Ridiculous Opinions #299
Howdy folks! It’s Saturday and today marks the two-hundred and ninety-ninth posting of my Ridiculous Opinions! For those of you who have stuck around, congrats! For those of you who haven’t? Well, you’ll never know that I called you a jerk behind your back, will you?
There’s not a ton to say in this issue. It’s actually NEXT issue that I will have some MAJOR news on TWO fronts. That should be super-exciting to those of you who stick around. I just have to confirm a couple of things, but the odds are high that most people will be super-happy with what I have to say and you all should wait with baited breath for the next issue.
Note: Don’t get your hopes TOO high. If I win the 1.8 billion dollar lottery this weekend, I’ll let you know though, and I promise at least $200 to each person who has been an active subscriber up until September 6, 2025.
Anyhoo…since I can’t spill any of the beans before next week, let me talk to you about my clothing obsession.
I know that I have spoken here before about my desire to have the clothes that I wear last me forever. It’s really a simple request…all I want is to have pants and shirts that I could wear for several days in a row; clothes that I always look good in; clothes that I always feel comfortable in. As I’ve discovered over the last few years, that’s actually harder than it seems, but I feel like I’m nearing the finish line.
**My daughter says that I dress like a tech billionaire who doesn’t want to look like a tech billionaire. I appreciate her description.
Up to this point, I have been wearing Vollebak for my “forever” clothes and I have quite a few, very expensive pieces from them. I do love them so. I’ve also bought several pairs of pants that seem to be able to last. I supplanted those with a pair of Patagonia work pants that are so sturdy and so soft that I might actually cry when I’m done with them. I would wear them every day if I could, but I have so many pairs of pants now that last forever that I don’t really need anything else and could have bottoms for the next twenty years without batting an eye. So, the bottom line is that when it comes to pants, I now have everything I need.
Shirts are a different story. It’s hard to find shirts that will last forever, because the styles are different. Plus, I live in a VERY hot climate, so though I have purchased many “layers”, I can only wear a couple of layers because of the heat. In reality, all I want to do is wear my hoodies and vests all the time, but that ain’t happening. I do own two hundred-year sweatshirts that I wear practically every evening when I come home (our house is super-cold) and they look as brand new as yesterday. But I can’t wear them to work very often because of the heat.
I have three pairs of Vivobarefoot shoes that I cycle through. One is a pair of shoes made in Ethiopia that seem virtually indestructible. I wore them to work practically every day last year and they seem no worse for wear. I’m a little bit astounded by them. I’m going to wear them every day this year just to see what happens. The only weird part is that they’re green. I don’t care, though. I have a black pair just like them that I have been saving for a couple of years for when the green ones wear out. But they won’t wear out!! I suppose I should just start alternating them. However, the glory of Vivobarefoot is that when your shoes wear out, you can send them back to get repaired. I guess I am wearing these shoes for the rest of my life. Spectacular.
But as I go through all of these clothing items, I have discovered that I’m a little bit obsessed with these things. I’m really into luxury clothes now. Not Prada or Gucci or anything like that. But very expensive items that will seemingly last me a very long time.
And I love it.
The last pair of pants that I bought were Dungarees from a niche clothing shop in Manhattan called Outlier. Pay no mind to the price, because let me tell you something…these could be one of the greatest pairs of pants that I will ever own. They’re made with some weird fabric that is rugged on the outside, but super-soft on the inside. The cut is phenomenal and they’re perfect for work. And the best part is they will last forever.
I first read about Outlier on a website called Defector. (I think). I don’t really know how I happened across this article…it just appeared in my open tabs. I must have haphazardly clicked on it when I wanted some reading material. I’d link to it here, but I can’t find it.
ANYWAY, when I read this review of their pants, I was fascinated. The author had the pants for ten years. They had not ripped. They had not faded. They were just as good now as they were ten years ago. Naturally, I had to have a pair.
Lo and behold, I bought some and they might be the last pants that I ever buy. So comfortable. So light. Perfect in every way. Now, I want to buy MORE clothing from Outlier though they are super-expensive. But hey, you’re paying for pants that will last you FOREVER. That’s the plan.
Even worse, I have found that there’s a whole sub-niche of the internet that is as obsessed as I am with clothes that last forever. I am currently on an Outlier discord channel where a group of weirdos trade information about the latest happenings at Outlier and sell old clothes and such. It’s amazing! It’s one of those glorious, internet rabbit-hole communities that (almost) make you forget the internet is a horrible place that we should destroy.
So, yeah…that’s me in a nutshell. Buying expensive clothes. Wearing the same thing as often as possible. Extraordinarily comfortable in my clothing choices every single day. It’s really a spectacular existence. My vow to Tracey is that I’m not going to buy any more new clothing this year. However, if she wants, SHE can buy me this…
Come back next week for BIG news!!