The Imagination Is Gone?

In this day and time, there are so many distractions. Whether it comes in the form of social media or the never ending emails, distractions and priorities are different from the past. In the clothing industry, this has never been more true. We have the access now to literally all the information in the world at our finger tips and yet, all we care to do is brag about the dinner we had last night or the wonderful weekend getaway we just had (trust me, I am guilty of this as much as anyone). The sad part is, have we lost that sense of imagination and wonder?

When it comes to the men's clothing world we were on a great path. We were inventing new fabrics, new prints and new looks. However, are we stuck in this new age attitude of just trying to be so different, that we have forgotten who we are as people. I know what you're thinking, "This is a clothing store's blog..why is he getting so deep?" The fact of the matter, is that we have to get this deep to fully understand the issues.

I remember spending countless hours of my youth imagining that I was on some far, distant planet figuring out how to defeat evil with a light-saber (Yes, I am a Star Wars guy). Nowadays, kids are so glued to their technology that the ideas of imagination and wonder are invented by people on another screen. This sad mentality has left us with a soon coming generation of men and women that have lost their sense of wonder. Is there a way to go back and fix what has happened? The short answer to this question is no. The long answer to this question revolves around the idea of why would we want to go back?

Is technology a bad thing? No. The question that should be asked is how can we invigorate the world with the ideas of using their imagination to do something meaningful. Let me take it back to the men's clothing industry. Think back to a time when men wore suits every day. This was an age were imagination was running wild. Everything was so new and fresh that any time there were "new fashions" every man had to jump on the train. Now, every company is making a "performance" shirt, every company is making pants that stretch. Is this all that our imaginations can come up with? Copying one company to another?

I surely hope the answers to these questions is a resounding no. If there is anything that this blog gets across I hope that it helps you to have a moment to reflect, to put down your cellphone, and realize that imagination can only happen from within. It doesn't have to be a deliberate decision. It just needs to be a conscious choice to remember that boy/girl who's imagination ran wild.

Sincerely,

James R. Bower Jr.