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KELIS ON...GUYS STYLE

I'm from Harlem. I remember being in high school and hopping on the 2 or 3 train or maybe the A and D and seeing all the leathers, sheepskins, colors; those simple first things that attract you to a man. The way he looks, his style, his swagger. I'm putting a spotlight on Harlem because that's my home but no one is exempt. The long, and I mean extra long, white or God forbid, that horrifying powder-pink tee was an abomination. But I bring all this up to say, actually to segue into, what I'm seriously over-The Chain Gang.

There are the fools, rappers, athletes, correctional facility officers, bus drivers, bank tellers, and the like who think that a cloudy tinfoil quality chain down to their belt buckle is supposed to convince us and themselves that they're "doin It". I mean, guys who don't have jobs feel the need to spend their 3K on a long aluminum chain (‘cause for the price they most likely paid, it is NOT platinum no matter what they were told) when they should be putting it towards a mortgage. Basically men, in a nutshell, should not wear jewelry unless they're gay and/or Elton John. Men should learn to be men. A fabulous watch, a great pinky ring works. A coffee table, the tinsel off last year's tired-ass Christmas tree does not. Maybe some grown men adore adornments but it's just gotten out of control. Quite honestly, perhaps artists can get away with it 'cause they're entertainers but even they have gone too far.

People made a huge deal-like some big extravaganza-when artists (who are essentially irrelevant in the larger scheme of things when it comes to fashion) because they decide to wear Bozo the Clown-colored shirts. This is not what grown men should look like. Before them, the men wore tailored shirts, hard-bottomed shoes, and pocket watches. Now I understand we are in a different era but I'm sick of guys only wearing Air Force Ones, jeans, and button downs proclaiming some newfound grown man-ness.

Please, actually grow up, all of you. Stop buying cheap jewelry, shopping at Up Against the Wall and come with it. Dressing properly and being a man is not about money. You should work for a future so success and money are relevant here but any man with a real job does not need a Jesus head made of tinsel to prove it. Man up boys.