Is there anything more irrelevant than fashion?

I can take it or leave it.

I find people who talk about fashion and trends and nothing else to be extremely vacuous. But then I know people who just dress well out of sheer inherent good taste. You can have some celebrity at some crappy awards bash wearing some "alleged" latest style that they shelled out thousands for and they look like a dog's dinner, then you can witness some French or Italian girl who maybe works in a library or cafe and she looks the pinnacle of style in her affordable threads. She just has an eye for what looks great, even if it's cheap.

I went through a phase of being very fashion conscious in my teens. It had to do with the music I listened to but was also influenced by the "casual culture" of football hooligans so brands like Stone Island, Tacchini, Prada, Lacoste, etc were must haves along with rare-release or limited edition trainers that were only available in say Germany or Denmark. I was never one for football violence. I was a college boy and just loved the clothes.

But then I grew out of it and became a bit scruffy. My job as an computer engineer meant that I was paid handsomely and looked up to in work even though I looked like I just came from a Pearl Jam concert.

I suppose I've come full circle again and like to wear expensive designer shoes but there's a reason for this. I notice I'm taken more seriously if I'm wearing nicely fitted shirts and great shoes. I also get more compliments from the opposite sex which is nice considering I'm no longer 25 or even 30. So that's good. I still slum around from time to time in knackered jeans, boots and a hoodie but the girlfriend tends to take care of my "wardrobe" so there's always some good clobber to step out in. Plus I have two extremely wealthy gay neighbours and I get their hand-me-downs when they're out of season by a week. So I can be down the pub with pint in hand, a week's stubble wearing a Valentino shirt, haha and Bruno Magli's watching football ...all freebies courtesy of my gaybours.

To conclude, I suppose, I really would not have a clue about the trends until I see someone cool on Graham Norton's couch and would think "now that lad looks sharp" but it would never be my obsession.

My philosophy, if clothes were food, would be fillet mignon with Malbec or Dover sole with a nice Riesling once a week. Rest of the time shepherd's pie or stew is fine as long as the ingredients are good.