View Full Version : Fashion faux pas on the Appalachia trail
Awol1970
02-07-2011, 18:17
This dovetails into Sierra Echo's post about fanny packs. Are there any fashion no-nos on the trail? Anything you wouldn't be caught wearing (excepting cotton of course...duh):rolleyes:
What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?
I don't know and I don't care.
Digger'02
02-07-2011, 18:32
Maybe a sticker saying Hello my name is ..."Bill Bryson"?
flemdawg1
02-07-2011, 18:40
No Speedos, short-shorts or thongs for men.
hikerboy57
02-07-2011, 18:43
platform shoes, stiletto heels, a definite no-no(unless disguised by gaiters)
Ashevillian
02-07-2011, 18:44
Silk long johns without shorts.
max patch
02-07-2011, 18:50
Anything you wouldn't be caught wearing (excepting cotton of course...duh):rolleyes:
Well, I wore old cotton race t-shirts and didn't die from it.
I wouldn't wear a Packa. Or Limmer boots.
restless
02-07-2011, 19:50
Well, I wore old cotton race t-shirts and didn't die from it.
I wouldn't wear a Packa. Or Limmer boots.
I happen to love my Limmers. Old school boots for an old school guy.
Silk long johns without shorts.
+1 on that. I'm sure its comfortable, but it just looks weird and a little disgusting.
Wearing a bandana on your shoulder strap...
4eyedbuzzard
02-07-2011, 19:55
No Speedos, short-shorts or thongs for men.
Does that mean I shouldn't wear my Borat mankini thong?
restless
02-07-2011, 19:57
Does that mean I shouldn't wear my Borat mankini thong?
Going commando: OK. Wearing a thong: not Ok. Does this not seemed messed up or what?
Appalachian Tater
02-07-2011, 19:57
The only true fashion faux pas that I have seen on the trail are:
An older and overweight man wearing compression tights with nothing under or over them.
A male hiker wearing a kilt with no underwear with his junk showing constantly.
An older hiker in a shelter wearing nothing at all. Took me a while to notice that he wasn't wearing any pants. His wife was fully dressed.
Now I have seen plenty of silly clothing including someone in the Whites dressed in a tweed sportcoat and tie hiking up on top of a mountain and Baltimore Jack with an eight inch hole in the back seam of his shorts but whatever.
Maple_Sky
02-07-2011, 20:18
Silk long johns without shorts.
Is that gross on women too, or just men?
mweinstone
02-07-2011, 20:20
ive worn a shirt that says minnesota smith every moment of every hike since 06. what? i am a fopa.
Is that gross on women too, or just men?
Its just gross when men do it
Maple_Sky
02-07-2011, 20:24
Its just gross when men do it
I thought so too, but my judgement's often wrong. Take for example, my hanging my pink underpants out to dry at a Smokies shelter last summer--I woke up to a Boy Scout troop taking a group picture underneath them!
bigcranky
02-07-2011, 20:42
Wearing a bandana on your shoulder strap...
Hey, now wait a minute. That's useful. In any sort of warm weather I sweat like a herd of pigs, and having my bandana right there is great.
Fashion faux pas: having all your clothing match -- color, brand, everything.
balaclavas.
Knee high gaiters.
Whistle necklaces.
If you have man boobs and you wear a light synthetic shirt...
Hey, now wait a minute. That's useful. In any sort of warm weather I sweat like a herd of pigs, and having my bandana right there is great.
Fashion faux pas: having all your clothing match -- color, brand, everything.
Yeah, I guess you're right, its more utilitarian than fashionable.
Man junk or camel toes not okay. Also, I don't like seeing men naked from the waist up. And little sundresses for "town clothes" that are so short you can't raise your arms are not good either.
Some would say parachute pants, aka, the 80's......but I miss mine...and they weren't cotton!
Jim Adams
02-07-2011, 23:23
I'm 5'6", 250 lbs. and 58 years old. I found that if I hike naked, I don't have any fashion problems.:)
BTW, cotton T's in the summer hold sweat instead of drying and tend to keep you cooler.
geek
4eyedbuzzard
02-07-2011, 23:35
I'm 5'6", 250 lbs. and 58 years old. I found that if I hike naked, I don't have any fashion problems.:)
BTW, cotton T's in the summer hold sweat instead of drying and tend to keep you cooler.
geek
Yeah, I think the "cotton kills" stuff is over-applied when it comes to a pair of shorts and t-shirt. I find cotton more comfortable than nylon in the heat.
Johnny Thunder
02-08-2011, 01:38
agreed. agreed.
