Designers, Designers, Designers

Writing blog entries have introduced me to many designers I never really knew existed. Okay, maybe I have seen many of those designs before, but I have never been one to actually notice one brand of work wear or clothing over another brand. In high school, I was never one of those kids that had to have the best brands regardless of the style. For me, I wanted functionality that I thought looked “bodacious” or “cool” over designs that cost enough to finance a third world country.

Of course, as a younger person, this often meant I associated those designs and frills you see with the name brands as bad. If I saw them, I was automatically turned off. In time, I associated high priced anything with name brands that I didn’t like. Kind of a reverse prejudice that has to do with all things name brand.

Coming face to face with many of those names today has led me to believe in a whole new concept. I no longer care how something looked or how much it costs. If I need flame resistant work wear, I am not going to avoid something simply because it costs enough to support that third world country. I am going to buy what I need to insure that heat and those flames will not be crisping my innards anytime soon.

Dickies, Carhartts, and even Dansko or Sanita may be names associated with high quality and, yes, they may cost more. But I get more too. I get the work wear and sometimes the flame resistant apparel I need to keep myself safe. Saying I want to heat things up is generally a metaphor. No, I am not seriously going around with a blowtorch heating up things in my neck of the woods.

Play it safe; play it real.