When I was in college I wore 1940s suits and circle skirts on nice days, slacks and sweaters when I was lazy. The campus was a medium size, but apparently by my senior year I was well known around campus! Fortunately all the people that said "Oh! You're that girl!" meant it nicely. I still can't get over how most of the students thought managing to put on a pair of jeans was dressing up (so many wore pajamas and flip-flops to class).
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The Decline of the Well Put Together Lady
- Thread starter Honey Doll
- Start date
Really enjoying the disussion in this thread, especially the stuff about college campuses, as I am a student and I stick out like a sore thumb amongst the sea of flip-flops, short dresses, shorts and t-shirts! I am always without exception dressed, coiffured and made-up in some kind of 40s or 50s style (and I like to thinkI get it right most of the time). I don't wear anything above the knee and I rarely expose cleavage. I never go out with unset hair or without full makeup or some kind of jewelry. I always try and put some thought and effort into my outfits, and even my 'can't be bothered' outfits - cropped high-waist jeans, cute flats and a cosy cardigan with some cat-eye sunnies and a scarf - are 100x more 'put together' than the average!
Probably makes me sound like a snob, but I don't think I'm alone in disparaging modern dress codes! And the compliments/attention I've had are testament to the fact that it's not just vintage lovers who respond positively to a sharp dresser! (which just makes me think, why don't more people bother!)
Probably makes me sound like a snob, but I don't think I'm alone in disparaging modern dress codes! And the compliments/attention I've had are testament to the fact that it's not just vintage lovers who respond positively to a sharp dresser! (which just makes me think, why don't more people bother!)
I'm 'that girl' at my college! As the only vaguely 'different'/smart/remotely 'vintage' dresser I am an anomaly, and a minor celebrity too!
The Vintage of Vintage...?
I really like this tread, and I must confess that I have been doing a lot og thinking & soul searching about my own sartorial preferences. Like LizzieMaine I just seem to feel more at home in a skirt or a dress, and for me, when i dress in the morning, it is also both perfectly practical and comfortable to wear stockings, a girdle & a bra. Also on (most) monday mornings. This is as simple as it is, and to me dressing like this does not feel like dressing ’anywhere’—neither up, nor down, not to mention backwards in time. In other words, I don’t dress vintage (or vintage inspired) because it is vintage, but because this is how I like to dress. But of course I know that I am being ’read’ differently by a lot of people: as a provocateur or an anachronist or a traditionalist or as an epitome of femininity or…
But vintage—or vintage-like—it is. My style undeniably does resemble something from around the 40s & 50s. However, this can only be called vintage from today’s point of view. From the perspective of the 40s & 50s this was totally contemporary and just how any woman was expected to dress.
But surely there must also have been a vintage trend in the vintage period…!!!
People who felt attracted to styles of a past where the hemlines of the skirts were different, where women would not wear such ’modern’, mass produced and artificial things as nylon stockings etc.
Are there any of the participants here, who know about such vintage trends within the vintage periods…?
I really like this tread, and I must confess that I have been doing a lot og thinking & soul searching about my own sartorial preferences. Like LizzieMaine I just seem to feel more at home in a skirt or a dress, and for me, when i dress in the morning, it is also both perfectly practical and comfortable to wear stockings, a girdle & a bra. Also on (most) monday mornings. This is as simple as it is, and to me dressing like this does not feel like dressing ’anywhere’—neither up, nor down, not to mention backwards in time. In other words, I don’t dress vintage (or vintage inspired) because it is vintage, but because this is how I like to dress. But of course I know that I am being ’read’ differently by a lot of people: as a provocateur or an anachronist or a traditionalist or as an epitome of femininity or…
But vintage—or vintage-like—it is. My style undeniably does resemble something from around the 40s & 50s. However, this can only be called vintage from today’s point of view. From the perspective of the 40s & 50s this was totally contemporary and just how any woman was expected to dress.
But surely there must also have been a vintage trend in the vintage period…!!!
People who felt attracted to styles of a past where the hemlines of the skirts were different, where women would not wear such ’modern’, mass produced and artificial things as nylon stockings etc.
Are there any of the participants here, who know about such vintage trends within the vintage periods…?
