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The story
On 5ch’s Hello! Project board, a casual morning-coffee chat thread kicked off a debate over middle-aged men’s fashion after someone posted, “Why do old guys love chinos so much?” Whether posters wore chinos, slacks, or jeans, they got roasted with comments like “that’s so salaryman” and “cringe” — and the conversation also touched on how different generations picture completely different silhouettes when they say “slacks,” citing Uniqlo’s tucked wide pants as the younger crowd’s version. In the end, no one could agree on what “dad-appropriate style” actually means, and the thread just kept rolling as casual chatter.
What people said
Same old pattern.
You guys have been posting this exact thing for twenty years.
Anything but those, obviously.
And here comes 'go commando'!
A proper, dad-appropriate outfit suits you best.
But you'll turn right around and say foreign guys look cool in jeans.
I don't want to wear a dress shirt and slacks even on my days off.
That's just a salaryman look.
What are you, some guy from the American Midwest?
That's totally fine, you know.
Doesn't that look a little out of place though?
That's because you're wearing basically the same thing as a suit.
Isn't nailing that balance — blending it into the scenery just right — the whole point of 'iki' (understated Japanese cool)?
You just look like you're on the clock lol
and what a young person pictures as 'slacks' are probably different things.
For young people, 'slacks' probably means something like Uniqlo's tucked wide pants.
An old guy, lecturing us on what young people think lol
Get away from Uniqlo already.
Fast fashion is young women's stress relief.
https://xxup.org/dZKag.jpg
Trying to dress young is way more cringe.
The real cringe is 'It's clean because I wash it — that's fashion!'
Those guys show up on every fashion and clothing thread
going on about 'old guys these days' or 'women's clothes these days.'
What even counts as a 'dad-appropriate' outfit?
You guys always just say vague, wishy-washy stuff.
https://xxup.org/q6OzL.jpg
A jacket is just a hassle — you living in Antarctica or something?
If you only cast models over 180cm tall, literally anything looks good.
If a guy built like Bob Sapp (the hulking pro fighter) wears military pants, it looks great.
A golf-wear-based outfit is a solid bet.
It's not pushing anything — pants just ARE slacks.
Perfect for stashing your phone, right?
Background and Key Points
Throughout the thread, opinions like “chinos and slacks are fine” and “jeans are borderline” flew back and forth, but a clear definition of what counts as “dad-appropriate clothing” never actually emerged. As >>93 pointed out, “you guys never say anything concrete” — and indeed, about the only one to offer a specific standard was >>34’s slacks-plus-tucked-in-shirt camp, while everyone else was simply mocked with lines like “that’s just a salaryman” or “what are you, a middle-aged guy from the American Midwest?” Terms like “flat-front” and “pipe-leg” got thrown around, and one poster (>>59) noted that when younger people say “slacks,” they likely mean something closer to Uniqlo’s tucked wide pants — a reminder that even when generations use the same word, the silhouette they picture can differ wildly, which is a classic reason these fashion debates never quite connect. The thread wrapped up without any real conclusion, drifting along as casual chat rather than a pointed criticism of any particular brand or individual.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Why do old guys love chinos so much?“
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