After 6

[Miss Neecerie]

One of my oldest friends is a modern-day garbage man. I've tailored the pants from his vintage suits for him so he can wear them when he goes out after work. Best of both worlds, sounds like.
I still can't get over Matt Deckard being asked to remove a tie.

I was not implying that anyone didnt have dress style...

Merely saying in this 'dress up game' we all play......no one is going to chose to 'really represent certain social levels' instead of dressing higher up the chain..

Its all 'dress up' after all....can be whoever you want to be or portray.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Oh dear, I didn't read you were implying someone didn't have style, I just wanted to offer what I thought was an amusing example. It is fun dressing up, though, isn't it and I wish more people out there realized it. As with many things, if it weren't fun I wouldn't do it.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Okay, less about the black Armani tie with the red candy wrapper pattern and more about how people going out dress down to hit the town rather than dress up.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Okay, less about the black Armani tie with the red candy wrapper pattern and more about how people going out dress down to hit the town rather than dress up.

thats already in that 'lack of occaision/funeral thread' isnt it?lol

 

[Lady Day]

I see a lot of ladies in jeans, and stilettos with baby doll shirts. At modern standards, thats 'dressing' for the night. You replace the shoes with flats, and its work attire.

I understand dolling up day wear for an evening out, especially if in a crunch for time, but [huh]

LD

 

[MudInYerEye]

Let's be honest tho, most people back then dressed up to go out travel, for church, whatever, because they HAD to. That was the norm and everybody was expected to conform to it. Most of those folks would have LOVED to go out on the town in jeans and sneakers and jeans if they could've, much as they would have much preferred to make a 3 minute cell phone call to China rather than pen a 3 page letter and wait 2 months for a response. A lot of folks on this forum who get all dolled-up to the 9s would have probably be dressing down back then and be considered eccentric bohemians because they are essentially non-conformists and prefer to swim against the mainstream. I don't intend this an insult or as critcism because I admire nonconformity a great deal, but let's call a spade a spade. People haven't changed much at all.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Would they? i think if we look back on 2007 30 years from now we'd be talking about how uncomfortable it was to be wearing rough jeans (the suit of today) when people could have been wearing sweats or skirts or shorts with seamless t-shirts..

 

[MudInYerEye]

Would they? i think if we look back on 2007 30 years from now we'd be talking about how uncomfortable it was to be wearing rough jeans (the suit of today) when people could have been wearing sweats or skirts or shorts with seamless t-shirts..

Exactly my point.

 

[Dagwood]

I'll throw in my 2 cents...

If we are talking about going out to meet your girl, some friends, etc. (as opposed to staying home), I still believe it is nice to get dressed up.

If given a choice, I believe it is more comfortable to be in a suit then to have my pants dragging on the ground (with underwear exposed), wearing a t-shirt that says "Hey Dude" (or whatever the kids are saying nowadays) and a sideways ballcap.

 

[Undertow]

I think we should also acknowledge the difference in mindset - life is so much more casual now. People don't mind being seen dressed like bums. In fact, it's "sexy" to go unshaven with pre-tattered clothes and ratty sneakers. “Dressing up” for a night on the town amounts to pre-worn jeans, split toe leather shoes and a button down pinstripe short-sleeve. However, I don’t doubt that people today think they’re dressing up any less; it’s simply the gross difference in styles.

So if we look at your average guy of yesteryear who was getting ready for a night on the town, he would likely have conformed to the standards and expectations of the time (which I agree with very much): he groomed himself well, wore a sharp suit, purchased a nice hat or two and if he could afford it, owned a few good pairs of leather shoes. They may have had a few ties and a couple pair of handed-down cufflinks. So to them, they weren’t dressing to the 9’s, per se, but they were at least making an effort.

And in the same regard, I think people today are making an effort based on the styles and expectations of our society. So I don’t think people have changed, just styles (and I sure wish style hadn’t changed!)