Slack-jawed Trog
02-08-2011, 11:32
BTW, cotton T's in the summer hold sweat instead of drying and tend to keep you cooler.
geek
Geek you make a good point, however I find that 100% cotton often chafes me when it's wet. OTOH, a 50/50 or 60/40 poly-cotton blend fits the bill nicely for me come summer. YMMV
icemanat95
02-08-2011, 12:35
The big thing with cotton is not to rely on it for warmth in the colder months. I rarely wear it when hiking. I wear it while working because I have to for flame resistance, but when I don't have to, I won't, because I sweat like nothing you've ever seen before, and cotton clothes take way too long to dry for me.
In hot months, cotton T-shirts are fine, and cotton bandanas are hard to beat for sweat rags and such (though Sham-wow and similar viscose chamois products work great too). Just make sure that you have some insulating clothes available that remain warm when wet. Wool is good, but bulky and heavy.
the goat
02-08-2011, 13:21
This dovetails into Sierra Echo's post about fanny packs. Are there any fashion no-nos on the trail? Anything you wouldn't be caught wearing (excepting cotton of course...duh):rolleyes:
yes:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/0/0/9/4/AT014.jpg (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showimage.php?i=12619&original=1&c=searchresults&searchid=35408)
Hmmm... Anyone meet Trog last year?
on_the_GOEZ
02-08-2011, 15:06
Man junk or camel toes not okay.
Male 'camel toe' = 'moose knuckle'
mweinstone
02-08-2011, 19:01
i think ms deservs another chance
restless
02-08-2011, 19:15
Geek you make a good point, however I find that 100% cotton often chafes me when it's wet. OTOH, a 50/50 or 60/40 poly-cotton blend fits the bill nicely for me come summer. YMMV
Neels Gap used to carry a 85/15 poly-cotton shirt that five years later still rocks and shows little sign of wear!
Hiking trail clothing faux pas: Any clothing choice that's based on someone's (anyone's) sense of fashion over on-trail function. If it's functional for you, I would hope that by definition there's no "fashion faux pas" on a hiking trail.
Maybe that represents a west coast point of view, however ... (ducking)
I met Trog at Trimpi Shelter last Spring. He did a few miles in the wrong direction the next morning.
wvgrinder
02-08-2011, 21:00
Now this dude's a fashion statement:
Diatribe
02-08-2011, 21:19
I am going to have to agree with Luddite here: rocking the MTN HRDWR jacket, shirt, pants, gaiters, hat & down booties is a little ridiculous and deserves mockery where ever the walking advertisement shall treads. Same goes for sporting all Patagonia, North Face, or any other over priced gear maker. Mockery.
I had this down vest that i bought on ebay many years ago the same time my then-roommate went into debt for some gearhead brand down jacket. Long story short: we were hiking and I passed a tree branch which slid right across my vest. He passed same tree branch, it snagged on one of the "oh so important" baffles and BAM! it was snowing expensive down all over the place.
Needless to say he cried. A grown man crying over a torn down jacket. He spent the next four hours lamenting on how some piece of crap ebay down vest could stand up to a branch his Patagonia was murdered by. I wanted to say: "Well, Joe, maybe if you weren't such a gear head & douche..." He is still in debt. Mockery.
Diatribe
02-08-2011, 21:24
And as for fashion faux pas: If i could make a fellow hiker uneasy & uncomfortable by simply adorning myself in strange garb--then so be it. To offend by the least amount of energy exuded? I'd die happy:cool:
Sarcasm the elf
02-08-2011, 21:26
This guy wasn't on the A.T. but the one that sticks in my mind was the guy I saw on a local trail in a state park.
I was early February on a snow covered trail a couple years ago. I hadn't seen anyone else in at least an hour, when suddenly a guy comes hauling up the trail in the opposite direction wearing a P-coat, clean white khakis, gelled hair and best of all a steaming cup of coffee from Starbucks. To this day I have no idea how he got that far up the trail with clean cloths and hot coffee!
Diatribe
02-08-2011, 21:39
This guy wasn't on the A.T. but the one that sticks in my mind was the guy I saw on a local trail in a state park.
I was early February on a snow covered trail a couple years ago. I hadn't seen anyone else in at least an hour, when suddenly a guy comes hauling up the trail in the opposite direction wearing a P-coat, clean white khakis, gelled hair and best of all a steaming cup of coffee from Starbucks. To this day I have no idea how he got that far up the trail with clean cloths and hot coffee!
