The fact that I have to write a column about this is sad, but last Tuesday I counted at least nine guys wearing a T-shirt with Abercrombie printed across their pecs and I wasn't trying to look very hard.

Wearing T-shirts, sweaters and hats with brand names on them is beyond lame. Why wouldn't you wear a shirt with your name on it? Oh yeah — because that would make you creepy, so why is wearing an even more common name like Abercrombie not considered peculiar?

It's probably because it aims at our childhood and how we were brainwashed to think that because the cool kids were wearing it, we had to.

Those graphic-tee days are long gone, and now the cool rich kids are wearing Juicy and Lacoste (although still lame), and those sporting shirts with brand names on the front are giving off the signal that they have no idea who they are and cannot get over their childhood.

For guys, here's what normal people are thinking when you walk into class or a party wearing a graphic brand name shirt: you're a douche, you have overly-gelled hair, you are wearing khaki cargo shorts and you fake-tan too much.

College girls still wearing A&F hoodies with frayed short jean skirts are textbook cases of insecurity. I don't even want to say what people are thinking of them — it will make them more emotional.

Now that you get the picture, I hear Buffalo Exchange will pay a good price for that stuff, but I would suggest saving a couple of those T-shirts to show your kids how their dad used to dress in junior high — it could be a cute moment.

Several clothing items made a mark on our childhood, from Dr. Martens to Mudd jeans. We will always have soft spots in our hearts when we look back at pictures, but for some people, leaving the past behind is much harder.

I am sure you all have an aunt or family friend that still has the Farrah Fawcett hair-do and wears those cable-knit sweaters, but please, don't become obsessed with the past –— move on to the now and learn to love the grown-up you.

Grown-up girls now go to topshop.com and look at the Look Book or Kate Moss' new fall collection. They have trench coats, tall boots and knit scarves. They learn to love their natural skin color and buy foundation that matches it.

Grown-up boys think it's okay to wear regular jeans, not carpenter pants. They wear tighter-fitting pants with RVCA shirts and sport hot twill bomber jackets. They learn to like their hair and not gel it everyday.

[Reach columnist Shanelle Smith at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]