O.K. so I'm bored and in a contemplative mood. So here's a question...see if I get a bite. pre-question: I totally dig the retro scene, rat rod cars, old furniture, pork pie hats, cool tats..pin up art etc. When I elude to that, my family rolls their eyes and say I'm a freak. I'm a school counselor and I try to get kids to feel good about themselves whatever their inclinations are. so the question is, how does this counselor in conservative bible belt Ozarks Missouri be subversively retro?
How to be subversively retro
- Thread starter coach j
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coach j said:
I think you nailed it here. I dont think its so much about being subversively retro and trying to get more people into the 'retro scene', because thats imposing your own values and tastes into what you're trying to acheive with your counselling, and I dont think thats neccessarily right. BUT, you can be an awesome role model for kids to think and have tastes as individuals, not to follow the majority in whatever is popular. In doing so, you're also by default making them more likely to have the balls to confront peer pressure, which means they're less likely to victims of bullying, or partake in illicit activities such as binge drinking, smoking drugs etc.
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well said.
I am a Spec Ed teacher and i could not have said it better. I am constantly being told to wear a tie because it gives me the "authority appearance". I don't need to be an authority, I am a teacher and i am respected for what I do - reach out and teach those in whatever manner works best. I wear what makes me comfortable, not what should be perceived as an authority figure to kids. I am already a mentor and a coach and am respected for what I know and how I translate that knowledge to those who need it.
Let your words and actions do the talking and your appearance be your personal vibe 8)
Joe
Let your words and actions do the talking and your appearance be your personal vibe 8)
Joe
hewey said:
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I wish I had a counselor like you when I was in school, ours was a real stuck up jerk that liked to shoot down everybody's dreams and wanted everybody to be doctors and lawyers.
Funny story actually, when he asked me where I saw myself in 5 years I freaked him out and said, "I see myself crying at your funeral" The next day he quit....lol.
Funny story actually, when he asked me where I saw myself in 5 years I freaked him out and said, "I see myself crying at your funeral" The next day he quit....lol.
coach j said:
You've definitely got me thinking....
chalk up you passion for these things to you love of history.
I too can appreciate all of these items, but live what would be considered a relatively conservative lifestyle. I figure if I can portray myself as an individual in my basic existence, it can be more powerful than a tattoo that has been done a million times before or a cool kid outfit...
I figure I will be a big enough embarrassment to my daughters when they get older. The last thing I need to do is start dressing up for every Tweed Run or rat rod cruise in. I might still go, but I'll be the guy in bland khaki shorts and a non-descriptive shirt
Ya know what they say, "The Suit makes the man!"
start with the ugliest plaid suit you can find. butterfly collar, huge bow tie etc etc. and ya wear that suit and ya wear it with pride.
Peeps is gonna take notice, no doubt about that! Ya gotta have fun doing it, or your just gonna come off looking dorky. However, if its all in good fun and your willing to laugh at yourself, i'm sure others will join into the fun themselves. Be sure to flip your hat, and a walking stick is always a riot. Just think chapman (charlie)
from there ya just gotta incorparate fun retro games into your program, ride a vintage bike to school, bring in your old board games, heck have somebody drop you off in an old rat rod. do something new every week. It's all gonna be 1000x cooler than the ugly plaid suit.
Once people start asking "whats coach j upto this week", the battle will be won.
Besides it's all american history. The more ya get to join in your fun,
the bigger the "up yours" when your stickin it to the man!
edit* guess my point is, it starts with you. have fun, enjoy the things you enjoy and its sure to be contagious. Even the neigh sayers will join in, if it looks like fun.
start with the ugliest plaid suit you can find. butterfly collar, huge bow tie etc etc. and ya wear that suit and ya wear it with pride.
Peeps is gonna take notice, no doubt about that! Ya gotta have fun doing it, or your just gonna come off looking dorky. However, if its all in good fun and your willing to laugh at yourself, i'm sure others will join into the fun themselves. Be sure to flip your hat, and a walking stick is always a riot. Just think chapman (charlie)
from there ya just gotta incorparate fun retro games into your program, ride a vintage bike to school, bring in your old board games, heck have somebody drop you off in an old rat rod. do something new every week. It's all gonna be 1000x cooler than the ugly plaid suit.
Once people start asking "whats coach j upto this week", the battle will be won.
Besides it's all american history. The more ya get to join in your fun,
the bigger the "up yours" when your stickin it to the man!
edit* guess my point is, it starts with you. have fun, enjoy the things you enjoy and its sure to be contagious. Even the neigh sayers will join in, if it looks like fun.
My look is mostly retro, but a lot of my vintage clothes are somewhat conserative. My high and tight ungreased pompadore, the Shuron Ronsir glasses, and when I dress up it's usually wing tips or creepers. Shirts can be western, bowling, picnic, or Havana. On dress down just a tucked in T shirt, cuffed blue jeans, a belt, and Chucks or Dr. Martins. But they always reconize me as the 50's guy with the cool sideburns no matter how I'm dressed.
Try showing up to a police station each night with saddle shoes on.
I just never grew out of how I dressed in high school, except the shorts are a little longer and the socks are shorter, Mike Wolfe was talking on American Pickers last night how kids should experience a junk yard just to see how things were made, and that they were mostly made in America once upon a time, But I just say be you and show what fuels your passion, better yet show American Graffity in the classroom (if you can ) :wink:
