Most men may be dads, yet being referred to be a father requires extra work
And what do you think about a cool father? That is, without a doubt, a next-level achievement in the dad community. Rad Dad, an Instagram profile, publishes dad memes about stereotyped upper-middle-class American dads.
Such as a middle-aged dad who cools off after mowing the yard in his New Balance sneakers with a can of cold beer. The fact that they’re referred to as rad rather than cool or lit adds to the tribute for today’s middle-aged dads, as it’s terminology from the 1980s when many of them were kids.
#1
The page sells merch: their t-shirts, marble grey sweaters, and hats expertly capture the look of rad fathers. And the fact that they’re depicted with grills and embroidered New Balance sneakers makes the entire thing incredibly meta.
The firm that sells the stuff, Middle-Class Fancy, has its meme page, which we just talked about. The content of Middle-Class Fancy and Rad Dad can occasionally overlap since many of these fathers have cookouts in their backyards, implying that they are middle-class.
#2
#3
#4
Older fathers may have observed that not only is their adolescent lingo back in style but so is fashion. And also, it appears that gen Z and alpha kids have discovered and brought back their fathers’ clothing from the 1980s and 1990s, acquired bowl or mullet haircuts, and begun vlogging.
Or filled the streets, giving these cool dads memories to their youth. As well, consider a 55-year-old today instructing their son on maintaining their mullet or which bomber jacket works with which basketball sneakers.
#5
#6
#7
Surprisingly, the aesthetic of rad fathers isn’t so closely associated with a particular decade or group. Many fathers tend to have the same sense of casualwear style as they get older. And these patterns haven’t altered much in the last two decades, similar to middle-aged women cutting their hair short.
