Skaters in Salem wear pink girl pants cuz of Killa Cam - "and that's just so cool"

[kid_wizard]

Students show that real men can wear pink

Rapper Cam'ron started a trend that is being picked up locally -- and that's just so cool

I was flipping through a recent edition of the West Salem High School newspaper when a fashion article caught my eye.

Apparently, the newest hot thing is for high school boys to wear girl's pants, particularly if the guys are skateboarders.

A friend of mine with a child in elementary school said she also sees boys wearing pink shoes and shirts on a regular basis. She is about my age and doesn't remember that always being socially acceptable.

Hearing about all these fashion-forward students almost makes me wish I was a teenager now instead of in the grunge years, when the male fashion choice was a plaid shirt and uncombed hair.

Fashion daring in those rebellious teen years is nothing new -- there are always the kids who want to stick out and wave their flag of individuality.

When I was in high school in the early 1990s, I evolved from a gothic look in my freshman year to an alternative, Kool-Aid red hair appearance in my junior year. In a school full of jocks and conservative preppies, I felt I was in the minority and reveled in my separation from the mainstream. Recently though, I took out my senior yearbook and was surprised how I looked pretty much like everyone else.

The one guy at my high school who wore eyeliner got heckled and beat up.

And now, articles in school newspapers display photos of boys proudly wearing tight girl pants.

While trends do come and go, I take it as a sign of progress that some boys in Salem feel comfortable showing off their metrosexual side.

Just a glance at Nordstrom's spring collection in the boys section of the store in Salem shows a wide array of bright pink and purple shirts, mostly with stripes.

Apparently, it was rapper Cam'ron who might have started this pink craze.

The macho rapper has been shot at and has been at war with Jay-Z, but he also credits himself on his official Web site with making pink a national phenomenon among men. According to his label's site, "Cam'ron donned nothing but pink to promote his 1.2 million-selling 2002 album 'Come Home With Me,' even going so far as to purchase a custom bubble-gum pink Range Rover."

OK, so that pink-on-males taboo has been shattered. What's next?

Boys regularly paint their fingernails, from gothic black to green on St. Patrick's Day. At a recent show at the IKE Box that I attended, a high school-age guy was wearing a silver miniskirt with black pants underneath. Some of the local rock singers who also went to high school in Salem are known for their androgynous, David Bowie-esque looks, and guys and girls both seem to admire these rockers equally.

Pink is the new black, girl's pants are better for skateboarding, and rockers get away with wearing skirts. It goes to show how much things can change in a decade.

Now, my question regarding all this fashion mayhem is, if Kanye West started wearing high heels, would middle school and high school boys follow his lead?

My instinct tells me it will take more than a celebrity to make any guy endure the pain of stilettos.



http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps...603230301/1064