I’d like to think I’m a well-functioning individual. I get along with almost everyone, I get good grades in school, I work hard… well, most of the time. But one area of my life in which I’m utterly helpless is clothes.

Clothing is something the world seems to expect you to understand right when you pop out of the womb. As a kid my mother would dress me in hot pink striped shirts and shorts, which I guess were in style back in the 90’s. And when I became an upperclassman at Sunflower Elementary, I started dressing myself. However, all I knew how to match was KU shorts to KU shirts, and I remember my mom often escorting me back upstairs to choose an outfit that actually matched.

Then came middle school. Here I discovered the usefulness of the sweatshirt. It wouldn’t matter what I was wearing underneath – heck, I could go shirtless if I wanted to – as long as my shorts (I wasn’t quite ready for jeans yet) did not obviously clash. Hollister and Abercrombie were foreign to me; after all, these stores were located at the mall. The mall was filled with screaming kids and sketchy adults, so naturally I avoided it.

High school brought new challenges for me in the form of the high school dance. My long torso and arms made finding well fitting dress shirts and tying my ties the right length a significant challenge. Dates would try to describe the color of their dress to me, “I wouldn’t say it’s royal blue, but I wouldn’t say it’s cerulean either. Somewhere in the middle.” Add that to the emotional and physical trauma I had to endure as they precariously pinned my boutonnière and that equals one very stressful experience.

I know girls think they have it the hardest when it comes to clothes, and that’s partially true. I can’t imagine getting ready for a dance – the nails, hair, and makeup appointments – as an all-day ordeal. I can’t imagine getting up early every morning to straighten my hair, put on makeup, and choose what accessories to wear.

However, we men have a number of disadvantages. First, we lack the support system girls have when it comes to clothing. We can’t spend days shopping with our friends or reading fashion magazines together. Second, most guys simply don’t love clothes as much as girls do. I don’t start jumping up and down when I see a shoe sale.

I hope I’ve given you some insights into a guy’s point of view. We deal with our own challenges in dressing ourselves, and all too often we get no help in dealing with them. Once both guys and girls acknowledge that, we can work together to establish a better understanding for each other.

And that’s the way Connor “C’s” it.