How Old Is Too Old for Band T-shirts?


   Juno, one of the great triumphs of modern cinema, fills us with glee yet also poses many questions over its running time. For the fashion conscious among us, particularly those who have left their early twenties behind, Jason Reitman's charming film asks us to consider - how old is too old for band t-shirts?

   In one of the film's many beautifully subtle moments we can see just how much Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner's characters have grown apart. He, a man trapped in arrested development, appears terrified to grow up and settle down - a classic man-child of American cinema, celebrating the follies of his teens and preferring to hang on to the music and films of his past rather than looking to the future. In Ellen Page's title character, he can see the youth he wishes to relive and in Garner's Vanessa a path he is afraid to tread.

   Whilst Bateman's Mark still holds onto his punk rock past, Vanessa is well on her way to be coming a sensible adult. This is evidenced, and illustrated, as the pair begin to decorate a room for their unborn child. For her, an Alice In Chains T-shirt is deemed perfect attire for the task - its an item of clothing she cares not if its splashed with paint or spoiled in other ways.

   With this in mind, it is worth procrastinating, then, over if there is a "cut-off" age someone should stop wearing band T-shirts. Like Mark - is this inability to let go of the past a matter of unbearable sadness? Or, perhaps those who entirely abandon their youth in favour of stoic adulthood, perhaps leave behind some of the delights and happiness of youth?

   Like all things in fashion - the answer is clearly subjective. If you feel too "mature" for one at the age of 20, then the answer of "how old" is clearly 20. If, however, you're comfortable in a band T-shirt at 40, don't let arbitrary rules dictate your style. Wear that T-shirt with pride. Unless its a UB40 one. In this instance, remove instantly.

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