C’mon, baby boomer guys, this is wearing thin

Today, I return to one of my favorite topics: Men my age, aging badly.

Write what you know, that’s my motto.

In particular, let’s take a look at the fashion stylings of baby boomer men. Observe men in their 50s at a sports event, at a Ringo Starr concert, at an airport, at work on casual Friday or even at work on not-really-intended-to-be-casual Monday.

Here’s what you’ll find us wearing:

•A pair of jeans, probably Levi’s and probably relaxed fit.

•A T-shirt or sweatshirt, invariably with a logo or slogan.

•A baseball cap.

•A pair of sneakers, occasionally of a retro variety, like Converse All-Stars.

In other words, we are wearing what Beaver Cleaver was wearing when he was 11. Beaver’s T-shirt didn’t have a logo or slogan, and his jeans were not relaxed fit. But in all other essentials, baby boomer men are still rockin’ their 1962 fifth-grade look.

Talk about symbolism. Not only are we baby boomer men refusing to grow up, but we refuse to even dress like grown-ups. Most impartial observers (women) agree that growing up is a process that men should have at least started by age 50.

(Women have their own back-to-youth issues, involving Botox, cosmetic surgery, anti-aging cream and wearing inappropriate dresses at their daughters’ weddings, but I lack moral authority to tackle those issues.)

This boomer dress code is patently ridiculous. Look at it this way. Did our fathers go through adult life sporting what they wore at age 11? What if my father had gone on our family vacations dressed in his newsboy knickers and flat cap? How embarrassed would I have been?

But our fathers didn’t. They grew up and dressed like grown-ups.

Now, I’m not saying that we should all go Edwardian and dress in suits and ties on excursions to the beach. But would it kill us, while on an airplane trip, to wear a shirt with an actual collar? Would it kill us to wear shoes made out of leather, as opposed to red canvas? Would it kill us, while serving on jury duty, to wear a shirt with absolutely no writing on it? With no obscene writing?

To be fair, most of us have reluctantly dragged ourselves into adulthood, even to the point of buying a suit. Also, I recognize that many of my fellow boomer compatriots work in professions in which they have to wear a suit every day. I salute them, while at the same time, feel very, very sorry for them. Meanwhile, my own daughter recently accused me of “trying to look like a frat boy.”

So I can’t help but feel that our juvenile dress code symbolizes our least attractive boomer trait, our refusal to grow out of childish things.

So here’s my question for my fellow boomers: When, exactly, should we grow up? Doesn’t, say, 60, sound like a nice round number?