Even though I can't wear them nearly as much as I would like, I love me some Chucks. And I'm in a decent state of mind right now, so I figured I'd do a little shopping, see what was new in the land of hi-tops.
Mixed in among the really happy colors and the "what crack was the design team smoking?" patterns, I found this lovely little oxymoron:
"Goth" Chucks.
If the Brit was just a Goth American, this would be a long conversation for a ride home, but one of his charms is his woeful unfamiliarity with peculiarly-American concepts: lawn jockeys, plaster porch geese, and the cultural significance of Chuck Taylor hi-tops being three that leap immediately to mind. Chucks are many, many things, but "Goth" they are not. Lincoln-Park-Trixie-pretending-to-be-Goth, perhaps, but authentic not at all.
On the other side of the spectrum, we have this:
Chucks for Jesus. Because nothing says righteousness like slapping a Christian symbol on a consumer product, yo.
The funny thing about the proselytizers of the world is this: these are the SAME PEOPLE who accuse gays and lesbians of "rubbing everyone else's nose in their lifestyle". Last night while I was waiting for my chicken wings at Uncle Remus, there was one other customer in the store, a man maybe a few years younger than me, on his cell phone, talking to one of his friends. The ENTIRE conversation--no joke--was about the intensity of his personal relationship with Jesus. It was a masterpiece of ego--almost every other sentence contained some reference to the speaker's implied superiority over those who did NOT have a similar relationship with Jesus. And let me tell you--getting chicken wings at Uncle Remus? It takes a while. I got to hear a LOT about Jeebus. And it was a good thing I was in a sparkly happy not-going-to-work-tomorrow mood, or I might have pulled out my own cell and feigned a conversation about my personal relationship with Lucifer--complete with sexual details, if circumstances warranted. Which they SO did, and I only wish I'd thought of doing it at the time. God, I hate not being able to think on my feet!
Of course, maybe if I had a cross on my Chucks....
I wish you had thought of it, that would have been the funniest thing ever.
ReplyDeleteYour colleague isn't the only brit not to have a clue about chucks, porch geese,etc
Oh, the beautiful irony that the Girl's Plaid are even on the same page as the Goth versions. I'm not sure I can imagine a goth wanting bright pink trim either.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that the Brits and us do share an understanding for: Garden trolls.
I wish you had thought of it and that I had been there to see it!
I was eyeing up the Goth *chucks* at the army surplus on belmont / clark. I like them. I'll probably go back and get them. I think they were low-cut, not high-tops though.
ReplyDeleteOh, I liked them too....especially the green ones. But I'm amused at the cultural marketing end of it.
ReplyDeleteAnd what, you're not going for the ones with the cross on them?? Chicken....
O! You should especially have been wearing your Jesus chucks when having the conversation about accepting Lucifer into your life! Again I would insist on being there.
ReplyDeleteThe next step from having a personal relationship with Jesus, is being Jesus and we all know where they end up.
ReplyDelete