LizzieMaine
Bartender
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Not all women in any era are slavish followers of the current fashions, especially when more women made their own clothes than do today. Even when the flapper fad was in full swing and skirts were right at the knee, you could still find women who wore them lower. When the "New Look" came in after the war, there were plenty of women who refused to go along with it and stuck with the more practical wartime styles. I have an interesting reel of home movies shot in my hometown in the early fifties, showing ordinary people going about their work, and in looking at it, there's very little truly "contemporary" style in evidence -- most people are dressed in styles that, going by the textbook, would have dated to five or ten years earlier, and some are still wearing coats and hats from the thirties.
As for "vintage trends," there was a notable one in the mid-thirties, when a wave of "Gay Nineties" nostalgia swept the country, and clothing cuts reminiscent of that period became popular. It didn't go so far as bringing back bustles, but a lot of women who'd given up corsetry in the twenties climbed back into it.
As far as the idea of "vintage clothes" itself goes, that term was unknown before the late sixties. Such clothes were always around, but they were originally known as "hand-me-downs" or "second hand clothes." A lot of people my age grew up "wearing vintage" without ever realizing it.
As for "vintage trends," there was a notable one in the mid-thirties, when a wave of "Gay Nineties" nostalgia swept the country, and clothing cuts reminiscent of that period became popular. It didn't go so far as bringing back bustles, but a lot of women who'd given up corsetry in the twenties climbed back into it.
As far as the idea of "vintage clothes" itself goes, that term was unknown before the late sixties. Such clothes were always around, but they were originally known as "hand-me-downs" or "second hand clothes." A lot of people my age grew up "wearing vintage" without ever realizing it.
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I'm "that girl" on my campus, as well. Many of my fellow students seem to know of me, though I've certainly never noticed them. Of course, there aren't many at my school who dress interestingly. Too bad we don't all go to the same college lol.
While I find the overall decline in sartorial standards discouraging, I have a "live and let live" attitude towards people who choose to wear jeans or pyjamas outside their homes. I'm from a rural agricultural area, and Golden Era farm women here weren't exactly glamorously coiffed and done-up themselves. What I don't understand is how people seem ignorant to the concept of dressing up for formal occasions, though! At my cousin's wedding I unintentionally outshone his bride... well, she was wearing flip-flops and a knee-length white tube dress.
While I find the overall decline in sartorial standards discouraging, I have a "live and let live" attitude towards people who choose to wear jeans or pyjamas outside their homes. I'm from a rural agricultural area, and Golden Era farm women here weren't exactly glamorously coiffed and done-up themselves. What I don't understand is how people seem ignorant to the concept of dressing up for formal occasions, though! At my cousin's wedding I unintentionally outshone his bride... well, she was wearing flip-flops and a knee-length white tube dress.
LinaSofia
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I'm used to being "that girl" as well in most places I go regularly, such as work, the supermarket, the post office etc... partly because people recognise me because I stand out from the crowd. This has happened at my new work too, that people seem to have noticed me before I get introduced to them (I work at a university so there's a lot of people milling about).
It's interesting to see the effect that dressing "up" has on people around you. The other night I went to a restaurant with a close friend of mine, who hardly ever wears makeup at all and definitely not lipstick, and all of a sudden she's got red lipstick on! I thought that was really endearing.
I find that it's sometimes a two-egged sword - either you inspire people to dress better, or people start to feel inadequate in the way they dress, or that you take some of the attention away from them, and start to resent you for that. I've experienced both. Even though I dress so much for myself and don't mind how other people dress.
I'm also very relaxed about the way other people dress. I do like to see people take care of their appearance, which doesn't mean they have to adhere to a classic interpretation of being a 'lady' or a 'gentleman'. I think individual expression and difference is a good thing. It might also be good to remember that there are, and have always been, a wide range of 'femininities' out there, not every woman is comfortable in a skirt/dress, and that is absolutely fine.
It's interesting to see the effect that dressing "up" has on people around you. The other night I went to a restaurant with a close friend of mine, who hardly ever wears makeup at all and definitely not lipstick, and all of a sudden she's got red lipstick on! I thought that was really endearing.
I find that it's sometimes a two-egged sword - either you inspire people to dress better, or people start to feel inadequate in the way they dress, or that you take some of the attention away from them, and start to resent you for that. I've experienced both. Even though I dress so much for myself and don't mind how other people dress.
