The Yoga Pants trend

[LizzieMaine]

That's the thing -- even when worn by the type for whom they were designed, a lot of modern styles make the wearer look like a cross-dressing teenage boy. Is that, in fact, the modern ideal?

 

[rue]

Personally I just avoid Wally-World as much as I can and that makes it easier to avoid seeing people dressed like idiots for the most part

I really think it should be mandatory for everyone to have a full length mirror and even better would be a three way mirror. Maybe that would cut down on the scariness.

 

[Flicka]

That's the thing -- even when worn by the type for whom they were designed, a lot of modern styles make the wearer look like a cross-dressing teenage boy. Is that, in fact, the modern ideal?

Need you ask? The modern ideal is for a woman who look like a boy in the street and a Playboy girl in the bedroom. I don't know how it's supposed to be possible though, unless she's partly inflatable (but I wouldn't put it past Cosmo to imply that we should be).

 

[LizzieMaine]

"We've come so far."

 

[sheeplady]

That's the thing -- even when worn by the type for whom they were designed, a lot of modern styles make the wearer look like a cross-dressing teenage boy. Is that, in fact, the modern ideal?

If you look at most of the modern models, they are basically like adolescent boys, although some of them are like adolescent boys with breast implants. It isn't just about being thin (many women who are quite thin still have hips and butts) but actually about being thin and hip-less. I think there could be some disagreement about if models actually represent the "ideal" to most people, but they certainly represent the ideal the corporations that employ them want people to have.

Along with vanity sizing, what I like to call the "tubing" of clothes (which basically means they don't account for hips or bust versus waist) is one of the reasons I've given up on most modern clothing.

 

[Jim Brown]

so what I'm reading from everyone here is women should dress solely to be attractive to men? "We've come so far?" hardly reading this, you've gone back...

 

[Flicka]

so what I'm reading from everyone here is women should dress solely to be attractive to men? "We've come so far?" hardly reading this, you've gone back...

No, I think people should dress to look good to me. I don't really care about what men think about them.

 

[sheeplady]

so what I'm reading from everyone here is women should dress solely to be attractive to men? "We've come so far?" hardly reading this, you've gone back...

Where do you get that from?

I'm quite seriously asking that.

 

[fortworthgal]

Not going to lie - I wear yoga and lounge pants quite often, and yes, I even wear them to the grocery store sometimes. Mine aren't skin-tight (honestly most yoga pants are somewhat loose fitting), they are clean and in good condition, and I do check my appearance in a mirror before I leave the house, so my appearance shouldn't be offensive to anyone.

Interesting how we all complain about the judgment and "looks" we get for wearing vintage, yet we have no problem judging what others wear.

I love and wear vintage often (wearing full-on vintage today, in fact), but I also like to wear modern comfort clothing. To further the horror & astonishment, I even sometimes wear flip-flops and wear my hair flat-ironed. Oh, and I own Uggs. If that makes me too casual or un-hardcore-vintage enough for this forum, so be it.

 

[Dinerman]

Interesting how we all complain about the judgment and "looks" we get for wearing vintage, yet we have no problem judging what others wear.

:eusa_clap

 

[LizzieMaine]

No, I think people should dress to look good to me. I don't really care about what men think about them.

Best comment in the whole thread.

 

[Flicka]

Interesting how we all complain about the judgment and "looks" we get for wearing vintage, yet we have no problem judging what others wear.

I know. I'm reeeeaaaaally bad at judging others. For all sorts of things. I'll happily admit it. Plenty of hypocrisy here.

Personally, I wear jeans, band shirts, don't fix my hair on the weekends... And I have nothing against comfort clothing. It's just as easy to look like a dork in a suit as in sweatpants, IMO. So FWG, we can be unfashionable and un-hardcore vintage together. (because I bet we can rock that look, haha)

 

[MisterCairo]

Having read through this thread, I have an urge to join a yoga class then have a gin and tonic.....

 

[fortworthgal]

I know. I'm reeeeaaaaally bad at judging others. For all sorts of things. I'll happily admit it. Plenty of hypocrisy here.

Personally, I wear jeans, band shirts, don't fix my hair on the weekends... And I have nothing against comfort clothing. It's just as easy to look like a dork in a suit as in sweatpants, IMO. So FWG, we can be unfashionable and un-hardcore vintage together. (because I bet we can rock that look, haha)

Oh yeah, we can totally rock it. (And I'll be the first to admit, I have a bad habit of being judgmental as well!)

 

[sheeplady]

I love and wear vintage often (wearing full-on vintage today, in fact), but I also like to wear modern comfort clothing. To further the horror & astonishment, I even sometimes wear flip-flops and wear my hair flat-ironed. Oh, and I own Uggs. If that makes me too casual or un-hardcore-vintage enough for this forum, so be it.

I think there are two levels of judgement, maybe 3:
1. I personally don't like that, and think it's ugly. I would never wear something or would never wear something in that context.
2. I have some reason to let a person know it's inappropriate to wear something in some context and I do so nicely in private.
3. I make a face, or a nasty comment that implies that it is ugly to a wearer's face.

