My Mother Still Dresses Me
Today a friend shared Bombfell with me. Hardly the first of its kind, Bombfell offers a subscription service allowing “lazy” men to acquire “female-approved clothing.” You’re sent a piece of clothing picked out by a totally female shopper each month like the BMG Music Club. If you don’t like it, you send it back. If you do like it, you spend $69 to keep it.
This isn’t in itself a totally offensive service. Some people would certainly find benefits in an automated access to a carefully curated wardrobe, though I’m not personally convinced that the price is right. If you know what your tastes are and you’re willing to spend $69 a month on them, why not just spend $69 a month buying exactly what you want? This site is obviously made to exploit people who aren’t quick enough to return an item.
What’s actually offensive about this is the notion that “lazy men” should have women to clothe them. When Bombfell says lazy men, they’re short handing a whole culture of masculinity. Dressing well is exclusively within the realm of femininity, which is why we need fashionable women to do it for men. The men are too busy dragging their dirty knuckles around their man caves, discussing the latest shortcomings of their City Name Sports Team. Women, employing their natural nurturing abilities and inherent aesthetic sense, will tame the cave men with new FCUK shirts for $10 less than retail price. This concept is demeaning to both men and the women; men will forever be children and women will forever mother them. Obviously this culture isn’t caused by Bombfell; Bombell’s marketing campaign just demonstrates symptoms of the disease.
If you truly feel that you need to “power-up your look,” spending the $69 to do your own clothes shopping will build in your self-confidence. You’ll start to become familiar with your own tastes and find clothes that look good on you. Buying clothing can be a powerful extension of yourself through your buying power. You can choose clothing that not only fits you well, but also represents your ideals; e.g. organic cotton shirts, sweatshop free shoes, or leather-free belts.
If you feel totally lost, I recommend a blog like Put This On, The SF Style’s Monday men’s feature, or even Nerd Boyfriend. The point isn’t to mirror the often ostentatious styles featured on these blogs, but to become familiar with what tastes appeal to you and then begin to incorporate them into your own wardrobe. You aren’t a child, don’t allow yourself to be treated like one.
Originally posted on Vegan Feats of Strength.
I wrote a thing on my preachy blog!
