Wear

 

Wear

 

The clothes that my mom picked out for me each day, as a child, was kind of a big deal.  You never want anyone to make fun of you at any time.  Image is everything.  You want friends, you want people to hang out with, you want someone to show up for your birthday parties, you want someone (anyone really) to have over for sleepovers.  It all boils down to whatever you wear.  I remember when I was younger; we did not really have a lot of money.  My dad was a Baptist preacher and my mom stayed home at this time.  It came time for school to start and I was growing like a weed.  I needed some new tennis shoes as my other ones looked like they had been run through a tree shredder several times.  We could not afford the Nike's that I wanted and we ended up settling for some K-Swiss.  I had never heard of them and thought they were uglier than John Kennedy's toothless granny, but I really did not have a say in the matter.  It was them or nothing.  The first day I wore those and so many kids laughed.  I will never forget it.  I had one good pair of jeans and I wanted to wear them every day.  I was very conscious about what I wore.

                In Junior High on upwards to High School, you were classified with which group you belonged to according to what you would wear each day.  If you had Levi's and a Polo shirt, you were with the jocks or the Preps.  If you had Wranglers, boots and a Dickies shirt, you were a redneck or cowboy.  If you wore all black and metal everywhere, you were a Punk Rocker and you worshipped Satan on the weekends.  That is just the way it was.  Labels were attached to the clothing that you put on.  It really made sense, as that was what society was doing outside the school walls.  Police Officers all dressed alike.  Firefighters all dressed alike.  The people who worked for KFC, Wal-Mart and Safeway all had the same uniform on.  Preachers all wore suits as did Deacons and so on and so forth.  That was life.  That was normal.

                But what I never understood was that even thought I wore the same clothes as the others that I hung around with, we were all so very different.  My parents were so different than anyone else's.  My dad was a preacher and mom was a teacher.  We went to church every Sunday and never missed unless we died.  My best friend's dad was a retired police officer.  They never went to church and his dad was always at a bar.  I hunted, loved to camp, and played baseball every chance I could.  Others were disc jockeys, grill guys at Waffle House, and sackers for grocery stores.  We all drove different vehicles and had different girlfriends.  Yet we hung around with each other, wore similar clothes and labeled as being the same.

                I never understood that.  It still happens today.  Students want to have friends, so they flock to others that dress, act, and do the same things they like to do.  From the hairy-legged girls, to the football players, to the thugs, band geeks, gangsters and future schoolteachers.  They join clubs such as FCA, social club, young Democrats and Key Club.  They just want to fit in and have friends who will be there for them when needed.  It is part of who we are, but the cool part is that nobody has to be alone. There is a group for everyone.  All you have to be is friendly.

                Now that I am an adult, I still care about what I wear.  It is not that I care whether people like me or not because of my clothing choices, but it is a big deal to me that I am walking billboard for who I have on my body.  In the Outdoor and Overlanding world, every Tom, Dick and Harry is producing hats and shirts and giving them away!  Why?  Because every time someone wears their name on their chest or their head, they are a living advertisement for that business or brand and everyone who sees them immediately assumes the person wearing that brand or business recommends them.   For whom do I want to advertise?  Do I like or even use their products?  Would I stand behind them or recommend them to a friend?

                Some do not even think about that.  They do not think about the stickers that they choose to put on their vehicle.  They do not think about the patches the Velcro to their headliner.  They do not think about the hat they put on or the shirt they wear.  They are just a walking billboard for whoever and whatever they get for free.  This is great if you are limited to the clothing you have or if it is all that you can afford, but for most of us, we should think about for whom we advertise. 

                All of us are brand conscious whether we realize it or not.  Many prefer the cheapest piece of gear they can get their hands on.  The brand does not matter aside from the quality, yet they know which brands are the most expensive in order to stay away from them.  Others know which brands produce the most quality products and that is what they go for no matter the price.  Still others are brand loyal and buy everything from that one brand.  Finally, there are those who try to get anyone to send them gear for free with a promise to "use" it and then "review" it to "help" the manufacturer out. 

                In Overlanding our vehicles, Social Media accounts, and even our own selves, what we wear, are billboards for companies screaming for the next shopper to buy from them and not the competitor.  We are their messengers, and more times than not, we are doing it all freely of our own accord.  Think about what you wear.  Think about what sticker or logo you put on your vehicle.  Is that a brand you would stand behind?  Is that a company whose character and standards align with your own?  These companies love us, because their business might live and die according to what you and I wear.