men are not chic

0:00Hello and welcome back to another

0:01episode of your favorite educational

0:02podcast.

0:11I think men are afraid of the word chic.

0:13Colloally, it is quite a feminine word.

0:15A couple of months ago, there was a

0:16trend going around on Tik Tok where

0:18women were making videos on niche things

0:21they find chic. These are very niche

0:23things that in my opinion make you so

0:25cool. Also, these are things I find very

0:28chic. things that I find incredibly

0:30incredibly chic. I have seen so many

0:32people do this and I just I just want to

0:34do this trend. So, going to be super

0:36niche. So, some of you might not even

0:38think these are chic. These are just

0:40these are just things I'm obsessed with.

0:42First and 100% short nails. And I

0:45concocted a very interesting commentary

0:48on um whether or not this was true. And

0:50in case you've forgotten, I actually ran

0:51a statistical test that used raw data I

0:53had gathered myself that determined that

0:56short nails

0:58are not in fact niche. But that video

1:00was read through the feminine lens. And

1:02today I wanted to analyze the word chic

1:05through the masculine lens. Men use the

1:08word niche where women use the word

1:10chic. But I think you are misinformed on

1:11the definitions of both to be honest. So

1:13for the misinformed, I've taken the

1:15liberty of sourcing the dictionary

1:17definitions of both niche and chic.

1:19Let's start with niche. Um, the

1:22adjective niche because you also have

1:24the noun niche or how we in the industry

1:27like to refer to it as your niche. The

1:30shortened term for finding your niche.

1:35A common phrase used in the in the in

1:38the era of everyone wanting to have a

1:40YouTube channel when you were deciding

1:42what to niche down on. Again, another

1:45another definition of niche. You may

1:47also know it as your niche,

1:51which is is absolutely ridiculous. What

1:54an ugly word. Sounds like itch. Anyway,

1:57the definition of niche as an adjective,

1:59which is the most popular use of it, I

2:01believe at the moment, denoting

2:03products, services, or interests that

2:05appeal to a small specialized section of

2:08the population.

2:10Okay, so you can see by this definition

2:12why it may not be considered niche to

2:14have short nails. And I tested that

2:16under the parameters that niche

2:20something niche applies to less than 10%

2:23of the population. If we consider niche

2:25to mean less than or equal to 10% of the

2:28population, our null hypothesis is less

2:30than 10% of people will have natural

2:33nails to be considered niche. Using a

2:36sample size of 3,299 men and women with

2:38an observed proportion of 65% of people

2:41having natural nails, we can calculate

2:42the standard error as 0.05. 0.51. The

2:46resulting zed score was 107.84, yielding

2:48a p value of close to zero. Given that

2:50the p value is much smaller than the

2:52significance level of 0.0.5, we can

2:54reject the null hypothesis and conclude

2:56that more than 10% of people have

2:58natural nails. So by its quantitative

3:01definition, we gave niche. Natural nails

3:03are not niche. Okay. But really actually

3:06I wanted to talk to you about the word

3:08niche. No, the word chic. Really?

3:13Dear dear, I wanted to talk to you about

3:14the word chic because the word niche,

3:17you can do that one. So firstly,

3:19dictionary definition chic is defined as

3:22elegantly and stylishly fashionable. Now

3:25immediately we can see here why men are

3:26so afraid to call themselves chic

3:28because you can see in the example

3:30definition how you would use this word

3:32in a sentence. They use a woman to

3:36exemplify the definition. Furthermore,

3:38if we look up the definition of elegant,

3:40we are provided with a linguistic aid.

3:42she will look elegant in black.

3:45And then of course being the pedant I

3:46am, I also looked up stylishly and

3:48fashionably and the definitions both

3:50referenced each other. So I found the

3:51argument getting rather cyclical and I

3:53was getting a bit bored. Nevertheless,

3:54of course you would have guessed it. So

3:56you had no hope, did you? Really? Um,

3:59poor men. But on this channel, we don't

4:01discriminate. I don't hate men. I don't

4:03hate women. I hate everyone. But by that

4:07definition, if you're a glass half full

4:08type of person, firstly you would hate

4:10me. Um,

4:13but also if you equally hate everyone,

4:17you will also equally love everyone.

