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From big banana to Fashion Man

The last time anyone exclaimed about my clothing I was clad in yellow tights and matching codpiece. That was decades ago when I’d been cast as Ferdinand in a college production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Think banana man.

People occasionally notice my Kermit the Frog necktie, but they don’t exclaim. They utter nice words – in tones that suggest “On a grown man?!”

My fashion palette trends toward dull and slightly worn. Never actually trendy and certainly seldom remarked upon.

So I wasn’t prepared this week to get a fashion compliment. I initially missed it because it was couched in words as trendy as I am dowdy.

“Nice look. Dripping!”

A student at the college where I teach had spoken. Other students shouted affirmation. (My “outfit,” which I’d donned with less forethought than when brushing my teeth, was jeans and a jeans jacket.)

“What?” I said. “What’d you say?”

“Dripping.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a compliment!”

I texted a Gen Z language expert, Daughter No. 1. Was it really a compliment? I asked.

“Yes haha,” she replied.

So, world. Meet your Fashion Man.



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One Comment

  1. Darlene Olivo Darlene Olivo

    Fabulous, laugh-out-loud video! ” . . . Always knew what the men were thinking!”

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