I'm also very relaxed about the way other people dress. I do like to see people take care of their appearance, which doesn't mean they have to adhere to a classic interpretation of being a 'lady' or a 'gentleman'. I think individual expression and difference is a good thing. It might also be good to remember that there are, and have always been, a wide range of 'femininities' out there, not every woman is comfortable in a skirt/dress, and that is absolutely fine.
Juliet
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Oh, yes. "That girl". Sure sounds familiar.
It's not that it bothers me generally what people wear. While I find pyjama bottoms in public abhorring, I do understand that some people find it great (even if I want to ber far-far away from those people).
I don't consider jeans and a nice shirt as shabby clothing. If it's clean and ironed, nothing's wrong with it.
What really bothers me, is that more and more people confuse freedom of expression with sheer disrespect. No, it is not right to go to the theatre or the opera in jeans. It is not right to go to a lecture in pyjamas.
I also do not think that going to work in flip-flops is right (unless one works in a tiki bar?).
It's not that it bothers me generally what people wear. While I find pyjama bottoms in public abhorring, I do understand that some people find it great (even if I want to ber far-far away from those people).
I don't consider jeans and a nice shirt as shabby clothing. If it's clean and ironed, nothing's wrong with it.
What really bothers me, is that more and more people confuse freedom of expression with sheer disrespect. No, it is not right to go to the theatre or the opera in jeans. It is not right to go to a lecture in pyjamas.
I also do not think that going to work in flip-flops is right (unless one works in a tiki bar?).
me too, doesn't it make you feel famous? people have come up to me and said things like 'me and my friends are always talking about how great you look', as though they know me, when they're complete strangers! I do wonder what those conversations go like...
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I once was told by somone that they spotted me everytime I crossed the quad on campus, and they would see me walk from one side of the quad all the way down to the other.
It would be a little bit creepy if I didn't stand out so much! Maybe it still is creepy.
Oh well.
MissNathalieVintage
Practically Family
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I wonder who in their right mind thought wearing PJs as regular outdoor attire was fashionable. I've seen some ladies even sporting house shoes out doors as well.
From what I am noticing in these days there are more women/girls dressing like men/boys and men/boys dressing like females its scary to me what is happening fashion wise. It seems as though some females feel safer dressing like males and vice versa. Its getting to the point one can not tell if the person is a he or a she, this is the scary part for me, it makes me not to want to socialise as often.
It would be superduper fantastic to see men who are not afraid to look manly without a feminine twist and females who walk around half dressed and squeezed into their clothing and behaving like ladies. Whoever in the world thought it was cute or nice to see females behaving rudely. I see now a days on the buses and trains its except able to put ones feet on the seats in front of them or sit cross legged and block aisles so people have no choice but to climb over that person. And also females sitting with their legs wide. What happened to proper manners.
I was complemented on me dressing like a lady by an older couple once. They commented on how rare it is to see a lady dress like a lady. And at work some of my co-workers out of the blue often call me Miss Nathalie. Go me. My favourite thing to carry with me is a hankie every time I wip it out people stare. I am often asked about my hair, clothing, and make up. Plus nice comments on my attire, too. Someone once told me they like when I go to singing practice so the can see what new outfit and hairstyle I have on next.
Hooray! For manners and men who are not afraid to be men (clean and neatly attired) and women who look and behave as respectable women and (who are also neatly attired).
From what I am noticing in these days there are more women/girls dressing like men/boys and men/boys dressing like females its scary to me what is happening fashion wise. It seems as though some females feel safer dressing like males and vice versa. Its getting to the point one can not tell if the person is a he or a she, this is the scary part for me, it makes me not to want to socialise as often.
It would be superduper fantastic to see men who are not afraid to look manly without a feminine twist and females who walk around half dressed and squeezed into their clothing and behaving like ladies. Whoever in the world thought it was cute or nice to see females behaving rudely. I see now a days on the buses and trains its except able to put ones feet on the seats in front of them or sit cross legged and block aisles so people have no choice but to climb over that person. And also females sitting with their legs wide. What happened to proper manners.
I was complemented on me dressing like a lady by an older couple once. They commented on how rare it is to see a lady dress like a lady. And at work some of my co-workers out of the blue often call me Miss Nathalie. Go me. My favourite thing to carry with me is a hankie every time I wip it out people stare. I am often asked about my hair, clothing, and make up. Plus nice comments on my attire, too. Someone once told me they like when I go to singing practice so the can see what new outfit and hairstyle I have on next.
