Yesterday, on a break, I took a little field trip to the new Mag. Mile store, and I was ecstatic at what I found. (I think I piddled my pants a little!) The new store in the heart of the sopping Mecca in Chicago, is everything I would expect to encounter on the continent, only now on my home turf!
I encountered Zara while living in Europe a few years back, and loved the clothes they carried. They were stylish and well made and fell into that category of “European” without carrying it so far as to make me look Italian. I was always sad that there was nothing like it in the states. Later, I heard from like-minded friends in NYC, that they eventually got a branch. The migration had begun, but I knew it would still be a while before the store was able to show its face in the Midwest. This past weekend, though, my wait was over. I will no longer to have to travel to Europe to buy my clothes.
I am a skinny guy who likes to wear clothing that actually fits me. (shock, I know!) American men have fallen into a sad trap of baggy, saggy, slouchy clothes all two sizes bigger than they need to be, and it seems that clothing manufacturers have taken to simply making the fit bigger to accommodate them. It is virtually impossible for me to find clothes that I don’t swim in. It seems that only gay men in the states pay attention to such things as inseams and something called “slim fit”. European men, straight as well as gay, have not only paid attention to style and fit in clothes, but they fully embrace it. And that is why they look so much better than their American counterparts.
Gradually, though, thanks in part to H&M, the European sense of style is catching on here in the states at an affordable price. Zara , now, takes it one step further. This company has clothes with clean lines and has a consideration to fit that is virtually impossible to find in an American clothing store. On top of this, Zara also has an attention to detail that takes their clothes from simply classic, to stylish without screaming “trend”. They also do not shy away from high inseams, high arm-holes, and shirts that follow the line of your body – all things that actually make a man look good in clothes! Note* pleated kakis NEVER make a man look good.
So there is no excuse now, well at least in the bigger metropolitan areas. Good style that you can afford is now as close as your major shopping area. If H&M was to “hip” for you, then Zara has just want you need. I see hope my friends! Hope that one day every American may will look as good as the gays!
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