I'm sure anyone who has spent any amount of time on the internet will have at some point come across this early-1940s (?) photo of a young man with a rather... avant-garde fashion sense in an otherwise typical crowd for the era. It is often touted on conspiracy theorist sites and such as one of the best pieces of evidence that time travellers have visited other eras.
So if we have anyone here well versed in mid-20th century styles and subcultures, just what is this guy wearing???
He's unusual for the crowd, but dressed fairly typically for a 1940s college student (Williams College, 1949). He's wearing a "Norwegian sweater" which could be done with repeating patterns, like Charlie Brown, or with novelty knitting designs like planes. Over that is a shawl neck cardigan, which had been very popular since the 1920s, or some sort of zippered sportsman jacket. The sunglasses look incredibly similar to this advertisement. So, sorry, but it's all very normal. The base sweater just looks like a t-shirt, but it's knitted and not printed, and the outerwear looks like a hoodie but it's just a shawl neck cardigan (which is still popular today) or jacket.
The main thing that makes this appear to be a time-traveler is that he's a college boy standing in a crowd with a lot of older, more formally dressed men. His appearance isn't actually anachronistic - much of it is just part of a youth culture that's largely ignored for the decade, though it helped to create the casual dress we wear today. You can read more about it in Dress Casual: How College Students Redefined American Style, Dierdre Clemente, 2014.
The hair. In the 1940s, there were two categories of college style: the sharp and polished look, and the loose and comfortable type. This is an example of the latter. The man has a normal haircut for the period, short back and sides and longer on top, but because he used no hair oil or cream on it, it didn't stay combed sleekly down.
The sunglasses. While the sturdy goggles we associate with 20th century motorcyclists and pilots were worn, a lighter form of goggle was produced with glass, plastic, or leather sides. They were generally produced to be used as more physical eye protection, but there's no reason someone couldn't wear them out of the lab. The lenses do appear to be a somewhat unusual shape for 1941, but they're pictured at an angle and are fairly small, relative to the total size of the picture.
The sweater. Sweaters worn with only undershirts/t-shirts underneath had been a college staple for more than a decade at this point. It was considered part of the sloppy trend mentioned above - they were properly supposed to be worn over a collared shirt and tie. Snopes has noted the similarity between its negative-space M and the logo of the Montreal Maroons, a hockey team that played in the NHL 1924-1938, but I'm not so sure - the team photo they base that off of doesn't have any citation, and other pictures of the team show an M made with positive space. Montreal is also on the other side of the continent from British Columbia. But it is possible that he's wearing a Maroons sweater.
The cardigan. It's a fairly plain, possibly hand-knitted cardigan, buttoned only below the waist and worn very open. The style was worn through the first half of the century.
The camera. Because it's in the dark and is so small, it's easy for the eye to sub in modern features - but it's probably an old folding camera, maybe a Kodak Brownie or Folding Pocket.
