Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Curtis Goes Fashionista

Nobody has ever accused me of being overly fashion conscious. I mean, I hardly remember clothes. My mom gave me the same button down shirt three Christmases in a row because I kept leaving it my closet, unworn. Not that I didn't like the shirt, it's just that clothes don't occupy a very large spot in my brain.

However, just because I’m not into fashion generally speaking doesn’t mean that I don’t recognize AMAZING fashion sense when I see it. And Dubai is full of it. Just take this chap: neon yellow shoes with matching neon yellow shirt. I won’t even comment on the fact that he has a hoodie vest with fur lining on it, the matching yellow is enough to make me want to stand up and clap.

I mean, this is beyond stylish. This isn’t tacky, it’s “OMG is he serious or joking? Cuz I hope he is serious!” However, Mr. Yellow Faux Fur was one upped by the Bumblebee Twins with their matching neon yellow pants AND shoes. Twinners, just on a little man date, rockin’ out in skinny yellow jeans at the Mall of the Emirates.


Yellow is apparently in style here. Even some of the robes come in it:

Then, of course, there was The Man with Golden Pants and Golden Shirt and Golden Shoes and GOLDEN MULLET. That thing is Pure Money. You stud, with your yellow everything and your posse of women.

Of coures, it's not just yellow. It's anything colorful. This mulletman went with all white, except for the lime green shoes. I applaud him.

However, nothing compared to the breathtaking trifecta of matching shirt/shoe combos : a trifecta of matching shirt/shoe combos, Pink, Purple, Blue.


Inspired. All of these, with the exception of the Golden Mullet, were captured in about a five minute span at the Mall of the Emirates. I felt like I was witnessing a fashion revolution. But where do they get these clothes? Recently I found it: a ghettofabulous market-place-cum-shopping center called Karama. It specializes in being cheap, tacky, and good for a laugh. It is a place where East meets West to produce some bizarre twists on globalization. All the stores, for example, are named after Western cities:


Among the various treasures to be found in this amazing place are “Tough” handbags, Super Mario boxers, and vintage NBA jerseys from the 1990s:

Good to see Scottie Pippen lives on. My favorite, however, was the Obama Buckle. Who says Arabs hate America?:

Here, in this treasure trove, I found what I was a looking for. A veritable carnival of chromatic cornucopia. The colorful shoes:
The colorful pants: Of course, I soon discovered that the lure of the skinny yellow jeans went way beyond the aesthetic appeal. Read the label: “The Original Military First Men’s Jeans: Brand Good Feeling Let’s Have a Good Workout Super Design FM”

I mean, who can resist here? There’s something in that for every one: Design, Comfort, Working Out, implied Military strength durability.

I was hooked. Rarely do I feel the shopaholic compulsion to buy something where I feel like I have no choice, but this was once occasion. Then, of course, I had to complete the outfit, so I bought matching purple pants and purple shoes. Then I sat back and let the Original Military First Men’s Jeans work their magic.
It didn't take long.
Booyah! Who’s got a Brand Good Feeling now?