The underbelly of the "comfort craze"

I realize the subject of "fashion vs comfort" has been oft-broached.

By now, we're all well aware of the notable difference between psychological and physical comfort, and the power of the one to affect the other.

("Comfort is a State of Mind" -c/o The Man Repeller)

For the fashion-conscious, today the two are closer than ever, thanks to what one Wall Street Journal article called our current "comfort craze".

In the same article, author Kate Bolick equates comfort with liberation (citing bra-burning and corset-tossing women) and even success, claiming that by wearing comfortable footwear you prove "you're successful enough to not have to wear shoes that give you blisters".

She even goes so far as to call it "the great equalizer", claiming that comfort, once for the lower class (think corsets versus peasant blouses), is now being adopted by the well-off world over.

I don't know enough about business to know whether a woman wearing sneakers signifies anything more than her distaste for numb extremeties, 

but I do know there's a big difference between the comfort of an old raggity college sweatshirt and that of an impractically-priced animal printed Kenzo iteration.

And how comfortable, really, is a one bedroom apartment co-opted for five, or a holey pair of tennis shoes? 

So why are oversized blouses, worn denim, and messy hair really suddenly more common today than their inverses? 

Why is habitable suddenly haute, and haute suddenly habitable?
?

I honestly don't think it really has much to do with "equalizing", 

and though it might be more liberating than a corset, the cost required to successfully execute the "casual" trend are oftentimes more painful. 

Marant sneakers, Givenchy sweatshirts, Warby frames, Wang tees, expensively dry shampooed hair - 

those are what have set the "comfort" trend, 

and all else (in my opinion) is merely an imitation of this standard (don't worry, I'm guilty beyond belief, See: every picture in this post). 

It seems to me that this new high fashion form of "casual" comfort began as another way for more privileged people to prove that they're just that - more priveleged. While the majority of society swaps its starchy blazers and contacts for cotton Walmart tees and wire-rimmed glasses, they'll take their plush all day long in the form of pricey, and thus appropriate, options. 

A rich woman's sweatshirt is a poor woman's suit coat.

Just as obesity has come to represent the lows, rather than the highs, of society, so too it seems has discomfort. 

Photos by Matt Engelhart

On that cheery and light hearted note...

Did I mention how guilty I was of all of this pretentious stuff?

Because I totally and (semi)ashamedly am. 

I also may be totally off base (read: wrong).

Cheers.

Photos by Matt Engelhart