The Yoga Pants trend

[Flicka]

Did you dress grunge for your job interviews? Or did you do what every grunger in my law school class did when going out job hunting - get a haircut and a suit?

By the time I started job hunting, the grunge era was over. I got a suit of course, because a job is like being invited to someone else's party; they get to set the dress code. But my ex - and brother in law - who both worked as highly specialised programmers, did hang on to their ratty t-shirts. My ex always said people wouldn't think he was any good at what he did if he didn't. Computeer geeks and all, you know. So I suppose they had a dress code of another sort!

There's nothing wrong with adaptability. Only a very rude person behaves like the world is their party. But no one dress code fits all events!

And no one should ever wear flannel shirts and long unkempt hair. I have no excuse except that I was young! Luckily, time has fixed that for me!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

You know, people speak of required dress codes a lot. I am no expert on the past, I wasn't there. I just find it hard to believe that everywhere you went, there was a dress code. It was taught from a young age what was acceptable and what wasn't and people followed suit.

I also prefer the days when crowds at sporting events resembled this:

I agree with you both; I'm happy in a society that allows me to dress as I like. But shouldn't there ever be a time when one wears a "uniform" of sorts to an event? Or at least something a person could say "shows respect"?

Let's take a professional sporting event as example. Many fans find it acceptable, no, maybe obligatory, to wear their team colors, foam hats, face paint, etc. when the home team is playing. No one is FORCED to wear those silly outfits, but they do it anyway. Or let's make this even more simple, many folks wear some kind of "acceptable" clothing to their jobs, whether it's khaki pants, or Dickies, or a suit. You don't see a lumberjack cutting down trees in his Crocs.

I agree with your point and I give you kudos for following the rules of one's home. I had some friends over last night. One refused to take his hat off, no big deal, I ignored it. However, I thought it was ridiculous that he threw a fit because I asked him to put his beer on a coaster. After explaining to him that my end tables are over 50 years old and I can't just go buy new ones, he came to his senses.

I think a big reason why these codes are 'dated' is because nobody takes the time to teach them. Right or wrong, it's a fact. I personally think it's a shame.

I think that private entities have the right to enforce dress codes. If I worked for you, I'd follow your rules. If you had none, I'd do as I liked. If I visited your house, I'd respect your rules. Hats off if you said so, shoes off if it was what everyone did in your house. I'm against public dress codes. Fortunately, private entities far outnumber public. In a world where people wanted them, dress codes could easily be almost everrywhere. My right to do what I want ends on someone else's property. I don't know what I'd do for my own wedding if ever, but I do know I'd respect someone else's. That said, the onus of enforcement is on the host. I'd only expect that others return the favor to me. In a world without dress codes, it's not fair to hold people to them, especially if they're decades dated.

I have to say, I've noticed when I go to the bar on Saturday nights, that folks are 'dressed up.' Now, not what I would consider dressed up, but definitely a modern, youthful counterpart. I'm just happy to see people making an effort with their appearance.

If you're running down to the gas station to grab a 40oz beer and a pack of Camels, just make sure you have underwear on. But if you're going to a friend's house, or a bar, or the library, or class, or the doctor's office, or a funeral, OR EVEN WAL-MART...I mean, perhaps there should be a light bulb moment at some point that makes you wonder what would be appropriate?

 

[herringbonekid]

...or "I should not leave the house in my underwear,"?

how about where self respect and dignity begin ? if i walked down the street in underwear i would expect people to look at me strangely and maybe start moving out of the way. usually though, the wearing of very revealing attire only happens within sanctioned areas such as night clubs. to people who say 'wear whatever you like, wherever you like; being you is the most important thing' i would say you're forgetting that context is everything.

 

[Pompidou]

how about where self respect and dignity begin ? if i walked down the street in underwear i would expect people to look at me strangely and maybe start moving out of the way. usually though, the wearing of very revealing attire only happens within sanctioned areas such as night clubs. to people who say 'wear whatever you like, wherever you like; being you is the most important thing' i would say you're forgetting that context is everything.

