Nerd fashion has had a rollercoaster history of cool, not cool, cool enough and nothing but.
“Nerd fashion basically boils down to two things: one, wearing things that display things we nerds like, and two, wearing comfortable stuff that takes no time at all to assemble and put on,” says Steven Summers, currently working on his Ph.D. in physics with an emphasis in Astrophysics.
“Of course, I’m not even mentioning the extremes of nerd fashion, like lab coats, which I own, and tattoos of, say, mathematical equations, which I want.”
The trick is to determine what a nerd actually is. According to Merriam-Webster, a nerd is a creature found in the 1950 Dr. Suess book If I Ran the Zoo. Secondly, a nerd is an “unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits.”
Be that as it may, today’s nerd holds a position of a little more stature. More are claiming to be nerds now than ever, and girls seem to have a thing for Cuomo-esque eyewear.
“I’ve pretty much dressed the same way since I was 12,” Todd Schumann, 33, manager of Hero Comics in Phoenix, says. “Glasses, shorts, Vans or Converse sneakers pretty much.”
Schumann says his customers dress pretty much the same as well, with a couple kids dressing up in their Naruto costumes. “That’s pretty much the norm,” Schumann says.
Schumann agrees Buddy Holly and Elvis Costello are the pioneers of the look. “A lot of the stuff that was cool in the ’50s is still cool now.”
1917- Converse All-Star basketball shoe is released, deemed the Chuck Taylor in 1921. The Chuck Taylor would be the staple of the nerd wardrobe for decades to come.
1950- The first nerd appears in If I Ran the Zoo. He has a black T-shirt, messy hair and a grimace. Sounds about right.
1957- Buddy Holly hits the scene with his debut album The “Chirping” Crickets. Holly is one of the first to introduce the thick, black-framed glasses into the mainstream.
1958- Truman Capote becomes famous with the novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Capote is skinny, pale and spectacled, but chic.
1963- Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor gives us not only more thick, black-framed glasses, but the bow-tie and the greasy hair.
1977- Elvis Costello releases his first album, My Aim Is True. Unruly hair, over-sized glasses, neck-ties and tight clothes are all the craze amongst fans.
1984- Revenge of the Nerds is released, making audiences familiar with the high-water pants, tucked in shirts and pocket protector.
1991- Comic Book Guy makes his first appearance on The Simpsons, giving the heavy-set nerd a little comfort.
1994- Weezer releases its first album, a self-titled ode to the nerd (once again). A Harvard graduate, Rivers Cuomo reintroduces the black frames, dingy sweaters and mangled sneakers.
2000’s- “I Heart Nerds” t-shirts start making appearances in department stores. Not sure how many nerds might have worn this, however.
2008- With the recent release of “American Nerd: The Story of My People” by Benjamin Nugent, the nerd has again hit the spotlight.
— lauren.cusimano@asu.edu