4:22Is that true? I don't know. I'm

4:24confusing myself with my own pessimism.

4:26Equally hating someone is the same as

4:28equally loving someone, isn't it?

5:00I'm confusing myself here. What I'm

5:02suggesting is that hating everyone

5:05equally is the same as loving everyone

5:08equally in the same way that a glass

5:11half full is the same as a glass half

5:13empty. That was a rather long-winded

5:16explanation for something really quite

5:18irrelevant. I think we need to redefine

5:19chic. Chic by its dictionary definition

5:22is

5:23the same as quiet luxury. Actually,

5:25quiet luxury according to Wikipedia is a

5:27lifestyle characterized by understated

5:29elegance. And quiet luxury, old money,

5:32stealth wealth, are all the same thing.

5:33They're just different verbial

5:34iterations according to what era of the

5:36trend you're in. I think maybe you could

5:39argue that quiet luxury focuses on the

5:42fashion aspects of old money. But for

5:45the sake of the current narrative, let's

5:47just say that the same thing. Quiet

5:48luxury, old money, whatever, look

5:50something like this. an aesthetic that

5:52perpetuates the idea that you are so

5:54rich you don't need to tell people that

5:56you're rich. And as I said, by its

5:57dictionary definition, we would assume

5:59that chic would mean the same thing.

6:01However, the women of Tik Tok are using

6:03it in a slightly different way to its

6:05prescribed definition. Allow me to

6:06demonstrate with the following. Here are

6:08some more things that I think are really

6:09chic. When people have like a big bag

6:12that's like really overfilled and almost

6:14messy. Next one, distressed denim, but

6:17you can tell that it's actually like

6:18lived in and worn in distressed denim. I

6:21just there's something about it.

6:22>> So, in this Tik Tok, chic is being used

6:24wrong. Grammatically wrong. A messy bag

6:27and lived in distressed denim is not

6:30elegant um by definition. And funnily

6:33enough, I actually sourced you the

6:35definition of messy. And would you

6:38believe a man is used in our example of

6:40its use.

6:47Chic at the moment means trendy, I

6:50believe, because you go through Tik Toks

6:51at any one point in time and the Tik

6:53Toks at any certain point will all

6:56reference the same thing. A couple of

6:57months ago when I first made the video,

6:59everyone was referencing short plain

7:01nails.

7:02>> Here are some niche things that I just

7:03find so incredibly chic, perfectly short

7:07cut, maybe a little bit of cuticle oil.

7:08Having short nails, it's simple and it's

7:11minimal. Anything minimal is very chic.

7:14First and 100% short nails. There's no

7:17two ways about it. I think short nails

7:19are the sheicst thing ever.

7:21>> And now it's apparently messy bags and

7:25jeans with holes in

7:28>> a big bag that's like really overfilled

7:30and almost messy. Next one. Distressed

7:33denim, but you can tell that it's

7:34actually like lived in and worn in

7:36distressed denim.

7:37>> Here's what I find of the tickly chic

7:39for the people to just naturally [music]

7:40give off a chic vibe.

7:48>> [music]

7:53[music]

7:54>> So actually neither of these definitions

7:56I want to talk about today because in

7:57our first example I feel like we are

8:00just using a more heavily gendered

8:04possibly less politically charged

8:06version of the term quiet luxury or old

8:10money. And in the second definition, if

8:11we follow this, we'll all just look the

8:13same. So that's a bit boring, isn't it?

