Rambling about Appearances

[carmen16]

The other night I was watching something on TV (although right now I can't recall what) about going to the theatre. The people were dressed up like this was a social occasion and not just a regular old thing. Then today, on a community board I was on, someone was lamenting they hoped the annual sports dinner ($100+/plate) they had bought tickets

Comments

[celeste_sm]

I find people-watching facinating. And something I've noticed from Vegas to Disneyland is that women like to dress up more than men. Even in the nightclubs of LA, where manscaping is an art form. Just an observation.

I do miss a degree of appropriate formality, and even more so, I miss a common understanding of etiquette and the correct clothing for the occasion. My friends make fun of me for dressing up to see shows. But if I dress up for my own show, at least on opening night, I should do no less when seeing somebody elses show. It's a sign of respect. I might wear jeans, but it will be with heels and a nice blows. No shorts, flip-flops and 7-11 t-shirt for me. (An ensemble I observed on an actor I know at show that neither of us were involved iwth.)

You feel better and you look better dressed up. I'm trying to take that to heart at my job, where flip-flops are acceptable and the CEO wears t-shirts. But I've seen the impact it can have. It's worth four flights of stairs in heels, once in awhile.

[edhodge]

Due to the nature of my job and the amount of time I spend face to face with customers, I rarely dress down. Even when I fly, I dress nicely. I can't imagine wearing track pants to the airport! It just seems to me that I am given a higher level of automatic respect because I try to dress nicely. So I agree with you on the clothing thing.

We do tend to spend money much more freely than when I was growing up. Eating out was a treat and we dressed up to do that. The movies, much less a show, were a very rare occasion. My grandfather taught me that it is better to be overdressed than underdressed.

I don't know that there is a connection between our economic situation and how we dress. There are much bigger factors at play. Also, I wonder how dressing up in the past was a reflection of the much smaller wardrobes most people had. There seemed to be a much bigger differentiation between casual clothes and dress up clothes then. Was that because every day clothes were worn and I mean worn as in until they were used up?

[carmen16]

I guess I just wonder if tougher times will bring back some of that. Less spending may mean less discretionary spending for clothing.