Guess I'm older than dirt

Well, your dad wasn’t wrong! Trends seem to change with the weather. But kids are also brutal. They’ll rip each other apart if they think someone isn’t “cool.”
Dad was right on the uniform, but I was the one that endured the harrassment for not wearing the cool cloths. Grandfather was a young adult when the depression hit, so he knew not to spend money foolishly. Grandmother had to threaten leaving him if he would not purchase a house. Dad kind of got that engrained into him.