“Ugly is in” - Anonymous

Don’t overthink it. Just look for yourself. I don’t consider myself a wholly fashion-forward savant of any kind. I figure that you probably don’t consider yourself one either. No doubt you may be stylish, keep up with fashion trends, and even go against the grain a bit to promote your individuality. I'm convinced, however strange as it may sound, ugly is in.

I will give some visual evidence first, then I’ll tell you why this is so.  Images below are from Esquire's March Issue:

The uglier, the better. Ugly is not bad, and now ugly is actually cool. So next time you hear someone say “man that is UGLY!” - it will actually mean that it is pretty sweet.

Ugly is not altogether a new theme in aesthetics or fashion. Take a look back for example at the “bed head” hairdo that took the world by storm during the last decade. During the first decade of the 2000’s, what was once considered ugly messed up hair was suddenly the look you were going for. Remember the 80’s shoulder pads - big time ugly! We can keep going, but you get the idea. The difference this time is that we explicitly applaud ugly, we’re not even pretending anymore.

I have a theory about these things. We go towards one ideal and follow for a bit too long and get tired of it and bored. What follows is then a grand reversal towards the opposite spectrum, and the cycle continues. Macroeconomics vs. microeconomics, globalization vs. protectionist, PC vs. speak your mind, hairy vs. shaved, tight clothes vs. loose fitting clothes, etc…

There you have it folks - embrace the ugly.