‘Frayed knot

Posted on by Michael Raven

New keffiyeh arriving today. One traditional black/white, one black/black. I missed my old one and the basement gets cool some days.

Now — if only I could find some slacks that are as comfy as jogging sweats, I might look less like a slob (and feel like less of one too), but — try as I might — I can’t find anything that isn’t business casual (ugh, tight in the wrong places for comfort) or harem pants (ugh, I feel like a dork). Both are on the extremes and I’m looking for something that isn’t 99% polyester, paper thin, baggy, or too fitted. I swear — I used to have slacks back in the 80s and 90s that fit what I am looking for, but it appears they don’t even make proper carpenter pants these days (they call them than, but they don’t look like that). And everyone thinks I should pay a premium for their kind of crappy product. Most of it isn’t worth more than $20, but I have folks trying to sell me these items for $40 or more, more often than not.

Honestly, I hate today’s clothes because they seem disposable, plasticy, and built for short, slight men from central Asia with no neck, no shoulders and no chest. I have old t-shirts that say XL that have a replacement size of 2XL. I buy jeans and I swear that they made the sizes 2 sizes smaller so that a 36 is now a 38 waist. Same with button-up shirts. I almost have to buy dress shirts now because at least those are sized by chest, shoulder, neck. Everything seems sized smaller than 25 years ago, if it is standard S/M/L/XL/2XL. I’m a stocky guy, so I’ve always had to buy large sizes (I have had a 18 to 19-inch neck since I was 18 years old; mom wanted me to be a linebacker for American football), and I know I’m not as slim as before, but when I can hold up very old shirts and there is a size difference compared to new shirts that goes beyond stretching out, something is wrong. Same with jeans.

And nothing seems to last. I’m not exactly hard on my clothes, being a desk jockey. Seams give way, jeans get holes in places other than knees, mysterious holes appear in shirts above my nipples, collars on shirts evaporate.

And I can’t find some good, old fashioned, hippie slacks to lounge in without paying $60. And even then, those clothes don’t look very durable or comfortable — so I’m not going to pay a premium for them.

[Edit: Turns out that if you use the right keywords on Google, you can find new keywords to try on Amazon. Checking out a pair of 100% cotton slacks that shouldn’t make me feel like Ali Baba when they are delivered Saturday.]

Man.

I am getting to be an old cuss.

Published by Michael Raven

Michael Raven has been murdering innocent words since some time in primary school and hasn’t had the decency to stop after he was first published in second grade. During the mid-90s, he was the emcee at a spoken word/open mic salon, "Sweet Immolation", in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. He is deeply interested in the Old Ways and in shamanic traditions.

21 thoughts on “‘Frayed knot”

  2. Seriously I’ve had this same conversation. I have two skirts that I got one in the late 90s and the other in 2000. The 2000 one looks near new still. It’s crazy. Then I have a lot of clothes that are about 10-15 years old still going fairly strong… but anything purchased in the last, say 5 years, if it has even survived past a year, looks like my oldest clothes. Crazy. It’s this damn throw-away consumerist society…. don’t get me started. Guess I’m just old-fashioned.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Yep. Just experienced that in the last 18mo or so. Bought two pair of 505s and they lasted maybe eight months… mind you; I don’t wear jeans every day… so it was really frustrating. I mean, I got them on sale but still… 🤬

        Liked by 1 person

            3. I work with guys who do work for refineries, so I might have it wrong. But I think that’s what they wear when on-site — but it might be a special fire-retardant, anti-oil variant.

              Regardless, I’ve considered in the past for working outside because they are durable. Not very comfy for lounging in though.

              Liked by 1 person

            6. I know, right? One of my girlfriends, she lives about 40 miles away, I went ten months without seeing her lol. But my best friend lives in the lower 48. In fact, we have never met in person, though we’ve been friends for years. It’s just the way the world is, I guess.

              I think you can meet friends on Amazon but they are probably the pump-up kind…

              Liked by 1 person

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