HAHA you should have pushed him down on the ground so he's have a big brown stain on his khakis & confiscated his starbucks!:D
Just kidding, I do not condone violence; but nothing's worse than yuppies in the woods, & I know I'm not alone here!!
Guy dresses up on trail in state park? I have done this. Travel for work. Throw tennis shoes and socks in the car since I am going by nice trail. Hit state park trail on the other side of the state in suit skirt, blouse, panty hose, cotton socks and tennis shoes for a nice three mile loop. Stares? You bet. I is a nice walk on something other than a treadmill at a hotel and it is usually safe, busy and full of hikers and families.
Sarcasm the elf
02-08-2011, 21:58
HAHA you should have pushed him down on the ground so he's have a big brown stain on his khakis & confiscated his starbucks!:D
Just kidding, I do not condone violence; but nothing's worse than yuppies in the woods, & I know I'm not alone here!!
I was tempted to, but only to get my hands on the coffee.
Well, I wore old cotton race t-shirts and didn't die from it....
There's nothing wrong with cotton. I wore cotton for my six month long walk -- and have daily, summer and winter, before and since. Cotton is a perfectly acceptable fabric. Just not when it's rainy, cold, and windy.
Maybe a sticker saying Hello my name is ..."Bill Bryson"?
I get that folks don't like the way he approached and hiked his hike. He and his partner made their share of faux pas ... But the real value in his book was the way he wrapped the history, geology and ecology of the trail up in a funny, accessible story.
+1 on that. I'm sure its comfortable, but it just looks weird and a little disgusting.
Wearing a bandana on your shoulder strap...
On the second item. Been doing it for years, not about to stop because some hiking posers don't like the way it looks. ;)
skylarker
02-08-2011, 23:33
platform shoes, stiletto heels, a definite no-no(unless disguised by gaiters)
What about these?
http://consumerist.com/2010/11/go-hiking-in-style-with-these-teva-high-heels.html
This guy wasn't on the A.T. but the one that sticks in my mind was the guy I saw on a local trail in a state park.
I was early February on a snow covered trail a couple years ago. I hadn't seen anyone else in at least an hour, when suddenly a guy comes hauling up the trail in the opposite direction wearing a P-coat, clean white khakis, gelled hair and best of all a steaming cup of coffee from Starbucks. To this day I have no idea how he got that far up the trail with clean cloths and hot coffee!
Are you sure he wasn't a mirage?
On my backpacking trips out West, I wear a poly-cotton (65/35 blend) long sleeve shirt. Dries quickly, keeps the sun off and helps with bug protection. One shirt I wore from Helena, MT to the Mexican border. Paid $4 for it in a thrift store...and I did not die...but maybe I was fashion faux pas. :D
http://pmags2.jzapin.com/gallery2/d/14207-2/abp.JPG?g2_GALLERYSID=958db21bee12b04414a7d8c0d11a 672b
HAHA you should have pushed him down on the ground so he's have a big brown stain on his khakis & confiscated his starbucks!:D
Just kidding, I do not condone violence; but nothing's worse than yuppies in the woods, & I know I'm not alone here!!
How elitist of you.
Old Hiker
02-09-2011, 08:30
Guy dresses up on trail in state park? I have done this. Travel for work. Throw tennis shoes and socks in the car since I am going by nice trail. Hit state park trail on the other side of the state in suit skirt, blouse, panty hose, cotton socks and tennis shoes for a nice three mile loop. Stares? You bet. I is a nice walk on something other than a treadmill at a hotel and it is usually safe, busy and full of hikers and families.
When I was stationed at the Pentagon, my co-worker and I would power walk around the Tidal Basin (esp. during the cherry blossom time) every day at lunch, weather permitting. I would be in my dress uniform minus the jacket (flight cap, dress shirt with ribbons, dress pants) and she would be in professional office attire. We changed our shoes to walking type sneakers. We got stares, esp. from joggers that we would walk past. Not sure if it was a faux-pas, but definitely out of 35-10 for me.
SawnieRobertson
02-09-2011, 10:52
Cologne, whether from the soap so freshly lathered or from unfortunate backwoods habit.--Kinnickionic
Different Socks
02-09-2011, 11:16
I happen to love my Limmers. Old school boots for an old school guy.
I had these made for me when I did the AT in 1992 and wore them again when I did the PST in 1996. NEVER AGAIN!!! They are $$$$$ expensive, custom fit waiting list is years long, and they are mucho heavy. One shoe weighs as much as a pair of light hikers. I still have mine for memories sake, but I've worn light hikers ever since.
BTW, by a stroke of luck, I was living in North Conway, the winter before i did the trail and right near by is where they make the boots.