8:15So men, I invite you not to be afraid of

8:18using the word chic, but instead be

8:20proud that you are not chic. And so for

8:22the core of this video, I wanted to list

8:24some things I find very unchic. Number

8:27one, skin as an accessory. You don't

8:30have to wear jewelry. You do not have to

8:31accessorize. I think that 2024 and 2025

8:35has been the pandemic of over

8:37accessorizing and um how we like to

8:41phrase it on this channel, doing too

8:42much. Skin as an accessory is very

8:44underestimated. She says

8:48looking as she does in terms of elegance

8:50and going back to our first definition

8:51of elegance in the ' 50s, the Marilyn

8:53Monroe era, um it was very popular to

8:56have a backless dress that revealed the

8:58butt crack. I believe that this was

8:59personally maybe subjectively this was

9:01quite elegant. Whenever this dress was

9:03worn and throughout history when this

9:05dress has been worn it typically has not

9:08been worn with any jewelry. The butt

9:10crack is the jewelry. The butt crack is

9:12an accessory. I think we should bring

9:13that back. I think that that is very

9:15unchic. Um using our definition of

9:18uncheek and I really rather enjoy that.

9:20In recent years during the pandemic of

9:22over accessorization, we've been adding

9:24jewelry belts that dangle between the

9:26cheeks, necklaces worn backwards and

9:29stuff like that. And men, if we are

9:30reclaiming the word chic, or rather if

9:33we are being proud to be uncheck, I

9:35would suggest to you that in order to be

9:37unchic, maybe we would like to not

9:40accessorize. The human physical form is

9:42a very beautiful thing. Particularly the

9:43aesthetic of a hand is significantly

9:45ruined by a signate ring. Just be aware

9:48that as well as intentionally

9:50accessorizing, you can also

9:52intentionally unacessorize. Next,

9:56in the words of Lady Gaga,

9:58"Baby, you were born this way." I think

10:00it's very unchic.

10:04Unchic being a compliment to have

10:07crooked teeth. Crooked teeth, a mono

10:10brow, some kind of unique appearance. I

10:14really like that. Um, whoever redid

10:17Finick's teeth

10:20should be hung drawn and quartered on

10:22the spot. There's so much personality in

10:24a unique smile. It's endearing. It's

10:26charming. The epidemic of veneers has

10:28completely destroyed that. And the the

10:31uniform all the same size bright white

10:34teeth is actually greatly disturbing. I

10:37myself don't have straight teeth.

10:40Neither do I have gleaming white glowing

10:43teeth. I am fortunate enough to live in

10:45an era where I am able to change that if

10:47I so wish. But just because you can,

10:49just because everyone else is, just

10:51because you have the money to do so,

10:52doesn't mean that you should. And I

10:54choose not to. I I I intentionally

10:56choose not to. That choice, choosing not

10:58to do that,

11:01is a chic decision or an uncheek

11:03decision. I'm getting myself mixed up

11:04with my definitions now because in my

11:06definition, uncheek is the colloquial

11:09definition of chic.

11:18I need to stop this. Next one. Perfume.

11:21You do not have to be niche to be

11:23considered nice um or to be considered

11:25interesting. And in a world where

11:26everyone is perfumed, maybe it is the

11:28most niche thing to just smell clean.

11:31You don't have to smell of blood, sweat,

11:33sperm, and saliva to be liked, to be

11:35accepted within society. And I I I just

11:38can't imagine it smelling nice. I mean,

11:40I can't I can't lie. I have not tried

11:41and tested it for myself, but I I I do

11:45know what the components smell like,

11:48and I can't say it's the most delicious

11:50smell ever. Personally, I like the smell

11:52of white florals on myself, but I do

11:54think that there is value in each

11:56individual person having a unique scent

11:58and you having a unique scent, and I

12:00don't think that that necessarily needs

12:01to be the smell of after shave or some

12:04wildly expensive potion and lotion. I

12:06personally would much prefer someone to

12:08smell clean and neutral than perfumed

12:11with an underlying layer of bad hygiene.

12:14I did the whole shebang on that a couple

12:16of videos ago, so whatever. Let's next.

12:19I'm done. Bored. Next on my list is

12:20texture over color or layering. Um, so

12:23by this I mean that it is interesting.