Hooray! For manners and men who are not afraid to be men (clean and neatly attired) and women who look and behave as respectable women and (who are also neatly attired).
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chanteuseCarey
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I have read much on this thread, and I must agree with others on the demise of a lady looking well dressed/put together in our modern society. Sigh.
I have preferred for many, many years to wear skirt and dresses instead of pants if at all possible. The few pairs of pants that I favor are really ladies high waisted pleated trousers, in linen and wool from RL that are several years old. My two pairs or cordorouys (also old) are RL boot leg style. Other than a couple of Gloria Vanderbilt 'Amanda' jeans that I reserve for hair-coloring in, doing house cleaning and gardening in, I make every attempt to be well put together whenever I may go.
My bf gets a kick out of seeing me always dressed like a lady. He finds it a delightful surprise and quite refreshing. His 29yo daughter is the baggy pj pants and uggs type. I have trained my own dd (now 17-1/2yo) to dress well and modestly. She loves the dresses and gown of the 1930s and 40s.
I have preferred for many, many years to wear skirt and dresses instead of pants if at all possible. The few pairs of pants that I favor are really ladies high waisted pleated trousers, in linen and wool from RL that are several years old. My two pairs or cordorouys (also old) are RL boot leg style. Other than a couple of Gloria Vanderbilt 'Amanda' jeans that I reserve for hair-coloring in, doing house cleaning and gardening in, I make every attempt to be well put together whenever I may go.
My bf gets a kick out of seeing me always dressed like a lady. He finds it a delightful surprise and quite refreshing. His 29yo daughter is the baggy pj pants and uggs type. I have trained my own dd (now 17-1/2yo) to dress well and modestly. She loves the dresses and gown of the 1930s and 40s.
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Proof that there's really nothing new under the sun.
Savoy Havana Band -- Masculine Women, Feminine Men (1926)
The "woman" in this clip is none other than Charlie Chaplin!
[video=youtube;Mohu4_6Suis]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mohu4_6Suis[/video]
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No, it's not a new complaint. I've seen it many times in 18th century documents and the same was said in imperial Rome!
I'n not one to speak. On weekends, I usually don't wear makeup and I often slob around in jeans and a band shirt on weekends too. Also, I cuss like a sailor. I like dressing vintage inspired but I have no aspirations to being a lady.
Honestly, I don't know what 'house shoes' are. But PJs out of doors? I've never seen that. I'd assume they were sleep walking!
One of my favourite looks is actually girls wearing men's suits. Especially tweed, and especially with a 30s or 40s twist. I think that looks absolutely lovely and somehow very feminine.
Honestly though, I'm super-bad at noticing what people wear unless it really pops out. I'd be a nightmare witness! 'He was wearing a blue shirt. Or a red sweater. No, wait, maybe it was a suit?'
I'n not one to speak. On weekends, I usually don't wear makeup and I often slob around in jeans and a band shirt on weekends too. Also, I cuss like a sailor. I like dressing vintage inspired but I have no aspirations to being a lady.
Honestly, I don't know what 'house shoes' are. But PJs out of doors? I've never seen that. I'd assume they were sleep walking!
One of my favourite looks is actually girls wearing men's suits. Especially tweed, and especially with a 30s or 40s twist. I think that looks absolutely lovely and somehow very feminine.
Honestly though, I'm super-bad at noticing what people wear unless it really pops out. I'd be a nightmare witness! 'He was wearing a blue shirt. Or a red sweater. No, wait, maybe it was a suit?'
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Highball Emy
Familiar Face
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I worked as a teacher at a kid's summer camp this summer just gone, and I couldn't believe what some of the other teachers wore!
We were staying in shared rooms in a grim hotel in the middle of a forest and worked very long hours... it was also horrible sticky-sweaty hot in the day (35 degrees C, and it was so humid that when you hung your clothes out to dry they stayed wet), so the clothing automatically had to be more relaxed than I had planned on - stockings were impossible, for a start, and the sandy floor meant heels would have been a nightmare to walk in. Still, I felt I was a teacher and had to command respect, so I figured out a wardrobe of A-line linin skirts, ballet flats, cotton shirts and hair neatly up. Cool and practical. The other teachers wore all sorts of eans, gypsy skirts, T-shirts, flip-flops, vest tops... I don't understand how they expected to make a load of teenagers listen to them in those kinds of clothes.
