It's not vegan cupcakes. It is more global than that.
I present to you......the child-sized man.
Do these flat-front pants make me look old? Like 23?
I started noticing it this summer. Occasionally I will see a child-sized man walking around Reston Town Center on a break from Google or some other techie company. He might be shopping at the Apple Store or JCrew.
Go to an urban area, though, and there are armies of them. Usually young, usually hip. Sometimes the look is topped off with horn-rimmed glasses. Occasionally, he can rock the argyle sweater vest.
Wait, wait. I know this! 14-30-30, right?
But the fashion choices can't obscure the real question - how did you get to be child-sized? Is it an exercise thing? A gay thing? An eating disorder thing?
Or did you just look at your genetics and say "yay...now I can buy 28-inch waist pants forever!" ?
It would be easy to say this is a young man's thing, because, really, it is not difficult to be slight when you are 20. But I know some child-sized men over 40. What gives?
What is the criteria for "child sized?" you ask. I would say anyone under 5-foot-8, 150 lbs. But I will grant exceptions.
Last summer, Mr. Snarkshelf (a normal man-sized 6-foot, 190-something, 45 year old) was a groomsman in his brother's sort-of-hipster wedding. He was told to buy a certain suit at JCrew. I feared for the results.
This is JCrew's very slim Ludlow suit, as modeled by a child-sized man:
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What up, Slim?
It all worked out though, as the groom had picked out the more realistic Aldridge cut, for a man-sized man.
So if you know the answer, please clue me in. In the meantime, I will be splitting a salad with my artist friend Clive, flipping through Details on his iPad and picking out new glasses.
It's all good, as long as he does not buy this:
If I am going to be 130 lbs., I might as well rock it.
