Let's not get carried away
I have read several articles that bemoan the state of today's fashion or the apparent lack thereof. There are things I agree with. Sometimes when I see someone sporting rubby ducky pj's while going about their public daily life I do raise an internal eyebrow but hey it's not my choice and choice is hugely important to me.
I was raised in a family of sharp dressers. The men and women alike could be found sporting flashy accents to compliment timelessly elegant basics. I learned early the importance of presentation, how to build an outfit from the skin out and girdles were a must since I was 9 when I was informed that my behind jiggled too much. My mom did not work outside the home but she wasn't one to be found looking anything but put together. A trip the grocery store was an event that called for stockings, a nice dress or skirt/top combination and low heels and her hair was always done. On church days we all stepped it up several notches since apparently Jesus preferred us to look spiffy. My brothers started wearing suits before they even started school and tennis shoes never darkened the door of the sanctuary. To church my mom wore hats, she had dozens of boxes of them, amazing creations that defied gravity some in colors crayola hadn't gotten around to adding to their boxes back in the 80s. What I'm trying to say is I have a healthy appreciation for dressing up.
What I don't have an appreciation for is a myopic view of the past. In the days of yore that are being so fondly recalled I am noting that the strict adherence to fashion in that time is not at all being put in perspective. During this "wonderful" time period women didn't have the choice to wear anything but the uniform of the day that bespoke her femininity and social standing. Not everyone woman could afford these perfectly tailored garments with whimsical buttonholes and that were the equivalent of $72 dollars a dress in the current dollar value. That was a privilege afforded a relatively small percentage of the population. Everyone else did the best the could to adhere to the standards with varying amounts of success.
I believe the ability to choose is wonderful. To not have to put on stocking and heels to go grocery shopping is great! Now personally I am not in favor of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I love dressing up, I simply think it's dangerous to romanticize a period where it was compulsory.
I was raised in a family of sharp dressers. The men and women alike could be found sporting flashy accents to compliment timelessly elegant basics. I learned early the importance of presentation, how to build an outfit from the skin out and girdles were a must since I was 9 when I was informed that my behind jiggled too much. My mom did not work outside the home but she wasn't one to be found looking anything but put together. A trip the grocery store was an event that called for stockings, a nice dress or skirt/top combination and low heels and her hair was always done. On church days we all stepped it up several notches since apparently Jesus preferred us to look spiffy. My brothers started wearing suits before they even started school and tennis shoes never darkened the door of the sanctuary. To church my mom wore hats, she had dozens of boxes of them, amazing creations that defied gravity some in colors crayola hadn't gotten around to adding to their boxes back in the 80s. What I'm trying to say is I have a healthy appreciation for dressing up.
What I don't have an appreciation for is a myopic view of the past. In the days of yore that are being so fondly recalled I am noting that the strict adherence to fashion in that time is not at all being put in perspective. During this "wonderful" time period women didn't have the choice to wear anything but the uniform of the day that bespoke her femininity and social standing. Not everyone woman could afford these perfectly tailored garments with whimsical buttonholes and that were the equivalent of $72 dollars a dress in the current dollar value. That was a privilege afforded a relatively small percentage of the population. Everyone else did the best the could to adhere to the standards with varying amounts of success.
I believe the ability to choose is wonderful. To not have to put on stocking and heels to go grocery shopping is great! Now personally I am not in favor of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I love dressing up, I simply think it's dangerous to romanticize a period where it was compulsory.
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