Charlottetown: Embracing your inner nerd

Photography by Tristan Gray
Photography by Tristan Gray

Greetings fellow nerds! I come before you today with tidings of great joy. It is the computer age and  as such, we who have long been bullied and mistreated for our shared passions (Star Wars, computers, Magic: The Gathering, etc.) are now ruling the world. Geeky and scarily intelligent men like Steve Jobs are reinventing the wheel, skinny, awkward musicians like Joel Plaskett are making clever music, and some of the world’s greatest fashion designers wear their nerd status proudly (see Yuko Yoshitake, Diana Eng, and Raf Simons).

After decades of ridicule we can conclude that  “nerdiness” is finally in vogue. Celebrities and sports superstars the world over are going to great lengths trying to convince the media and public that they were bullied and hard pressed to find a date in high school. Madonna’s daughter wears cardigans, colourful sneakers and thick glasses to school. Star Trek made millions at the box office. Even Justin Timberlake was recently spotted wearing a delicious pair of black plastic frames. We nerds are a hot commodity.  And why not? Being a nerd is analogous to being intelligent, and the geeks of this decade can dress well–heck we can even be sexy (think of the stereotypical buttoned-up librarian).

I say embrace your near-sighted nerdiness. Revel in your status as a comic book geek. Feel free to get into loud, philosophical debates about the nature of tauntauns at fancy restaurants. And dress the part in suspenders, high-waisted cocktail shorts and black thick-rimmed glasses. Wear your nerdiness on your sleeve!

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