12:26An outfit can still be made interesting

12:28by texture. You can tell the quality of

12:30something through its texture. I believe

12:33I believe I examine fashion and clothing

12:37garments enough to know what a bad

12:40quality material looks like and what a

12:42good material quality looks like. A

12:44lovely wool cashmere, not only will it

12:46visually look different than a a

12:48polyester, but also on yourself it will

12:52feel different. And adjacent to that,

12:54when you have something of higher

12:55quality, the feeling not just against

12:57your fingers as you touch it, but the

13:00weight of it will also be different

13:01depending on its quality. And the weight

13:04of it also changes how it moves when you

13:07walk and how it falls when you wear it.

13:10That's a chic consideration to make or

13:12an uncheek consideration to make if you

13:14are defining chic as we are. Luxury is

13:18always depicted as black, white, silver,

13:22gray, navy blue. Whenever you hear the

13:23Tik Toks of the niche things I find

13:25chic, it's always silver rimmed glasses

13:28and things like that. And actually, a

13:29lot of people are asking for a color

13:30analysis, color theory video. Um, but

13:33before I make that, I I will have to

13:34educate myself on the topic because

13:36actually I I don't really know much

13:37about it at all. We can't be spreading

13:38misinformation. So, I will read up on

13:40that and provide you with with an

13:42excellent video, I'm sure. But what I do

13:44know and can provide evidence of is that

13:47luxury

13:48is cool. Luxury is cool toned.

13:51Affordability or value is normally reds

13:54and yellows, warm tones. It is quite

13:56disturbing how many similarities you can

13:58draw from the marketing of fashion and

13:59the marketing of food. Um, but let me

14:01provide you with another. If you go to a

14:03supermarket and find a basic item, it

14:05will normally exist in more than one

14:07form. You normally have the option to

14:09pick a more affordable value item that

14:13yes is cheaper but may not be as high

14:16quality or you can pick the more

14:17expensive luxury item which costs more

14:21but hopefully would be nicer. And

14:23there's definitely a color palette

14:25dynamic. I do think it's interesting to

14:27mark the similarities between food

14:29marketing and fashion marketing, however

14:30disturbing they are because fashion and

14:33food culturally follow each other very

14:37um very closely because ultimately what

14:40you eat influences how you look. But

14:42yes, the cheaper value affordable item

14:46is always warm toned. The luxury item is

14:49always cool toned. But anyway, the point

14:51I was actually making with this was that

14:54texture is a more interesting

14:56consideration than color or layering.

14:58You don't have to make an outfit

14:59interesting by shoving a load of things

15:01on. Personally, I hate an overlayered

15:03outfit. I hate an over accessorized

15:05outfit. If you mindfully buy individual

15:07pieces, you should enjoy each individual

15:10piece

15:11enough that it can exist by itself. I've

15:14spoken before in particular reference to

15:17jackets. I will always do up all of my

15:20jackets. I will always button up my

15:21jackets, hoodies, sweatshirts, jumpers.

15:23Cuz when I wear the jacket, I want the

15:25jacket to shine by itself. I don't want

15:27it to be dulled by whatever I'm wearing

15:30underneath. There's only a certain level

15:32of attention you can deliver. You have a

15:34maximum capacity. I don't want the

15:36attention to be divided between lots of

15:38little things so that the attention is

15:40very small on everything. If I have

15:42chosen a jacket that I like, which I

15:44should have, I want to show off that

15:46jacket. I don't want to divide the

15:48attention between all the other things

15:49that I'm wearing. Psychologically, it's

15:51messy and visually it's messy. I don't

15:55like it. I don't like it, but do

15:56whatever you want. I don't care. Um

15:59Oh, the final one, which so many people

16:02say now, and it's actually so it's it's

16:04actually boring me. It's actually boring

16:06me, but dress for yourself. And so many

16:08people say this, but let me just give

16:10you a couple of examples. I actually

16:11don't want to speak about this for too

16:12long because I think there's actually

16:13been a shift in the trends of fashion

16:17videos on the internet. Where they used

16:19to be this is the product I enjoy, they

16:22are now this is who you should be.

