Fashionarians on Mars

"Hey, the new shipment of organogel just came in. I already ordered some orange boots, but do you think I should get a red vest or black?"

"I don't know, what do you want? You're always wearing red."

"Yeah, but that's because it's in style. I mean, I'm not really into red anymore."

"That's your problem. What are you gonna wear when red is not in style?"

"Well, it won't be for a long time."

"So why wait? Just get a red vest now, and then when red is out of fashion, you can switch to purple."

They walked past each other. One was making their way to the clothing store, while the other was on the way back from getting a new set of hair tattoos done at the salon. As they passed each other, they both nodded and said 'good morning' to each other as they had been taught by their culture to do so. They were two friends who had known each other for as long as they could remember, born in the same year and lived their entire lives together. The first one was talking about his fashion choices and asking for suggestions on what he should wear next. The second one gave him advice that he had heard before many times: "Just get whatever is in style now. Get something that will last you a while, so that you won't ruin your image too much when the fashion cycle changes." As he walked away from his friend and towards home, he thought about all the experiences he had with fashion throughout his life, especially his experience with red clothes.

He remembered how special it felt to be wearing something bright and flashy all day every day. He remembered how excited people would be when they saw him wearing bright colors and would compliment him right away. He remembered how confident he felt whenever he wore colors like red or blue or yellow or green because those colors were 'in style'. But most of all, he remembered how proud he felt when he went through the fashion cycle and Red became not in style anymore. People stopped complimenting him on his outfits, even though he was still dressing in exactly the same way. It seemed like no one noticed his effort anymore. Feeling disappointed and confused by these events that were taking place around him, he wondered if there was something wrong with him for not wanting to challenge norms anymore. He wanted to move on and dress however he wanted without being judged for it but he couldn't help but feel afraid of losing everything he had worked hard to achieve before. That's when an idea struck his mind: Maybe there are others like me? Maybe others are also tired of living their lives according to fashions? Maybe we can work together to challenge this system? But how would we start such a revolution? How could we possibly change people's mindsets? There has got to be a better way... While walking through the hallway at home, lost in thoughts about the world around him, something suddenly caught his eye: His old clothes! Those clothes were everything anyone would want them to be: different colors and patterns that never changed over time! They were unique and only owned by him! Instantly captivated by this discovery, an idea popped into his head at last: If people refuse to conform themselves to styles due to fear of judgement for breaking norms of decency then what about those who dare to wear very different things from everyone else? Then maybe those people will be able to influence others into doing more original things with their clothes as well! Then maybe those people can rebel against society!!! Excited by this new idea (thinking about new ideas was also something that made him feel proud), he decided to share it with some friends later that day. With renewed confidence and hope for changing the world around him for good, he put on his old clothes without hesitation and left home determinedly that afternoon to meet with some friends at the local pub!