Wednesday 14 October 2015

Clothes

I am sorry but I just cannot embrace what is these days called 'casual' wear.   Yes - I can wear trainers - but only on a very relaxed occasion and only with jeans , never with a skirt.  And ditto for T shirts - I have plenty of these for Summer wear (mainly) in various colours and patterns and jolly useful they are too - when I am walking round town, meeting friends for coffee, going to my exercise class.   But I  wouldn't consider going to a wedding wearing one or going to any formal occasion for that matter.   And if I were invited to any 'function' then I would be careful to dress in what I considered an 'appropriate' manner.   I almost always wear trousers but there are quite formal trousers for women - trousers and jeans do not have to mean the same.   And if I were a man then I would still consider a suit to be an important part of my wardrobe.

So I suppose most people (judging by what I observe as I go about the daily round, the common task) would strongly disagree with me.

Of course times have changed and we all have to keep up with those changes (to some degree) but I do sometimes wonder whether things have gone too far.

My mother and father were photographed in 1910 with my sister on my mother's knee in what I have always assumed was their wedding photograph because my sister was born before they were married and they married when my father reached twenty-one a few months later.   She wears a formal, black suit touching the ground, a neat blouse, buttoned boots and a picture hat.   He wears a suit and a cap (!) and carries gloves.   Well, thank goodness those days are over.

But as I have said before on this blog, when I went to Teacher Training College in around 1967, although I got there on a Lambretta scooter I had to change my trousers for a skirt before going into class.   By the time I left three years later there had been a clothing revolution.  Wow, not half.

But I really do think we have gone too far the other way.   All T shirts (mostly unironed and therefore creased) seem to be a uniform khaki colour (all washed together?) and jeans seem only to be fashionable if the knees are wide open to the elements and the bottoms are frayed. 

Alright - call me a miserable old git if you like.   But when I sit in our Doctor's surgery waiting to be called and I look round, everybody looks so down at heel and 'tatty' - often look as though they have spent so much money on their hair that they have nothing left for smart clothes.

There you are then - that's put the cat among the pigeons.

22 comments:

Elizabeth said...

What's fun about clothes is that one can ring the changes to echo one's mood.
How I hated wearing a school uniform.
When I was at college in the late 60's I used to wander round in flowing skirts looking like a hippy.
My poor conventional sweater and tweed skirt clad mother used to say "Oh, darling, you look so nice in jeans!"
In the US exercise wear on the streets is very popular - on some people it looks wonderful
others look as if they need to exercise more....

Heather said...

I have never been able to understand why one would pay good money for expensive jeans already shredded at the knees and elsewhere. (I sound like my dear granny - I knew the day would come!). Even the fashion models in the Sunday supplements don't look well dressed although some of their outfits cost thousands of pounds. What has happened to fashion, and is there such a thing any more? Someone I know buys all her clothes from charity shops and never fails to look smart when the occasion demands it, so there is no excuse for anyone to look scruffy. I aim for smart casual myself and always wear trousers to hide my horrible feet and legs. I am wearing a trouser suit to our grandson's wedding in a couple of weeks and do hope it will be smart enough.

jinxxxygirl said...

HI Pat!

Hubs and i are guilty of wearing jeans ALL the time... yep.... not holey or ratty jeans..but jeans... and they fit properly... not hanging halfway off... and we do wear tshirts ALL the time... occassionally a button down shirt... with a collar but not often...I do not own a dress or skirt... hubs does not own a suit...Granted we do need to each get a pair of dress slacks and a nice shirt just incase we need to 'dress up ' a little we just haven't taken the time or found that we needed it yet...

So, jeans and Tshirts don't bother me.... but it does bother me when i see huge holes i the jeans or they are riding so low as to show half the buttocks or underwear... thats just ridiculous.... AND it bothers me when i see people obviously wearing pajamas to the store... seriously.... pajamas.... Hugs! deb

Wilma said...

Here in the tropics, I wear shorts almost every day, although there may be a few days in "tropical winter" that are cool enough to require long pants. But when I leave the house, I wear my "good" shorts and a nice button shirt/blouse. I choose not to wear T-shirts so that I don't look like an American tourist. In fact I rarely wear T-shirts even at home. If I am going to an appointment or to town (rather than to the village), I often wear a skirt. I rarely wear jeans because they are just too hot in this climate.

Joanne Noragon said...

I have not worn a dress since sometime in the eighties. But my trousers match the occasion.

donna baker said...

Everything is an improvement over garters and panty hose and gloves.

Gwil W said...

I like my Skechers (my red and black shoes Pat!) and I've just bought myself a lime green jacket. I'm up there with the worst of them when it comes to fashion. But I will make the effort should the occasion warrant it, for example to an evening at the opera or theatre.

Mac n' Janet said...