Ah, yes. Context. The context is Walmart, 2012, 3AM. What do you wear? The context is your local high school. What context would your kid be dressing for? Context is great. Context implies doing "what is done" by society at large. We don't do it. As we try and figure out what context is, we can take some comfort in knowning what it isn't: dressing up for the occasion. That's not the context anymore, or we'd not be having a discussion. To anyone who believes people shouldn't go against the grain, do you wear modern fashion? If not, it seems we need a bigger classroom for learning about what's appropriate. We're experts at what was appropriate, but that's a whole different ball game. Overdressing is just as out of context as underdressing. I know. I do it all the time.

 

[herringbonekid]

The context is Walmart, 2012, 3AM. What do you wear? The context is your local high school. What context would your kid be dressing for?

those would both come under the context of 'everyday street / casual wear'... which is very broad today, but would still not include full medieval armour, latex S&M gear, or top hat and tails.


edit: as a vintage wearer i can tell you that my personal dress code easily falls into everyday street wear and causes me zero raised eyebrows. if i wore full Victorian attire though instead of 30s -40s everyday clothing, i would expect a pretty high degree of attention, and would have to deal with it. why ? even though Victorian clothing is great, the context in which it was worn has changed so much that it now looks anachronistic.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I agree with your point and I give you kudos for following the rules of one's home. I had some friends over last night. One refused to take his hat off, no big deal, I ignored it. However, I thought it was ridiculous that he threw a fit because I asked him to put his beer on a coaster. After explaining to him that my end tables are over 50 years old and I can't just go buy new ones, he came to his senses.

I think a big reason why these codes are 'dated' is because nobody takes the time to teach them. Right or wrong, it's a fact. I personally think it's a shame.

This is exactly it. If you don't teach your cat not to jump up on the table and steal the bacon, your cat is going to jump up on the table and steal the bacon. It isn't the cat's fault -- it's *your* fault for not teaching her what she shouldn't be doing.

People are the same way. They'll take the path of least resistance every time unless they're taught otherwise by some sort of social or cultural sanction. Refusing to teach those sanctions out of some kind of perverse idea of "encouraging free expression" does nobody any good.

 

[Flicka]

those would both come under the context of 'everyday street / casual wear'... which is very broad today, but would still not include full medieval armour, latex S&M gear, or top hat and tails.

Ha, I ran into a gentleman the other day wearing tails and top hat. He looked smashing, but a bit malplacé on the subway.

 

[Undertow]

...People are the same way. They'll take the path of least resistance every time unless they're taught otherwise by some sort of social or cultural sanction. Refusing to teach those sanctions out of some kind of perverse idea of "encouraging free expression" does nobody any good.

My lady and I are planning our evening wedding and we've just moved to invitations. We'd like folks to dress well so we've started discussing how to indicate this on the invitation cards. We've tentatively decided to use the term "classic cocktail attire" hoping folks will either Google it to understand what it means or, by some stroke of genius, already understand the basics. My point is, we aren't trying to be pretentious and we're not trying to make a statement, and God forbid we expect anyone to dress well to an evening wedding in 2012 of their own volition. It's just that we've both attended weddings without dress codes and ended up with anxiety attacks about over/underdressing.

We feel it is our responsibility to indicate to our guests that some kind of semi-formal attire is expected. It's not because we think it is okay to impose a dress code, rather, we feel it would be rude of us to place our guests in the awkward position of trying to determine how to dress for our event.

Ha, I ran into a gentleman the other day wearing tails and top hat. He looked smashing, but a bit malplacé on the subway.

You never know, he might have been Austrian Royalty!

...You obviously hav not been in some of the bars i have been in.

That could be. I will say that I used to tend bar at a shack on the north side of Des Moines which was a favorite hangout for the Firestone Tire union boys. Between the knock-down-drag-out brawls and the motorcycle gangs, I know what you mean about dressing right. It's not that they would have minded me wearing suits (I was the bartender after all), but they might not have taken kindly to some yuppy trying to push his way into their place. So yeah, context helps. Doesn't mean they showed up in underwear and rubber gloves, but then again, it was the kind of place you wanted to know someone BEFORE strolling in. Again, I'm not arguing we should all wear White-Tie to every event, but a little voice in our heads should tell us we might want to look nice - or in this case, look like a sweaty union laborer with an addiction.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Well, it sounds like your school is a rathe unique situation. Four year colleges do not have any kind of mission to teach kids how to dress.

