For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for October 02, 2020

Come on, El. $40 is nothing on a dentist’s salary.And you work too. You can afford more than just one shirt.

I sure hope this doesn’t happen that before Elizabeth knows it, her classmates will be wearing something not related to Boston Original because Boston Original will be gone like yesterday’s news. Of all that hard work!

There, John fixed it. Thank goodness. Thank you, next!

Reminds me of the comment by the sheriff’s mother in “Jaws”, reacting to his new Izod shirt: “$3 shirt, $50 alligator”.

That is not selfconfidence. On the contrary. Selfconfidence would be NOT having to have the same shirt as everybody else; – but few people have that at her age.

When I was in high school, some of my class mates asked me why I wasn’t wearing the currently popular name-brand jeans. My response was “Because I don’t care.” Their reaction was a long pause and a baffled look, like the option of not caring had never crossed their minds. They didn’t take up my stance, predictably, but they never asked me why I didn’t follow fashion again.

John it could be said that “self confidence” comes from SELF not from what others think of SELF. :/

The timing of this one is interesting. Elizabeth is wearing the same outfit that she was wearing at school when she had her conversation with Candace. In comic strip time, this means all these events happened on the same day. To summarize, Elizabeth talked to Candace at school about the B.O. shirt, came home, asked Elly for the B.O. shirt, was rejected, and then when John came home from work, he learned what was going on with Elly and Elizabeth and the shirt, decided to go against Elly’s ruling, and then went back out to a store and bought a B.O. shirt which did not look either the B.O. shirt Candace or Michael own. Fortunately for John, Elizabeth did not look at the new B.O. shirt and and say, “But this isn’t the right B.O. shirt!! I need the one that just has the letters!!”

The look on Lizs’ face is worth the $40 dollars. I’ve seen that look lots of times when my girls were growing up and today they are both wives and mothers taking care of their own children, which makes me proud of them.

I’m grateful every day I graduated just a year before, what clothes you wore and what shoes you had on your feet really mattered to a group of one’s of pimply, immature, school chums!

Eliz will wear shirt to school and sees no one is wearing theirs? The fad has passed

I was so out of the loop that I thought the under armour logo was a stylized “H” and asked the kids if they did other initialed shirts, etc.

That’s how you become a Daddy’s girl. (Or that should be a Girl’s Daddy.) Always come through at the last minute and buy the thing Mother says you can’t have it.

They should be teaching Elizabeth that she is worthwhile just being herself you can’t buy self-confidence that comes from self-love.

I’m dating myself here, but the popular brands to wear in high school when I was there were “Op” (Ocean Pacific) and Nike… the latter were usually just basic nylon, suede and gum soles.

Or, you got the designer jeans… but some of us who weren’t in on that trend just got our stuff at “Miller’s Outpost” or someplace similar. :-)

I had Converse way back then, but those were SOOO out of style :-P

I guess if the shirt is not expensive and you can afford it that’s fine, but I’m sure not spending money I don’t have on that nonsense.

Members Only may be the best known label to go from IN to ridicule the fastest.

“I want to be different, just like everyone else”.

My mother said as a kid that Beatle sneakers were all the rage. If you wore them today, people would laugh at you!

Fun with numbers:

Age most people stop believing in Santa Claus: 8

In Hollywood: 7

In the mainstream media: 4

This is one of the reasons why many public school districts switched to students wearing uniforms. It puts all of the students on an even playing ground.

Darryl wins Dad du jour for sure!

In my day, it was saddle shoes. The ones with the real, red rubber soles. They were featured in Johnson Brother’s shoe store on Main Street in town. I swear I left drool slobber on their window, I looked at them so much. I can’t think of any brand names then that stood out. It was more about style and quality and quantity that counted.

And when she gets to school BO shirts will be out and F.A.R.T. shirts will be in

John is a dad with a heart. He can’t see his daughter so depressed and left out. REAL dads are like that.

In 6th grade I HAD to have a “bucket purse.” When I finally got one, it was a cheap vinyl knockoff. I was embarassed to use it. Sigh.

One shirt works and I’m touched that John did that for her.

This time dad is right, Elizabeth is very cool in her shirt.

Come on, he is a dentist two minute’s with a patient an its paid for.

Parenting is a tough balance – particularly for kids that age. Certainly you want them to be tough against peer pressure so they make their own choices in life … but at the same time, you don’t want them to feel completely isolated from their peers. As the saying goes – “everyone’s a critic”, but we have the benefit of knowing that Elizabeth turns out alright. So, I can appreciate John’s effort to help her out.

Why would anyone want a body-odor shirt, anyways?

I’ve read all the comments, and I don’t see this thought—what gets me is that her older brother already has a “BO” shirt. If it’s that terrible and expensive, Elly, why does Mike get one and Elizabeth doesn’t?

If you need to spend $30 for it, it’s not self confidence, it’s peer pressure

Did John spend $10 or $40 on the shirt? I hope he did not lie to his wife about the cost of it. He earns the money, he is allowed to spend $40 on clothes for his daughter without lying to his wife about it.

When I was in high school (Catholic so we wore uniforms) in the winter the big style was wearing mohair sweaters – under our blazers during school hours and over a blouse when we went out.

Confidence that can be bought is very temporary

Reminded of referring to seeing Revenge of the Sith and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with my sister and her family as $2 for the movie (that’s what I’d have spent at the second run house back home), $6 to share them with them.

I remember years ago reading a newspaper article about how more dads are taking their kids back-to-school shopping. And one observation is dads shop differently than moms do. They talk about how the mom would look at the price tag first on the expensive jeans and be “don’t even think about it.” The dad will let the kid try them on, check the price tag, and tell the kid “okay, you can have one pair.”

Because you can only have self confidence if it’s given to you by someone else. Good lesson John.

when I went to HS the style for the “in crowd” was cuffed pants and belts and wing tip shoes and plaid shirts that the dye slowly washed out.

I fully agree that flash fashions still come and quickly go. But we seem to forget how “important” (note the quotations) it was to fit in at that age and not be an outcast. Tweens are trying to find out who they are, and where they fit in. Sure some kids know who and what they are, but so many more still search. I do like that John gave her a little self esteem.

If those Boston Original shirts are SO expensive, then why does Michael have one?

Well done indeed, John!

John gets major Dad points for this one… like I did when I got my daughter that tamagachi she wanted so much… way back when.

I’ve never been a parent but i wish mine had taught me more self discipline and less self indulgence.