 

[Briscoeteque]

It's certainly style's fault; style has forsaken the everyday man. Fashion today is decided by some crazy people isolated from reality for one very narrow body type. If you're not this body type, all you've got left is to try and look like you don't care. I really feel strongly that the reasons behind this change in style are economic. Quality custom goods from local sources are more expensive then pre-ripped jeans from Malyasia. If a suit looks lousy and mass produced, it's going to show much more than a lousy mass-produced 'pre-worn' t-shirt and jeans set. People want to look like they put alot of effort into not caring today, wheras if they wore suits all of the time today, it would look like they put alot of effort in, cared to some degree, but the garment itself is built as a costume, and that shows.

 

[Senator Jack]

Sorry, but I humbly disagree with the theory that people 'had to dress up'. Ever see the episodes of The Honeymooners where they go out on the town? To shoot pool, Ralph and Ed didn't get dressed, but when they went to a classy restaurant, they were sure to put on their best, and not only did they get dressed, they knew they were well-dressed. (Notice how Ralph struts his stuff in these episodes.)

Okay, fictional characters, but I really believe that when it comes to clothes and style in film and televsion, it's the one area where art unfailingly imitates life. Just turn on the telly today and see what the characters are wearing around town. Very few of them are well-dressed because the public isn't well-dressed. Here's art imitating life in our own time. Fifty years from now, viewers are going to be seeing exactly what we see, what the public wears to go to work and to go out, just as we see what Ralph and Ed wore.

I also have to note that I think it's funny that Homer Simpson seems to be the only character on tv today that actually likes to get dressed. Like Ralph, he struts his stuff whenever they're headed out to The Gilded Truffle.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Martinis at 8]

While growing up I understood After Six to mean tuxedos. After Five was business suits.

Good topic.

M8

 

[hargist]

I met some friends for drinks this past Friday after work. I was the only one sporting a jacket with a pocket square, and of course I was the only one with a fedora. The fact that it was "casual Friday" certainly decreased the chance that you'd see someone well dressed.

I was introduced to a woman and she said I was "pimp." She meant it as a compliment because these days being called a pimp is a good thing, I guess.

I shook my head and said, "I'm crushed. You see, I'm one of those people who still thinks that being called a pimp is not a good thing. A pimp exploits women. What's so cool about that?"

She was taken aback. Either she felt foolish for calling me a pimp, or she thought I was a total square. Probably the latter.

But this story illustrates the point that even when one makes an attempt to look sharp, the larger culture has a difficult time accepting it, or makes derogatory references to it.

Well dressed man = pimp.

That's how far culture has sunk.

 

[Matt Deckard]

her meaning of pimp wasdifferent than yours... take the compliment

 

[Undertow]

Or perhaps her meaning wasn't different from yours...

take the money...

 

[Senator Jack]

Is that like everyone else's meaning of dork, wussy, and 'you suck?'

 

[Martinis at 8]

...I shook my head and said, "I'm crushed. You see, I'm one of those people who still thinks that being called a pimp is not a good thing. A pimp exploits women. What's so cool about that?"

She was taken aback. Either she felt foolish for calling me a pimp, or she thought I was a total square. Probably the latter.

No, probably the former. I find that when people are taken to task on matters like this they do feel foolish. They will usually ponder the incident afterwards, and some even reform. Congratulate yourself. Leadership is not an easy thing.

M8

 

[hargist]

her meaning of pimp wasdifferent than yours... take the compliment

I know she meant it as a compliment. It's just that "pimp" has traditionally been a derogatory term. So even if someone means it as a compliment, it feels backhanded.

Besides, even by today's hip-hop standards, pimps wear outrageous, flashy clothes (purple hats with long feathers, fur coats, lots of jewelry). Someone who is simply well dressed is far from that.

Now if I was wearing a purple hat and sporting a grill, I would have understood.

The funny thing is that we got into a conversation about fashion, and she has a fashion blog!

 

[Jovan]

Never quite understood that either.

When I came to my prom in white tie attire, I was told I was "such a pimp." I took it as a compliment, but in the back of my head I felt much the same as hargist.