I once saw a group of teenage boys wearing all wearing ties over the regular hiking garb. Just because you are in the forest, doesn't mean you have to dress down. ;)
Cornpatch wore nothing but a loin cloth for quite a while last year.
icemanat95
02-09-2011, 13:57
There's nothing wrong with cotton. I wore cotton for my six month long walk -- and have daily, summer and winter, before and since. Cotton is a perfectly acceptable fabric. Just not when it's rainy, cold, and windy.
Exactly. You've got to know and work with its limitations.
Jim Adams
02-09-2011, 14:00
Obviously you haven't seen my Scooby-Do shorts!
geek
Jim Adams
02-09-2011, 14:06
I am going to have to agree with Luddite here: rocking the MTN HRDWR jacket, shirt, pants, gaiters, hat & down booties is a little ridiculous and deserves mockery where ever the walking advertisement shall treads. Same goes for sporting all Patagonia, North Face, or any other over priced gear maker. Mockery.
Checkout the dinner call at the huts in the Whites...looks like an LL Bean ad walking toward the dining hall.:D
geek
There's nothing wrong with cotton. I wore cotton for my six month long walk -- and have daily, summer and winter, before and since. Cotton is a perfectly acceptable fabric. Just not when it's rainy, cold, and windy.
Takes too long to dry and causes chafing. Theres no advantage to wearing cotton unless you're in a dry, hot place like the desert. Then it helps keep you cool. Other than that, you're definitely better off with wool or synthetic fabric.
Takes too long to dry and causes chafing. Theres no advantage to wearing cotton unless you're in a dry, hot place like the desert. Then it helps keep you cool. Other than that, you're definitely better off with wool or synthetic fabric.
To each his own. My rule is to wear whatever I have around the house. Not to buy special walking gear.
I like the feel of cotton on my skin. Drying has never been a problem. I tend to stop fairly early each afternoon. By the time I've relaxed, had a drink, and cooked supper, my cotton tee shirts, summer and winter, are always dry enough for sleeping.
I live in a community with a large industrial shipyard, where many employees do hard physical work daily that is comparable to thru hiking. I notice the stores that cater to them sell mostly cotton work clothes.
Cotton works for me when I'm building things, working in the garden, or mowing the lawn. It's equally comfortable when I take a break and work on land trust trails, or just walk.
I wore cotton last summer when I almost got to the top of Katahdin. I'll wear cotton when I try again this summer, when I may be more successful.
I had an infected spleen removed a week ago and haven't felt better in a long time.
bigcranky
02-09-2011, 16:15
I live in a community with a large industrial shipyard, where many employees do hard physical work daily that is comparable to thru hiking. I notice the stores that cater to them sell mostly cotton work clothes.
My experience with those tan cotton work clothes wasn't quite as good in cold rainy conditions, but to each his own. My hiking buddy's brother formed a company (http://www.alaskanhardgear.com/Home.aspx)that makes work clothing from high-tech synthetics.
Jim Adams
02-09-2011, 18:52
above 65* I would rather have cotton on...it's cooler.
geek
mweinstone
02-09-2011, 20:10
the fashion statements i make are simple.
trash bag swinging on back of pack
tee shirt rolled and tucked into a manzeer for cooling
half smoked rollys tucked under rubber band atop staff
same shirt and shorts every minute of every hike since 06
clean shave and freash clean skin smelling of easter (cocobutter)
american flag and billville safty reaserch showing with AT volenteer pin
single white blaze choker on cotton string/bdu blouse sinch by fisin fred
matthewski printed on one side of tee shirt, minnesota smith printed on the other
6' dogwood handmade staff by dances with mice in right or left hand
bag of gummies in hand
fashion statement? i live here.
Sierra Echo
02-09-2011, 20:12
the fashion statements i make are simple.
trash bag swinging on back of pack
tee shirt rolled and tucked into a manzeer for cooling
half smoked rollys tucked under rubber band atop staff
same shirt and shorts every minute of every hike since 06
clean shave and freash clean skin smelling of easter (cocobutter)
american flag and billville safty reaserch showing with AT volenteer pin
single white blaze choker on cotton string/bdu blouse sinch by fisin fred
matthewski printed on one side of tee shirt, minnesota smith printed on the other
6' dogwood handmade staff by dances with mice in right or left hand
bag of gummies in hand
fashion statement? i live here.
What the #$@! is a manzeer?
Awol1970
02-09-2011, 20:14
What the #$@! is a manzeer?
