If i could be bold I think the commonality with chuds that you’re worried about is having no sense of style

This is it exactly. You nailed what the concern really is.

As for the rest, that is really detailed awesome advice thank you. Hopefully at some point I will want to actually develop some sort of style and what you’re describing is in line with what I imagined that might be like, so I’m saving this comment and hopefully referring back to it. But for the moment, I just wanted to not be too visible while also not giving off a redditor vibe, but maybe that’s not possible. Might be one of those things a person just has to put the work into if they don’t want to garner the wrong impressions.

I hope so. 90s grunge was more my default even if I missed that scene by long shot.

Then how else am I supposed to greet the clerk at the grocery store checkout counter?

Or, is this about looking like a chud, or just not feeling as comfy dressing unassuming and masculine?

I do want to look unassuming. I’m pretty bad with social anxiety and most of the time I just want to go unnoticed. But I worry even that in going unnoticed I’ll give off the wrong impression. Chud is an extreme I probably shouldn’t have used because I don’t think anyone would ever look at me and think gun totin’ confederate flag waving chud or wannabe cop or some shit. Fortunately I have not a single one of the things you listed as your flags of chuds, even the bootcut jeans.

The worry is looking more like the aloof redditor, new athiest or even altright leaning brand of chud, or maybe I’m using the word chud wrong. As far as the nonbinary thing, that’s a lot to get into, but just as far as dress style, I don’t really want to look masculine OR feminine. I used to wear more feminine coded things when I was younger, but these days I feel like the plainer the better. I do have some leftist t-shirts, but I save those for certain occasions or when I’m going to be around certain people, or even trying to do leftist signaling without libs knowing with my All Cats are Beautiful shirt. Most of the time all I wear is a plain dark color with NO messaging at all not even a visible logo. I guess it’s less that I want to indicate my politics and more that I don’t want to announce the wrong politics when I’m just going about my day.

To be totally honest, I posted mostly because of the glasses I’ll be getting and I don’t want frames that make me look like Vaush.

What you suggested is all great advice for looking leftist though and because you suggested it, I’ll see if there’s a local org selling lefty merch as a means of support.

Thanks, that’s the kind of advice I was hoping for about the frames. Yeah I should just pick something that seems a little off kilter, I just don’t know what that is even.

I tend to think there’s a certain type of rectangular rimless glasses that read stemlord redditor

That’s what I mean. I have an old pair of glasses someone else picked out for me exactly like that and that is exactly the kind of vibe I want to avoid. A while back on one of the few good leftist subs someone posted a pic of themselves and people were saying to lose the redditor glasses and that the poster looked like (cw) Vaush. But I all was thinking when I saw the pic was “shit, he looks like me!”

Since then I was thinking I should just go with Barce Belden style glasses next time.

about the Che shirt. I don’t want to announce to everyone I’m a clueless radlib. A red star or Mao shirt I might wear when I want to announce I’m a commie, which I do in some circumstances. I already have some leftist and vegan animal rights messaging shirts I do wear on occasion. But in most circumstances I just want to blend in, just not blend in as a background chud.

I should have said this in the post, but I also tend not to want to stand out and just be mostly unassuming and that’s where it can be tricky. I actually did used to dye my hair blue and green in my teens and early twenties as well as try to do designs with nail polish. But now it just doesn’t really fit me. Guess I’m an old stick in the mud.

I’m with you on all of that. If people are around me for a little bit and talk to me, I’d like to think it becomes clear quick that I’m not a miserable chud. I’m more talking about just being out and around strangers when there isn’t much direct interacting going on.

That’s a good idea. Part of my issue is I never want to stand out or be noticed, I just also don’t want to give bad vibes. But showing solidarity is good and important. I should try to get over myself, and that’s a small but meaningful way to do both.

A friend even gave me a keffiyeh but other than at protests it feels like just wearing it around is like cultural appropriation or something on top of very much making me stand out.

That is a good one and I used to do that when I was younger but I’d feel like a poser doing it now. I try not to stand out most of the time, but maybe that’s the problem.

Yes! Good answer. I even meant to put it in the post that I do still mask in any indoor public places. That is probably a nonchud indicator and I’m glad that me still giving a shit about immunocompromised people and my own well being also has that side benefit. But I think most people don’t know what to even make of it since libs also hate masks now and most around here aren’t even aware there is anything left of liberal. It makes me wonder if some people just see hypochondriac chud when they see me with a mask.