Rebel Without A Clue

By Antonio Malara

In the lyrics of the song "Into the Great Wide Open" by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, the protagonist is described as a "Rebel without a clue". It is the idea of ​​a person who shows his weak side when he enters in a world much larger than himself, without having the necessary experience to face it. In my idea, this definition is attributed to the image of ourselves that we carry around but from the point of view of others. In this game, our style, our clothing plays a fundamental role. Each of us has a personal style, some more versatile some more constant and even if we don't notice it, people tend to get an idea of ​​ourselves even if they don't know us and don't know anything about us. Obviously it is not only the clothing with accessories but also the expression of our face puts us in one way rather than another. Despite everything, I believe that our style influences the opinion that others have about us for 80%. What I believe is that especially girls have a reversed concept of the rebel. Let me explain better, there is a tendency to think that tattoos, earrings, beards and such things are the expression of a free mind, of those who think only of the present and not of the future. This prototype of a living being spends hours in the hairdresser and beauty centers to achieve the style of the protagonists of "Easy Rider". In reality this is the most popular and conformist type of individual who is nothing but careless and superficial, who fears many things in life for this reason he never faces serious problems. This is the prototype of my “Rebel without a clue”.
Let's move on to my style, many times I have received compliments, especially abroad and in cities like Milan, both from women and men. My style is clean, even if many times I have trendy or otherwise not popular clothes, I never identify with the rebel but rather as the "sophisticated snob".  This is because today more than ever, also because of social networks, we communicate less and everything is based on the aesthetic image, only those who are close to us really know us. My clean and snobbish style hides a rebellious, non-conformist mind that first of all asks who we are and why we are here. However, even if we were to be in a virtual reality I live as a hedonist, I try to enjoy this thing that we perceive as life to the end by not respecting the rules imposed by capitalism. All this will never be shown through an outfit, but only with the conversation and I am not referring to chats. What I hope is that in the near future we will try to free ourselves from these aesthetic patterns and try to talk more and get to know each other better, the real comparison to improve a society and relationships.
Today's outfit is the casual one typical of summer nights, three items, t-shirts, jeans and shoes that are all a little special. I paired this perforated t-shirt on the back, which in theory was created for sporting activity, with skinny twisted jeans and total black canvas espadrilles for a "snob clean style" that will never reflect my true nature. So beware of modern rebels with beards and tattoos, the maximum thrill that these subjects can offer it’s joint in an isolated place, then maybe when they have a flat tire, they call the tow truck because they can't even replace it.

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Pictures: Tonino Catalano