It is 1991. The airwaves are filled with the raspy sounds of depression and rage. Air Jordan amazes the sport's world while movie buffs were terrified by Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. Gamers were treated to the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and many of the classic games that were released for this system including Super Mario World.

This was the time of grunge. Personal hygiene was an option and it was a requirement that all jeans have holes. Baseball ball caps were worn backwards and t-shirts were not washed more than once a month. All of this elegance or complete lack there of if you prefer helped to make up the era that in my opinion is the best in the history of mankind. Only during this time did we take so much time making sure that it looked like we had taken absolutely no time getting ready at all.

The Grunge era will always live in my heart because I was more or less a poster child for this "who cares" generation. However, it was not the before mentioned events or clothing that is the most important to this time period or we could say the entire history of clothing, that title of course belongs to the flannel shirt.

Yes, this post is paying homage to a shirt that has no boundary. Button it up and you have a dress shirt, unbutton it and the shirt will allow you to dress the part of one of those out of control Generation X stoners... Of course you can always just tie it around your waste on a warm day in case there is a change in the weather. It is true, there is nothing this great shirt cannot do. I will argue this point until the day I die. Here is more evidence to how sweet flannel shirts were / are / and will continue to be...

Here are some examples of the most important moments and people in the great history of the flannel shirt.

5 - George Costanza - the hilarious Seinfeld character is often seen wearing a flannel shirt throughout the history of the sitcom. George's lack of interest and motivation make him an absolutely perfect match for the flannel shirt.

4 - George Lucas - The man can make a blockbuster and he knows what type of shirt to wear as well. Here is a list of some of the films that aren't Star Wars or Indiana Jones that Lucas played a part in - Labyrinth, Howard the Duck, Willow, American Graffiti, etc.

3 - Lumberjacks, woodsmen, and all around tough guys. We have all seen them. They are big, they are strong, and they are well dressed. A couple examples of these men would be Al Borland in Home Improvement and of course the Brawny Paper towel guy.

2 - Neil Young - in my opinion he is the greatest American songwriter of all time. He not only was one of the original flannel wearing rock stars, but he went on to influence an entire genre of music - Grunge

1 - The Grunge Music Genre - Flannel was the official uniform of Grunge. Many great artists buttoned up the flannel as a fashion statement that was more of an anti-fashion statement. Artist's such as Soundgarden, Blind Melon, Alice in Chains, Temple of the Dog, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and others took this shirt to new levels of popularity.

It is obvious that flannel has its place in time and even if you have moved out of the grunge era and into something a little more now, we all know you have that flannel collection in the back of your closest. Be sure to give the grunge some love - I am wearing it right now and you can too.