No, it's not a unique situation--it's a career college, not a state four-year-degree college. You're right, four-year colleges could hardly care less about what their students do--they don't even care if they show up for class. But career colleges are required to maintain and are held to higher standards along the lines of attendence, graduation rates, loan default rates (even though they are not allowed to deny anyone from getting a loan), and job placement rates for starters.

The University where I got my bachelor's didn't do much for me beyond providing an instructor and a classroom (except for the online courses.) The career school where I went to get Microsoft certifications did have minimum standards for dress and did teach their students how to look for a job, what to wear while interviewing, and held practice interviews. Career schools cater to an entirely different type of student than 4-year schools whose primary source of students are those who just graduated from high school and usually come from a family with a history of family members going to university.

4-year universities and career colleges are completely different animals.

 

[Two Types]

Yoga Pants: I am a hypocrite when it comes to things like this.

If my wife wore them, I would laugh at her and refuse to walk down the street with her. If our daughter wore them, I would shake my head, disapprove, moan and maybe even shout. But she's a teenage girl - at that age you are supposed to make fashion/style mistakes.

When I see someone wearing them, and who has the figure to wear them, I would criticise them - but still have a damn good look.

Do I like them? No.
Is it any of my business if someone chooses to wear them? Absolutely not.

 

[Son_of_Atropos]

This is exactly it. If you don't teach your cat not to jump up on the table and steal the bacon, your cat is going to jump up on the table and steal the bacon. It isn't the cat's fault -- it's *your* fault for not teaching her what she shouldn't be doing.

People are the same way. They'll take the path of least resistance every time unless they're taught otherwise by some sort of social or cultural sanction. Refusing to teach those sanctions out of some kind of perverse idea of "encouraging free expression" does nobody any good.

Here. Here.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Yoga and yoga attire it seems, have a long and relevant history. I like Marilyn's yoga pants much more than the current trend even.
[video=youtube;mC1GMvC3eHY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mC1GMvC3eHY[/video]

 

[lframe]

Yoga and yoga attire it seems, have a long and relevant history. I like Marilyn's yoga pants much more than the current trend even.
[video=youtube;mC1GMvC3eHY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mC1GMvC3eHY[/video]

I like Maryilyn's yoga pants much better as well. (Said as I wear yoga pants, but I was actually practicing)

 

[Miss Golightly]

Thanks for posting that lovely video - Marilyn was such a beauty (what a fabulous figure she had too!)!

 

[magnolia76]

I travel once a week and almost always wear yoga pants to the airport. If they had more space between the seats I would dress a little nicer...either way I avoid mirrors at an airport.

 

[Pompidou]

It's not worth dressing to fly, that's for sure. Between the now mandatory TSA amateur porn shoot before boarding to being crammed like a sardine in a hot cabin, why bother?

 

[sheeplady]

Seriously, the last time I flew I had a TSA person have to feel around all my pockets (front and back, because the scanners apparently can't see through more than one layer of cotton), turn out my waistband (interfacing), and pat down my bra (again, two layers of the shirt and bra). I fear what another layer of clothing would have resulted in. Someday I am going to make the news because I'm going to have to strip down naked in public.

 

[Tango Yankee]

The romance is gone from air travel. Has been for a very long time. These days it's something to be endured for the most part. I flew to Minneapolis on Friday and back on Monday, first time since Port Columbus put in the new scanners. They even wanted any tissues or handkerchiefs out of the pockets. I was wearing leather suspenders with metal scissors clips, which are easy to remove and put back on. As for the strip down naked part, a guy did just that a couple of weeks ago. Not stoned, not drunk, just very, very tired of the whole thing.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[LizzieMaine]

Boarding call at your local airport, 2015

If they're going to treat you like a felon, you might as well dress like one.

 

[sheeplady]

For me, the only thing I really dislike about flying is the security. I like to fly, and wouldn't mind a job where I flew more. I find the seats comfortable, the crews tend to be nice, and most of the airports aren't too bad. The excitement hasn't worn off for me and I don't think it ever will. But security makes it pure evil. And I really want to know what good the scanners are going to do if they can't see into a pocket.