Casual has gone too far?

Very interesting discussion, Jonathan!

About ten years ago people here (in Hawaii) still "dressed" for meetings in dresses, separates or suits, and "dressed" to attend the opera and concerts. Now it's far more casual - like everywhere else.

I was invitied to a "Ladies Tea" this past weekend. The hostess is new to the neighborhood and wanted to meet the neighbors. We were instructed to bring our favorite "tea" hat. The minute I received the invitation I started thinking about which hat and which vintage dress I would wear - but left my final decision to the last minute due to really rainy weather. Fortunately it cleared and I was able to go "head to almost toe" in '40's vintage. (The shoes were recent - plus I walked.) Interestingly a few of the other attendees did wear dresses or at least skirts but most were in"Hawaii" casual - capri's, pants but only one person was in jeans. Most people had dug up a hat. I received many compliments on both my dress and my hat - a New York Creation tilt hat that I'd never worn!

I love to dress up - and yes, casual has gone too far!

Linn
 
There is one guy who took offence to my historical background, but I think he missed the point of the 6 initial blurbs that are commissioned by the NY Times to engage discussion.
 
Great to see this discussion has carried on in the NYT and to see your smiling face there too! I agree, of course with the fact that casual has gone too far indeed. Here in SoCal we even see people in actual pajamas in restaurants...and fluffy scuffies slippers dragging on the street (how gross)....dear God!! Maybe someday everyone will all wear 1 piece jumpsuits so we can all be "casual and comfy" to the extreme. Then there will be a backlash and the pendulum will swing back to formal and dressy clothing again? In the year 2084? Sigh...
 
Congrats on the article Jonathan!

I love casual and don't give a hoot what anyone thinks. Sure, it's nice to dress up once in a while for a special occasion but if people show up dressed casually at those events, it doesn't bother me either. Sometime I even wish I was wearing what they're wearing - formal can be so damn uncomfortable....

There's a lot to be said for Americans and Canadians who have rallied against being pretentious. For decades men have worn suits to the office and the debaters who mentioned clothes bring you confidence and the ability to think like an exec obviously have failed to realized the execs at the most valuable companies in the world (google, apple, MS, etc) have rarely seen suits in their offices. More CEOs than ever are showing up in jeans for out-of-office company conferences to help bridge the gap between execs and employees - power suits send the wrong message. Even the President has declined to wear a tie to official events which resonates with the youth and shows he's just a regular guy. It can certainly be argued that casual clothing is effective in a workplace because being comfortable will enable you to work better.

Seems to me casual dress and our obesity epidemic go hand in hand. Put the latest hot model in flannel pjs and she'll start a trend. Put her in yoga pants and men will get excited. Put a woman 50 lbs overweight in either of those and she's a slob.
 
Congratulations Jonathan on being asked to contribute an opinion piece in the New York Times and in writing a thoroughly engaging article!
 
Saw the link on Facebook yesterday - great article! The other writers have made some good points too. We are getting too casual... it was the same at my cousin's wedding. She had a big white dress, her mother and her best friend got formal dresses too, and all the family dressed up, but her other friends who were also invited to the dinner afterwards just turned up in every-day clothes and jeans. I just didn't get it. At my colleague's wedding it was totally different - same age group, but everybody dressed up even though it was a drearily cold rainy September day. I had already feared I was going to be overdressed in my vintage dress but all my colleagues had dressed up too. So there is hope :)! I do understand wanting to be comfortable (and yes, at home for me it's leggings and a long sweater), but I like dressing up too for an occasion - I always did! I guess I learned that from my mom and that's ok. As for the office - as Murphy's law would have it, any day that I would decide to "dress down" for once just because it was a dreary day or whatever, some business partner would turn up unannouced :rolleyes:.
When I fly for business I have to dress nicely, as with the sponsored flight tickets, the airline staff will know that I'm industry staff and flying on a special ticket. And I think it's only right to show some respect then. British Airways even give you a sheet full of "dos and dont's" if you fly on an industry staff ticket - complete with dress code "smart casual". That's still comfortable enough I think. Usually I just pack a comfy sweater to change into on a long flight (I easily get cold on planes anyway), but no sweatpants or leggings!

Karin
 
Good writing and general discussion. I've never seen anyone wearing pajamas in public - maybe it's too cold in Vermont? While I am almost always dressed casually I do find it disrespectful to turn up at a wedding (or funeral!) wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I suppose it's a generational thing. I still find it hard to see men wearing hats inside. Some people love to dress up - Liza and Linn? When I was a bureaucrat I "dressed up" every day. As a farmer/gardener - not much. I'm just not comfortable gussied up for many reasons..

I like to see a well-turned-out man or woman and don't find it pretentious at all if it is done tastefully.
 
Congratulations Jonathan! Great piece! I do agree that casual has been taken to an extreme with pajamas being worn as a fashion statement by the young. Blech. My family attends a very earthy, hippie-esque synagogue (hey, it's Oregon), but I taught my son that part of setting the day apart from the rest of the week is dressing for the special occasion of going to services. Everyone else attended in their hippie finery and my family was well-dressed. Interestingly, the rest of the congregants always appreciated our attire. We don't go to services regularly any longer but when my son goes to a play or movie with a group of friends, he always wears a nice shirt and his "dress" sneakers!
 
Well done Jonathan.

I got tickled reading the comments. Like Amanda I spent the last many years in a large city. I had never seen anyone in their pjs.
Then I moved to a smaller town and was in a well know chain breakfast restaurant when a whole family came in theirs.
It was so funny as we had to wait for tables and I did not even know where to look. They were covered but my moms voice was certainly ringing in my ears. She gave me an Etiquette book and lets just say I can walk with that book on my head.

It is a very different time and I also do like comfort but there is something to be said for respect of your surroundings.
In the warmer weather I always wear simple skirts and amazing how many times I am asked why am I dressed up.
What bothers me more than the casualness of clothing recently is the quality.
Almost all even with the name brands are either so sheer one has to wear a camisole or something.
IMHO as a person that knows some about sewing I am amazed by the disposableness almost.
As a seller I am drawn to the strength and structure of a garment along with the beauty.
 
It's being picked up for a radio discussion on WHYY out of Philadelphia this Monday. I hate radio interviews because its hard to concentrate on the phone in your own environment distracting you. However, I agreed to appear. So if you are in the 'Delaware Valley' you can hear the call-in show from 11-noon on Monday, Feb. 10. Here's a link to the station: http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/
 
I did okay but I hate phone interviews because you really have to concentrate on the question and you don't have the feedback you get from an on camera interview where you can see the interviewer's face. Radio interviewers ask a question and then go silent and you have to answer without any feedback or encouragement and try to remember to answer the question (I forgot what the question was at one point!) Fortunately, I was one of three people so I had a chance tobreath in between question but the interviewer would ask a question and then ask each of us for our answer and she ALWAYS started with me!
 
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