I own only 3 dresses, no skirts, the rest pants and jeans, but I always dress appropriately. I'm with you about tattiness. When I taught school here in Georgia back in the 80's we had to wear a dress or skirt to work. When we moved to California in the 90's and I taught we could wear anything we wanted including shorts. It was not good, teachers should look professional.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Oh Gwil - I really fancy seeing you in that lime green jacket.
So far no cat among the pigeons and mostly agreement. Rachel hasn't answered my post yet - so I live in hopes.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Airports are what amaze me - the scrubby looking people - some of the worst clothes I've ever seen. You can always tell a foreign traveler in the U.S. - they are smartly dressed with neat hair. Don't get me started on hair - the tousled look that is so popular just appalls me. I get up in the morning looking like many of those sloppy, raggedy hairdos - and then I fix my hair so it is smooth and presentable. My nephew is a renowned cancer physician and it amazes me that he often looks like he just came from a hard game of tennis - hair all spikey and sweaty looking - and I KNOW he can afford a decent hairdo. It diminishes his importance in the medical field to look like schlump and it appears he doesn't care about his appearance - and that reflects on the medical image he presents - go comb your hair Neal!

Philip said...

Going Gently John Gray seems to be lying low.

Anonymous said...

I like dressing up if we're going out for dinner, but otherwise comfort and practicality rules for me. I'm usually to be found in jeans, a t shirt and wellies, as most of my life is spent outdoors in woods or fields.

Rachel Phillips said...

Miserable old git. I was going to say that even before I read your comment above that Rachel hasn't been yet I even have the tousled hair that JoAnn doesn't like. But whatever I wear I always put my makeup on. And finish it all off with a hat, of course.

angryparsnip said...

Great post !
I wear pants most of the time because one of my legs is much bigger than the other and it looks very strange if I do not.
When I go out I always put on some make-up and fluff my hair.
American are the worst.
Deb wrote about wearing pajamas out. I see that all the time. Especially running clothes or jammies that have words like juicy or cutie pie written across their bum and waistrolled down to almost there !
So awful.

cheers, parsnip

Cro Magnon said...

Whenever my grandsons shout "Where are my trainers?", I always reply by asking "What are you in training for?". I have just one suit, which hasn't been worn since my oldest was married. I'm keeping it to be buried in.

Midmarsh John said...

I gave up wearing suits when I retired from teaching. I had had enough of them by then. I haven't worn a tie since then either, apart from the occasional funeral. Along with the 'fashionable' scruffy, tattered look the thing that gets to me most is men with so called designer stubble. To me it looks as though they were too lazy to shave. No doubt things will change again as fashions seem to go in cycles.

thelma said...

It is always fun coming late to the party because you can always read what everyone else has said! Jeans and t-shirts are my usual attire, though I do have three dresses. At five foot being elegant is not possible, fine flyaway hair means I am forever pinning it up.
In other words comfort rules, people are badly dressed on the whole, except for the young who follow the latest fashion and they are still wearing daring clothes, like we did in the 60s ;)

Beverley said...

I live in jeans, white linen trousers , t shirts and cotton tops. Always have makeup and neat hair. I don't mind ripped jeans.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks folks. Not as much opposition as I thought there would be. Perhaps it is that most of us are of a certain age (old fashioned?) Having decided I probably was old fashioned I have just been into town and bought myseolf a very modery and up to the minute top (on the farmer's debit card, for my birthday next week).

Hildred said...

Oh, I guess I'm with you, Pat. I did bought a couple of pairs of casual printed pants to wear at home and in the garden but when I go out I like a skirt, or dress or a suit. I blame this on my age and a penchant for looking nice. The first time I came into town (Keremeos) from the farm I wore a pair of white gloves (1951) - soon realized this was not required in a farming community.

Robin Mac said...

I have come even later to the page, but what interesting comments there are. I live in the tropics so I don't often wear jeans. I don't own any skirts or dresses, but pants can be dressy, especially with glamourous tops, nice jewellery, tidy hair and makeup.
I think it is sad that nobody bothers to dress up to go to the theatre any more, or to have a meal at a nice restaurant - elegance has vanished from fashion and I miss it!

PixieMum said...

Very old fashioned but I believe one has to dress to suit the occasion and surroundings. In central London I have noticed many people dressed for the beach rather than in a city, it is not as if we had much hot weather in London this year either.

I am unusual in that although I own jeans and trousers I prefer to wear dresses, preferably not tightly waisted, then layer up with cardigans and or scarves and in the winter warm tights. It's because I don't like tight clothing, unfortunately I have put a lot of weight on around my waist and middle, some days my jeans fit, some days they don't! I have both size 12 and 14, some times they fit in the morning, then become more uncomfortable during the day.

Also, I feel more elegant and confident in dresses, jeans and trousers seem casual and grubby work wear..

Just wondering what my namesake the James Bond girl would wear, for I am the original Madeleine Swann.