Bra for a man...duhhhhh
mweinstone
02-09-2011, 20:15
when a man grabs his tee shirt hem below the belly button and lifts it up and tucks it down his neck opening creating a comfy airy redeployment of the common tee.
Sierra Echo
02-09-2011, 20:16
Bra for a man...duhhhhh
I apologize for not knowing that! However, I'm not seen in the company of men who have cleavage.
Sierra Echo
02-09-2011, 20:17
when a man grabs his tee shirt hem below the belly button and lifts it up and tucks it down his neck opening creating a comfy airy redeployment of the common tee.
sounds sexy, mweinstone!
mweinstone
02-09-2011, 20:29
i dont have any manboobs, but it causes folks to take a double look from a far way off and then they see whats going on up close. but you can see dirty old men stareing far off. weird.
Awol1970
02-09-2011, 20:30
I apologize for not knowing that! However, I'm not seen in the company of men who have cleavage.
Ohhhh i was jk SE:)
Brilliant description Mathew. As usual.
mweinstone
02-09-2011, 20:37
i walk around on cold mornings in the woods looking for a place to start my day wearing my sleeping bag upside down with my head thru the foot zipper opened. that looks weird. gathering up the head section of your bag squatting to do your buissness is risky work. not for the beginner. one false move and your brownblazing.
Sierra Echo
02-09-2011, 20:38
i walk around on cold mornings in the woods looking for a place to start my day wearing my sleeping bag upside down with my head thru the foot zipper opened. that looks weird. gathering up the head section of your bag squatting to do your buissness is risky work. not for the beginner. one false move and your brownblazing.
LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't decide if I want to meet up with you on the trail or not!~
mweinstone
02-09-2011, 20:46
i also stuff my sleeping bag into its foot section really tight and create a kacac or whatever you call a russion hat. it can be worn to make room in a pack for extra food carried short distances. try it with yours.
This dovetails into Sierra Echo's post about fanny packs. Are there any fashion no-nos on the trail? Anything you wouldn't be caught wearing (excepting cotton of course...duh):rolleyes:
Jibbitz in my Crocks. Everything else, pretty much OK.
mweinstone
02-09-2011, 20:50
seara echo, you thinkin what im thinkin? a new mag called HQ. hikers quarterly. me and you are the seinor editors. you in? we need funding.lol. the long distance hiking magazene completly dedicated to fashion.
Sierra Echo
02-09-2011, 20:51
seara echo, you thinkin what im thinkin? a new mag called HQ. hikers quarterly. me and you are the seinor editors. you in? we need funding.lol. the long distance hiking magazene completly dedicated to fashion.
I'm in!!!!!
This dovetails into Sierra Echo's post about fanny packs. Are there any fashion no-nos on the trail? Anything you wouldn't be caught wearing (excepting cotton of course...duh):rolleyes:Honestly, who cares what anyone else thinks. :rolleyes:
To each his own. My rule is to wear whatever I have around the house. Not to buy special walking gear.
I like the feel of cotton on my skin. Drying has never been a problem. I tend to stop fairly early each afternoon. By the time I've relaxed, had a drink, and cooked supper, my cotton tee shirts, summer and winter, are always dry enough for sleeping.
I live in a community with a large industrial shipyard, where many employees do hard physical work daily that is comparable to thru hiking. I notice the stores that cater to them sell mostly cotton work clothes.
Cotton works for me when I'm building things, working in the garden, or mowing the lawn. It's equally comfortable when I take a break and work on land trust trails, or just walk.
I wore cotton last summer when I almost got to the top of Katahdin. I'll wear cotton when I try again this summer, when I may be more successful.
I had an infected spleen removed a week ago and haven't felt better in a long time.
So refreshing to see people on WB speaking out in favor of cotton! I was starting to think I was doing it all wrong hiking in a plain old t-shirt and shorts. :)
mweinstone
02-10-2011, 06:50
when a thruhiker in a cotton tee stands with some who wear sinthetic, the cotton garbed hiker says,..thats right bitz, i live here. whereas the synthetic hikers garb says,...tourest.
Jibbitz in my Crocks. Everything else, pretty much OK.
If I have that on my shoes I would wash them.....:D
I've worn shorts, I've worn pants, I've worn kilts... What you won't see me in is a tiny little lady's hiking skirt. They are just too short for a real woman.
Country Roads
02-12-2011, 20:12
Having only boots, socks and a pack on. Yes, did see this fashion statement in Shenandoah NP in Late September. Only words "hot today".
I happen to love my Limmers. Old school boots for an old school guy.
Can't be 'OLD SCHOOL" when you arn't even old.:p