I suppose I got my pay off - a lot of the girls I taught said I looked "beautiful", which did cheer me up and make me feel it was worth all the effort I'd put in when what I most wanted was to have a cold shower and go and lie down!
We were staying in shared rooms in a grim hotel in the middle of a forest and worked very long hours... it was also horrible sticky-sweaty hot in the day (35 degrees C, and it was so humid that when you hung your clothes out to dry they stayed wet), so the clothing automatically had to be more relaxed than I had planned on - stockings were impossible, for a start, and the sandy floor meant heels would have been a nightmare to walk in. Still, I felt I was a teacher and had to command respect, so I figured out a wardrobe of A-line linin skirts, ballet flats, cotton shirts and hair neatly up. Cool and practical. The other teachers wore all sorts of eans, gypsy skirts, T-shirts, flip-flops, vest tops... I don't understand how they expected to make a load of teenagers listen to them in those kinds of clothes.
I suppose I got my pay off - a lot of the girls I taught said I looked "beautiful", which did cheer me up and make me feel it was worth all the effort I'd put in when what I most wanted was to have a cold shower and go and lie down!
Miss Stella
One of the Regulars
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And so looking back through these posts, I conclude that if you don't have respect for yourself, it will show in your dress.
When I dress it is an extension of how I feel inside...some days are ho-hum but I still try to make my appearance "presentable". While my husband likes t shirts n jeans on me and occasionally I will wear them, he likes me however I am...but I never want to get in the mode that I don't have to take time to be lovely for him. I've been that route and it just makes ME feel yucky. If I feel yucky, it's all downhill from there.
Best to stay in bed and feign illness for me
About the courtroom:
When I get a jury summons, it clearly states on the paper, explicitly what you can not wear. And they will, and do, send you home if you don't follow the rules!
When I dress it is an extension of how I feel inside...some days are ho-hum but I still try to make my appearance "presentable". While my husband likes t shirts n jeans on me and occasionally I will wear them, he likes me however I am...but I never want to get in the mode that I don't have to take time to be lovely for him. I've been that route and it just makes ME feel yucky. If I feel yucky, it's all downhill from there.
Best to stay in bed and feign illness for me
About the courtroom:
When I get a jury summons, it clearly states on the paper, explicitly what you can not wear. And they will, and do, send you home if you don't follow the rules!
Stray Cat
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@V.C. Brunswick:
....and then I read the lyrics.
Masculine Women, Feminine Men,
which is the rooster which is the hen?
It’s hard to tell ‘em apart today.
And SAY…
Sister is busy learning to shave,
Brother just loves his permanent wave,
It’s hard to tell ‘em apart today.
HEY! HEY!
Girls were girls and boys were boys when I was a tot,
Now we don’t know who is who or even what’s what.
Knickers and trousers, baggy and wide,
Nobody knows who’s walking inside.
Those Masculine Women, Feminine Men
So true, so true...
....and then I read the lyrics.
Masculine Women, Feminine Men,
which is the rooster which is the hen?
It’s hard to tell ‘em apart today.
And SAY…
Sister is busy learning to shave,
Brother just loves his permanent wave,
It’s hard to tell ‘em apart today.
HEY! HEY!
Girls were girls and boys were boys when I was a tot,
Now we don’t know who is who or even what’s what.
Knickers and trousers, baggy and wide,
Nobody knows who’s walking inside.
Those Masculine Women, Feminine Men
So true, so true...
Amy Jeanne
Call Me a Cab
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Oh FLicka -- you must be after my heart! lol You sound like me. Live and let live as I say.
If I could "Like" the Masculine Women, Feminine Men post I would. That's one of my favourite songs!
Going back to that -- I have lots of vintage magazine where readers have written in decrying Marlene Dietrich's "trousers on women" trend -- saying they hope it never catches on. And, of course, "bobbed hair" was an issue in the 20s -- making girls look like boys lol
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MissNathalieVintage
Practically Family
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House shoes= slippers.
renaissancemedici
One of the Regulars
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- Athens, Greece
What I neven understood is how men can walk around with a trashy dressed lady, and feel proud too. I never got that.
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