It's perfectly natural to not like certain things and to a certain extent pass judgement based upon the way someone is dressed. I don't care if people want to make fun of the way I look or how I act, as long as they do it in private. I'm pretty sure that happens all the time. If they do it in public to my face, that crosses the border into rude behavior. It's inappropriate, and it doesn't matter if it is someone wearing yoga pants to a professional interview or wearing a vintage suit; civilized people don't laugh, point, or make rude comments at others for how they are dressed.

I've gotten nasty looks from people for wearing sweatpants on the commuter bus on my way to the gym. Likewise, I've gotten nasty looks from people in a polished suit, jacket, and stockings. I think the nastiness of people towards others has less to do with the actual clothing worn or the wearer and more to do with a pervasive culture of rudeness and incivility that we have developed.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I couldn't possibly care less what individuals do as long as they stay off my lawn while doing it. I do, however, care very much about *why* individuals do what they do -- what it is about the culture that motivates them to make the choices they do, and what the larger impact of those choices might be. Anyone ought to wonder about those things -- if we're truly as independent as we like to think we are, we ought to be asking ourselves those questions about everything we see and experience.

 

[Feraud]

I think the nastiness of people towards others has less to do with the actual clothing worn or the wearer and more to do with a pervasive culture of rudeness and incivility that we have developed.

Well said. I've encountered just as many boors in ties as in denim.

 

[Deafjeff]

I agree completly with what has been said so far. You can dress like a million bucks or like a hobo but its certainly who you are that should be judged the most. Wether your a good person or not matters more. I was just a bit concerned with how casual everything seems to have become lately, to the point that people are wearing stuff that I think many would consider not really appropriate for certain settings. People not knowing this or just plain not caring about it is in my opinion a bit sad. Just wanted to tell you fine gents and ladies that.

 

[fortworthgal]

I think there are two levels of judgement, maybe 3:
1. I personally don't like that, and think it's ugly. I would never wear something or would never wear something in that context.
2. I have some reason to let a person know it's inappropriate to wear something in some context and I do so nicely in private.
3. I make a face, or a nasty comment that implies that it is ugly to a wearer's face.

It's perfectly natural to not like certain things and to a certain extent pass judgement based upon the way someone is dressed. I don't care if people want to make fun of the way I look or how I act, as long as they do it in private. I'm pretty sure that happens all the time. If they do it in public to my face, that crosses the border into rude behavior. It's inappropriate, and it doesn't matter if it is someone wearing yoga pants to a professional interview or wearing a vintage suit; civilized people don't laugh, point, or make rude comments at others for how they are dressed.

I've gotten nasty looks from people for wearing sweatpants on the commuter bus on my way to the gym. Likewise, I've gotten nasty looks from people in a polished suit, jacket, and stockings. I think the nastiness of people towards others has less to do with the actual clothing worn or the wearer and more to do with a pervasive culture of rudeness and incivility that we have developed.

I agree with you and see what you're saying. There are many things people wear which I do not care for, and would never wear myself (pants hanging down so low they expose boxer shorts would be one...) However, I would never say that to a wearer's face.

But I'm also not convinced it is any "better" to make fun of something on a public internet message board vs. saying something rude to someone's face.

I've seen several of these threads in my time here and it seems they turn nasty quickly.

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today. :lol:

 

[bunnyb.gal]

Yoga Pants are very tight fitting stretchy pants designed to allow the wearer to contort into all manner of strange positions without interference from the garment. They're very tight fitting on the lady's bum. I don't really think it's fair to compare yoga pants to men's dress pants, but YMMV.

Not strictly true. Different yoga styles have different ways of dressing, and for different reasons. If you were to go to a Bikram class, for example, you might go in teeny weeny tight shorts and a tank top to cope with the extreme heat. If you dressed like that for a Sivananda class, where the standard is very loose-fitting trousers and perhaps a t-shirt, you might not even be allowed in, as it is considered disrespectful to show too much flesh and/or body contours. I think instead of "yoga pants", leggings would be a much more appropriate term.

Oh, and as an instructor, the strangest of all positions to me is that of the round-shouldered slumping person who may be unable to do something so basic as touch his or her toes! :eeek:

Exactly right. The main problem I have with modern styles is that they simply make no aesthetic sense. You mean you actually *wanted* to accentuate your belly, your thighs, and your backside like that, in such a way that your entire body is thrown out of proportion? Is the Papuan Fertility Idol look really in vogue this season?

Mental note to self - after getting dressed and before leaving the house must ask myself: Do I look hot in this, or just Hottentot?

The funniest part of yoga pants, and even t-shirts and jeans for that matter, is that on many it doesn't even look very flattering. One of the great ironies of modern fashion is while it projects an image of egalitarianism, in truth only a supermodel looks even halfway decent in it. This is in stark contrast to the styles of the Golden Era which made almost any woman look attractive.

I must spend my working life in stretchy, gymgoer-type trousers. I do my best to avoid either baggy, shapeless and non-flattering workout gear. For me it has to be as modest as possible, yet contoured enough for people to be able to easily see what I am demo-ing, and non-restrictive. I refuse, however, to wear this gear when not teaching or working out, idem for trainers. The second I'm done with work, into my 1940's "civvies"!