16:26And in some cases that's quite

16:27disturbing actually because what if you

16:29don't know who you are? You don't like

16:31who you are. Um, but I feel like this is

16:33a this is

16:36maybe a maybe too much of a deep

16:38psychological discussion

16:40for right now. Um, but maybe in the

16:43future we'll have it. Whilst the

16:45discussion in YouTube videos of products

16:47and what to wear and where to buy it,

16:49Zoella doing her monthly favorites,

16:52that kind of deal. whilst that is sort

16:54of perpetuating consumerism um in rather

16:57an unhealthy way I think particularly if

17:00these are influencers being paid to

17:01promote certain products and that's bad.

17:04However, to combat that you have fashion

17:07channels.

17:10I feel like I'm shooting myself in the

17:12foot here. You know how fashion channels

17:13that say be yourself and that's

17:15fashionable.

17:18But what if you actually want fashion

17:20advice? [snorts]

17:24What do you do then? So yes, I think my

17:26last point here of being unchic is be

17:32yourself. As I'm saying this, as you can

17:34see, I am I am um I'm I'm unconvincing

17:38myself that this is a good thing to say

17:40because what if you don't know who you

17:41are? What if you don't know who you are?

17:42Sometimes it is actually nice to just

17:44follow a trend because you want to fit

17:46in. What if you're not good at anything

17:50or trying to find something to be good

17:52at because you're not good at anything

17:54yet?

17:56What a sad predicament to be in, but

17:58it's true for a lot of people, you know,

18:00finding your identity and as such. But,

18:02but anyway, let's assume that everyone

18:04is good at something because I'm sure

18:05you are. And if you and if you don't

18:07think you are, you just haven't found it

18:09yet. So, dressing for yourself.

18:14Example,

18:16it is very attractive

18:19when a man turns up to the function in

18:21his work attire. For example, you must

18:24have heard of the phrase, I love a man

18:25in uniform. We love a man in uniform.

18:28He, she, they, we, it loves a man in

18:31uniform. And this is true. And I don't

18:33think it's necessarily that you like the

18:35uniform. It's that you like that someone

18:37has a passion or someone is good at

18:40something. You can see it on them and

18:41they're wearing it. So, for example,

18:43ladies,

18:45isn't it nice when you see when you see

18:47the tradies out on their lunch break and

18:49they've got their work belts on and you

18:50know the paint on their trousers and

18:52stuff, it's always very nice to see. In

18:54contrast, if you were to wear the same

18:56thing inauthentically buying a car heart

18:59jacket and brand spanking new caros,

19:02it's not the same and you look a little

19:04bit ridiculous. This is sort of the

19:06epitome of the performative male.

19:07Tradies in their tool belts is it's very

19:10cute. It's very cute. a car heart jacket

19:12and caros doesn't hit the same. And it's

19:15the same with a lot of different

19:16aesthetics. It's not just the carart

19:19jacket. It's every single aesthetic. The

19:21old money luxury, quiet luxury

19:23aesthetic. Someone who genuinely owns a

19:25yacht in a summer house look looks

19:27something like this. Okay. This I

19:29actually find more charming and more

19:31endearing than than this.

19:35I personally think that authenticity is

19:38being weaponized at the moment. It's

19:40another marketing technique. It's

19:42another trend. It's another aesthetic.

19:44But if you strip all that away and just

19:46go back to what authenticity actually

19:48means, it is more endearing. It is more

19:50charming, it is more attractive to be

19:52authentic than it is to to to perform.

19:55And I'm not really sure if I explained

19:57that in an in in an exceptional way, but

20:00I hope that you understand what I mean.

20:02So, in conclusion, men are not chic,

20:07but who wants to be chic anyway? That is

20:09everything we have time for today. I

20:10really hope you enjoyed this session

20:12that we have together. I know I

20:14certainly did and I'm looking forward to

20:16next time we meet. Do come again very

20:18incredibly soon. See you in the very

20:19near future. We are so close to 1

20:22million subscribers. So please do

20:24subscribe, like, comment.

20:26Um

20:29because my manager told me I had to tell

20:30you that.

20:37Oh.

20:38Ah.

20:40M. That I'm not going.