p0p c0llars

WTF? Okay. First of all, it is your perogative if you want to wear something that is not really the norm... Seriously, I don't care. But, it is also my perogative to comment on when I feel something doesn't make sense. Not that what I am about to discuss is really dumb, but I just don't understand it. Maybe I am the dumb one here...

Pop collars. Who decided that it would be cool to take the everyday collar on a Polo type shirt and flip that bad boy up? I know that it was the style a few decades ago... well, at least for the greasy guys with black leather jackets like the Fonz, but someone has emerged and made this past fashion statement present.

The reason that I am commenting on this is because of a camper here this week who flips his collar up all the time. I call him Sigma Nu, after the fraternity. He has really got the whole fratty look down pat... flipped up collar, short khaki shorts, Rainbow sandals, backwards Oakleys when they aren't on his eyes. I mean, I gotta give the man an A for effort... but then I have to subtract a few points because a goal of his is to be in a fraternity at Clemson. I am sorry, but when I heard this, I almost lost it. Bryce said, "He wants to be in a fraternity when he comes to Clemson." Who has that as a goal in life? I mean, yeah, I'm sure people think about it, but it strikes me as a very rare goal. Most people want to be doctors, or astronauts, or firemen... but who says, "I want to be fratty"?

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. So his pop collar graces his neck almost daily... one day it even graced his neck accompanied by Mecca running shorts. Most of the counselors saw that as a red flag... if our friend wants to be fratty, he is definitely going to have to learn that you don't wear our Walker Golf Course shirts with our Fike Rec workout shorts. Well, there are a lot of other guys that hang out with this guy... they are archies, so they are really clicky. One of them is this guy from Atlanta... he tries to be "in," but it doesn't work that much... he is more the Sports Car Club type... you know... pseudo-fratty. Well, one day, he decided to pop his collar too. Well, I mean, judging from the type of person he is and the things he says he does, he is very different from our Sigma Nu friend. However, the popped collar made all the difference! All this metro ATL kid had to do to be on the same level with the prince of $500,000 home suburbia was pop his collar... WHAT A CONCEPT!

So I suppose that is how the whole thing caught on in the first place... Some guy with high social standing did it... maybe in order to advance himself in the eyes of others, or just draw other's attention to him... then, some wannabe decided to copy him, in hopes that it would advance him in the eyes of the guy he was mimicing (did I lose you there?).

In other words, it was all done to be "cool." If you ask me, it would seem that having that extra fabric up around one's neck in the summer time would not be incredibly "cool." Quite honestly, it isn't a great practice at all. The common and neat way to wear a collared shirt is with the collar down. This is the way that corporate America dresses, and therefore, it is the correct way... Now I know that is arguable, but let's be honest... if anyone wants to get anywhere in life (maybe not necessarily into a frat house), then they have to be somewhat professional. I think it would be advisable for our friend Sigma Nu to live out his cool pre-fratty/fratty years as he is, and then toss the style away when his time comes... I'm not tryin' to cramp his style completely... everyone needs their individuality... even though the pop collar practice is somewhat a fad... I guess it's still not a widely accepted fashion statement.

So my verdict... Pop Collars: An individualistic fashion statement (that is oxymoronical enough) worn by those individuals achieving "cool" status. Not reccommended for those trying to make an impression in the businessworld, but highly recommended for those in search of fraternity brothers.