make the most sense. I know he was looking for other people's experience, I was just showing it from another view point. Everyone in thier life gets judged for something albeit clothing, looks, skin color, etc. I think the point is to not let it bother you and go about being you. I know this is a rather common sense answer and probably something everyone's Mother told them when growing up but it is true.

The thing that gets me about this whole thread is the ass backwards view points...

Then we move up the ladder to the A&F fags, which bugs the shit out of me because they think their the shit.

i find the whole issue somewhat disheartening, but i also kind of view it as a badge of honor. i mean, i certainly wouldn't want those A&F fuckwads (and they do tend to think they're the shit, don't they?) to look at me and approve of my clothing choices as something they would wear.

Is this not the same, alienating someone because of what they wear?

[the wit of the staircase]

also, stop hanging out with with tulane kids. the overwhelming majority of them are intolerable douchelords.

[fade to black2]

also, stop hanging out with with tulane kids. the overwhelming majority of them are intolerable douchelords.

i almost went to tulane. it was the first american university that accepted me, but i ended up choosing michigan at the last minute.

new orleans seems like it's more interesting, better weather too i imagine...don't know about the kids never visited that school.

[Double D]

i've noticed that as long as you look comfortable and confident when you go out, regardless of what you wear, people won't say anything. It's all about confidence and nonchalance.

Someone hasn't been to enough shitty working class towns in the UK. Down here in civilisation I don't think I've ever heard a thing said.

[corned beef]

back in high school when i first started wearing slimmer clothing i got a tooooon of shit from people. Thing is it was a super small school so i already knew the majority of the people. Anyways, lots of people thought i was gay (im straight) for a while but eventually people just stopped caring and admitting that my style fit me more than the typical gangsta azn style. For fun i wore baggy clothes for a day and everyone hated it.

Here in college I actually don't really get looks or feel alientated at all. People acknowledge my clothes and just say "Oh he's from LA and skates, that's normal for him". Jockish frat dudes dont even give me shit at all which is weird to me but oh well.

[Guest jmatsu]

Some times the simplistic views are the ones that make the most sense. I know he was looking for other people's experience, I was just showing it from another view point. Everyone in thier life gets judged for something albeit clothing, looks, skin color, etc. I think the point is to not let it bother you and go about being you. I know this is a rather common sense answer and probably something everyone's Mother told them when growing up but it is true.

The thing that gets me about this whole thread is the ass backwards view points...

Is this not the same, alienating someone because of what they wear?

like i said, your sentiment makes perfect sense(and i am sure that threadstarter contemplated this), but his situation obviously bother's him and he is looking for support/or for members with similar situations on superfuture.com. call me crazy, but i was under the impression that superfure is very fashion conscious/foward.

i find your view (universally by biblical standards)correct, but overly romantic almost too the point of naive. you seem like a good guy, but to be honest i don't give a shit about the frat kids or typical abercrombie consumer. at least some people on this forum recognize quality, vision, and can garment- filter. i can somewhat respect that. what i cannot respect is the force-fed consumer that buys into the obvious media industry standard and then have the ignorace/gall to actually ridcule one (i think) who has more consumer sofistication than them.