“It’s the clothes that make the man”. If you have ever met me, you can be certain that I don’t ascribe to this idiom. I never really cared for fashion. I just wear whatever is comfortable for me. I’m so glad my company is so lax regarding company attire. I’ve gone there wearing shorts, t-shirt and sandals. I also don’t like to spend money on clothes either, which probably doesn’t help my fashion sense. Free t-shirts and old dad’s hand-me-downs, that’s how I get a new wardrobe. Oh, and concert shirts, which are mementos of the shows that I go to. So, if clothes do make the man, then I’m probably a comfortable, slightly hole-y person who has good taste in music and musicals.
Why do clothes make the person. What exactly does it mean? I think it goes hand in hand with another idiom, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, which is one idiom that most Americans, probably the whole world, doesn’t follow. People judge others by their outward appearance, by the clothes they wear, and by the way they conduct themselves. After all, it’s easy to do, and it’s the first thing people notice. It takes a lot more effort to get to know someone from the inside, and with all the people we meet everyday, it would be a very taxing job. Plus you wouldn’t be able to get work done. So, customers make snap judgements every day. Service people as well. Chinese do it especially. If they see a Chinese restaurant that isn’t crowded, they don’t go in either. Because, why else would there be no crowd unless the food is terrible? It’s the only explanation why any Chinese family would be willing to wait an hour to get into a Dim Sum restaurant, only to have to wait another 30 minutes as the carts slowly wind their way through the forest of tables. And when the cart finally gets to you, the food is all dried up and soggy from the constant steam. Either that, or you’re stuck in the farthest corner of the restaurant, and the dimsum girls ignore you until you throw a chopstick at them. But then of course, you’re are now short one chopstick and again, stuck in the corner, and no waiters to see you. So you throw the other chopstick to get their attention, and by that time, the food is all gone and now you’re hungry and have no utensils. Not that this has happened to me… I uh, saw a table do that once.
I’m also guilty of judging books by their covers….literally. I told my friend this while we were browsing the book store. It’s part of our usual mall tour when we went to Towson, in my college days. We had the route planned to a “T”. We park in the underground garage, right in front of mall entrance. We then always go down the escalator, hit the Software Etc. Then we round the corner to the Waldenbooks, up the escalator again and hit the Suncoast, then go to the comic book store, which is right across from the… yeah, you guessed it, arcade. After losing a couple bucks there, then we go grab the only good Chinese Food in all of Maryland, Panda Express. Then we go home. So… back to judging books by covers. My friend was getting into Sci-fi books, and I was imparting some of my wisdom to him, things I’ve picked up over the years. First rule, don’t buy any books written by females. I know that’s sexist, but in general, they usually involve homosexuals, convoluted love triangles, and/or rape/torture. It’s a gross generalization, but with so many books to choose from, why take that chance? Second rule, look at the cover of the book. If the cover is a boring, plain book, pass on by. If the book has a half-naked girl but also a strapping bare-chested hunk, no matter how hot the girl is, pass it by as well. Those are nothing more than thinly-veiled romance novels in the guise of science-fiction. “General Hospital” in space. Now, if the cover has a group of people fighting a dragon or hordes of bad guys, or the cover is done by Boris Vallejo, or Brothers Hildebrandt or Larry Elmore, or there’s a really hot chick, excuse me, girl and just a girl, then chances are it’ll be a book he and I would like to read.
It’s all about finding what you want quickly. Crowded restaurants=good food, especially in a street filled with restaurants. You don’t have time to try so many restaurants, unless you’re a hobbit. Same with books, you don’t have time to browse and read every summary on the book jacket. And same thing with girls and guys. With so many guys hitting on women, the ladies need a quick way to filter them out. Easiest way is appearance. If a guy dresses nicely, has good grooming it means several things. One, they have the cash to buy nice clothes, which means either a job, or trust-fund baby. Second, if they take care of themselves, they will take care of the girls as well. Hrm… well, I know that that isn’t always the case. Chances are the handsomer the guy, the more self-absorbed they are. Same with girls, the prettier the girl, the more self-centered they are. Ok, enough of the rambling. Next time I'll tell you why I'm talking about fashion in the first place.
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I definitely judge a book by its cover and believes clothes make the man. The cover, with its title and design, represents the contents inside. If I am looking for a boring book, I look for a boring cover. Same with the man. If a man is fashionable, it shows by his clothes. If I am looking for a simple man, most likely his clothes will be simple. Generally, a man dresses the way he wants to be seen, if he can afford it of course. If he dresses expensively, he is probably rich or wants to be seen as rich. Either way, he's associated with the word rich in some fashion. I guy who dresses clean but poorly either is really poor, or is not poor but wants to appear as poor, or does not know or care about fashion. Either way, he's poor in some sense or another.
Note that no moral judgments have been made so far, because none is needed. All men are morally corrupt (no need to look at clothings for this). And, besides the bible, all books are flawed (no need to look at the covers for this either). As far as Chinese restaurants, pick a crowded one and always bring an extra pack of chopsticks (or rubber bands, they are a lot cheaper and easier to carry around, just make sure they don't fall into the foods and cause someone to choke).
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