In Defense Of Hard Clothes
The most important thing about clothes is—undeniably, unequivocally, unsurprisingly—comfort. That’s it. If something is uncomfortable, you’re going to take it off and never put it on again. Comfort is king. Even the most avant-garde, provocative, innovative, whacked-the-fuck-out clothes in the most rarefied shops in the world—they’re nothing but decoration if they aren’t comfortable. And here in the esteemed halls of GQ, we are not interested in decoration. Of course, comfort is highly subjective. To be comfortable is to be at ease, free of pain or constraint. Whatever gets you there is your trip. But, increasingly, I find that comfort is being conflated with softness, which is a mistake, because: Soft clothes are not good. Brands that sell sweatclothes may want you to think differently, but they are not the future of fashion. Those cotton-poly-blend rags, brushed and enzyme-bathed into wearable dryer lint—that stuff is bad for you, and bad for the planet. Perhaps worst of all, it is not comfortable, even if it wants you to think that it is. Chemically enhanced sweats and petroleum-based fleeces are cheap thrills for your skin, but, like a saccharine-sweet dessert that makes you ill after a couple bites, they are not ultimately satisfying for the body or soul. Read more at GQ.
