as white men, if you are frequently (implicitly and explicitly) told by society that the world is yours and you own and conquer everything, there’s no reason to mind style and appearance.

I was really trying not to respond, Johnny, but a couple of things wrankle, so.

First; I’ve heard/read enough from Black folks to know and believe that POC have different standards they are held to in certain social situations. I’ve read many times that a well-dressed person of color isn’t hassled to the same degree as if they just throw on some sweats to go get a gallon of milk at the store. I believe that shit happens.

However, fashion is a multi-layered concept… there’s economics, culture, and attention seeking/motivation that all influence dress. Part of it is also signaling to one’s tribe. There are cultural clothing styles I think are ridiculous, I don’t care how much time they put into matching colors eg; saggy/baggy pants and dew rags, or tight, tight jeans and big, big hair, or the uniform blandness of preppy/golf clothes. And don’t even get me started on Yoga pants and spandex, in or out of the studio or gym. It’s fucking ridiculous. I see all of that shit cross culturally.

Fashion just doesn’t matter that much to a lot of people. In fact, rejection of fashion might play a role in some of your observations.

For example, white folks in poverty or simply with less education often actively reject the expectations of ‘polite society.’ I’d argue this isn’t due to being told the world is theirs to inherit, rather it’s being told you’ll never belong, so why even try.

Folks who enlist in the services are heavily weighted to those on the lower end of the economic spectrum. I’d be curious to know what you observed from your Army brethren, ie how many of the sloppily dressed were po’ folks.

And to offer another singular data point… I was raised in a solidly middle-class family in Northern Virginia. I rejected social dress expectations; there was no way I was going to wear penny loafers, khakis, button down collar shirt, a tie and a blue blazer.

Now, I’ll readily acknowledge that my privilege may have let me get away with dressing down without certain repercussions, but it went along with not belonging. And in rejecting fashion, I was consciously rejecting a culture I did not want to perpetuate or participate in; anything associated with county club/frat boy/old boy network.