I am not a fashionista.
My uniform for the last forty years has been some brand of pique polo shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Back in the 80s—when I still had a relatively flat stomach, and was able to get into size 31 jeans—this combo was the gay uniform. (At least in the clubs I frequented at the time.)
I was relieved when it finally became standard casual Friday office fare and later pretty much acceptable office dress any day of the week no matter where I worked.
While I've worn polo shirts since 1980, I've never really been able to justify the cost of what I viewed as the ultimate polo, a Lacoste, opting instead for the much more affordable Brittania brand back in the day. I did, however, own one red Lacoste in 1983 after splurging on the purchase ($25 as I remember).
I was finally a member of the Alligator Club, even if the fit (medium) was a little snug back then.
Flash forward 40 years and Target discontinues Merona—my go-to polo brand for at least a decade—leaving me in a lurch. I tried their new Goodfellow shirts, but the fabric was cheap and the shirts just didn't fit the same way as Merona. I tried St. John's Bay from JC Penney, but they didn't fit the same way as Merona either.
So this sent me to eBay to see if I could snatch up a few "gently used" Meronas. But then I got to thinking…if Merona, why not Lacoste?
Jackpot!
(I knew they were still being made; I happened across a table full in a Macy's a few years ago, but was aghast that they were still as unaffordable as they were in the 80s. But I'd never thought about buying them used.)
Times and priorities change, y'know?
So anyway, after 40 years, I'm now close to having a week's worth of those little alligators to wear to work, knowing full well that they're probably viewed as an anachronism, a throwback to ages long past (when our country seemed relatively sane), but I don't care. They make me smile, and that's what's important—especially with the world being in its current state.