Facing a problem? Annie has answers. Ask away!
Dear Annie,
My friend keeps tucking in his shirts, but it ruins the outfit because I’m like “browskie now you’re a nerd”. Anyways what do I do… cause like ahhhhh omg
Help please,
Cool untucked dude
Dear Cool untucked dude,
We may wish we could give our friends a make-over for every nonsensical fashion, but 90s teen romcom “She’s All That” showed us how poorly a makeover motivated by selfishness ends.
Though I don’t condone tucked-in shirts for casual occasions, I’m even less approving of judgement toward the fashion choices of friends. Criticism is the least fashionable thing you can sport — more unflattering than any T-shirt, tucked or untucked.
The clothes a person wears and the way they style them reflect how they want the world to perceive them. As drag queen and reality TV star RuPaul says, “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag.” Your friend might want to package himself as a nerd. If he’s happy and comfortable with his tucked-in aesthetic, there’s nothing to do but accept his J. Crew wardrobe.
Why does his affinity for tucked-in shirts bother you? His choice of clothing doesn’t necessarily impact your reputation. You said it yourself: even when you two are together, you remain a “cool untucked dude.” Besides, what’s so wrong with being a nerd? We’re all GW students living in what travel and cultural websites dub the “nerdiest” city in the country. Don’t judge your friend for embracing a staple of the nerd uniform. Instead, be thankful they didn’t don a pair of suspenders or cuff their khaki pants.
Reflect on the fashion faux pas you’ve committed. Surely, you remember when people were obsessed with skinny jeans, mustaches and wearing athleisure to every event. You likely realized the cringey-ness of those trends (and if you haven’t, please get rid of your skinny jeans). Offering your unsolicited critique of your friend’s style puts both of you in an awkward and potentially embarrassing position. If they’re not asking for your fashion advice, don’t be the one to ruin their style for them.
If your friend does ask you what you think of their outfit, share your opinion but blanket it with advice. Consider how you, as the “cool untucked dude,” would style the outfit. For a laid-back look, I agree that it’s best practice to leave T-shirts untucked. But if the outfit is for a more formal occasion, you might advise him to do a French tuck — a tuck in the front with a loose back — instead of a complete tuck. As “Queer Eye” fashion guru Tan France says, “All you need is a little tuck and you’ve got the comfort of having it tucked.”
Teen movies from the ’90s taught us we’re ‘all that’ without changing the outside. Besides, we’re in college. There’s no point in giving a person a makeover because, unlike in “She’s All That,” there’s no way they can win prom queen. People’s quirks are their charms. Embrace your friend’s nerdy idiosyncrasies.
Cool untucked girl,
Annie
