There Oughta Be a Dress Code...

[AntonAAK]

when I took a cross-country bus in the early '80s, a girl with a guitar did a recital of spirituals from Amarillo to Albuquerque and those who knew the words were encouraged to join in. It was a pleasant way of killing the boredom, and helped relieve the uneasiness you feel when surrounded by random strangers.

Can you imagine something like that on a bus or a plane nowadays? Why not?

I'm sorry but I can't think of anything worse...

 

[JeffOYB]

Amazing.

Well, when I biked in Europe in the 80's the campgrounds only had one bonfire for every tenting section, not for every tent, like in the US. So all the campers in a section would get together around the fire in the evening and guitars would come out. Structure can be conducive to conviviality. I wonder if it still happens like that over there... I also recall the tenting was cheek-by-jowl and so quiet voices among the tents were all that was allowed/tolerated.

 

[sheeplady]

An interesting cultural contrast: I was listening to a 1939 radio interview the other night with a cross-country Greyhound bus driver, who had a lot to say about what went into making the ride endurable. Number one on his list was having a bus full of "chinners," or active conversationalists, people who made a point of having conversations with their neighbors. Those who have seen "It Happened One Night" will remember the bus scenes, where at one point the passengers got into a rousing sing-along version of "The Man On The Flying Trapeze." That sort of thing wasn't a movie fiction -- Greyhound drivers had a policy of actively encouraging the passengers to entertain themselves that way, and that was still the policy into relatively modern times: when I took a cross-country bus in the early '80s, a girl with a guitar did a recital of spirituals from Amarillo to Albuquerque and those who knew the words were encouraged to join in. It was a pleasant way of killing the boredom, and helped relieve the uneasiness you feel when surrounded by random strangers.

Can you imagine something like that on a bus or a plane nowadays? Why not?

The last time I was on a bus in the middle of the day, several of the younger people (high school age) were singing amazing grace. Several people joined in- maybe about half the bus. It did end when the students got off.

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

I think that you have to allow for a different "dress code" for the TSA and modern flying than anywhere else. You can go for decades in American without being frisked or strip searched, but step into an airport and you can get both at each airport on your journey. I wear scrub pants (side pockets for the plane tickets), a hoodie, and slip on shoes for traveling. I now have my travel hat from Tony B, so imagine that outfit with a charcoal gray fedora... I haven't gotten to get felt up yet, but there's always time for that.

Just my $0.02 and worth every scent

(spelling error, but it was funny)

 

[AmateisGal]

I understand where you're coming from, but the idea fills me with horror. I travel a lot on my own, and the concept of not having my own world into which to retreat is a depressing one. 99.9% of the time, I don't want to interact with strangers - I've even been known to carry a book in order to avoid it. I have enough enforced small-talk and awkwardness at work - when I retire to the hotel for the night, I don't want more! Half the time I'm not really paying much attention to the phone at all, but it's an easy barrier. It's either that or take up smoking cigarettes.

You just described me. We are classic introverts.

 

[Edward]

I know the feeling. Airports remind me of work. As soon as I'm out of there I can get a holiday vibe though (as long as I'm not in Brussels, haha).

One day I need to spend a long weekend there and see something other than the airport, an anonymous hotel, and Commission buildings.... I don't know what ese there is to see mind. I do have a hankering for Bruges...

I personally think airline travel should at least include a nod or Hi but I notice nowadays a lot of instant shielding.

It's the only way. You have to give out the "don't bother me" signals right from the off - some people still struggle to get the message.

Then there are the earbuds in public thing which can be a problem as somewhat often people do need to communicate, especially for safety. I often come up on people on narrow paths and I say Hi as I'm coming up but they jump, startled. Their fault, of course. Or a group of us on bikes will come upon a voluntarily deaf person and have to stop and tap their shoulder, then they startle again in addition to balking us needlessly.

That's a different thing from simply using them to ward people off, though.

A two-cent newspaper made an effective "don't bother me" signal on the trains, planes, or subways of the 1930s. One reason tabloid papers became so popular in the cities during the Era is that they were easier for public-transit straphangers to hold up in front of their faces than broadsheets.

Me, I just go to sleep. No devices needed.

Heh, yeah.... I've faked sleep to keep people away more than once. Wouldn't work on anyone who knows me, though, not with my snoring problem.

Like: What difference is there between reading a book or newspaper in public and reading a hand-device or laptop?

None..... save that they've got you if our battery goes down when not near any plug socket.

Been there, done that.
It works brilliantly (minus the crossing of the streets with headphones on, it's against the law here..)
Great thing about NOT playing the tunes is that I could HEAR what they were saying about me as I walk by.. There was a lot of "No, she can't hear you, she's one of THOSE people" (I never got to find out what was being one of "those" all about.. I guessed it had something to do with excluding the rest of the world). And there was "Young people these days..". And, naturally, "Poser".
Poser?
I wasn't posing, sir.. I was simply IGNORING you.
Now, with my new "I'm not wearing headphones, yet I sill ignore you" method.. Everyone remain silent. I guess it's easier to say it to my back, or to my covered ears, than to take courage and call me rude to my face.. lol



R.E.S.P.E.C.T. :thumb:
It's all I can say.

Ha... Yes, it's certainly enlightening what peopel say about you when they think you can't hear!

Then again, since I mostly do this in airports or in the eurocrat area in Brussels, a phone user must be considered a minor blot on the landscape compared to the frightful architecture that surrounds me

Dear me, yes.

I agree 100% with the need for actual dress codes anymore, especially when in a location that has the level of class that should demand better dress. As far as smoking, it seems that with all of the smoking bans, any smoking area outside is typically loaded with the same people that irritate with with their lack of respect in a formal setting, etc.

Still, small price to pay for not having sore eyes, headaches, and comng home at the end of the night with clean clothes smellingl ike you rolled in an ash tray.

As far as dress codes in airports and on planes are concerned, when one is being herded like cattle into a cattle car, one can't be too fussy about what other people are wearing. I'm happy if they've simply had a bath.

The only way civility is ever going to return to airports is if the airlines treat passengers like passengers and not cargo. And that ain't likely to happen as long as there's a buck to be made.

What has killed it is the market for cheap travel. Ryanair, Easyjet..... it's amazing what people will put up with for a bargain. I know, to some extent I do it myself. WEll..... easyjet I'll fly with as a last resort - if Ryanair are the only option I'll simply choose not to travel.

An interesting cultural contrast: I was listening to a 1939 radio interview the other night with a cross-country Greyhound bus driver, who had a lot to say about what went into making the ride endurable. Number one on his list was having a bus full of "chinners," or active conversationalists, people who made a point of having conversations with their neighbors. Those who have seen "It Happened One Night" will remember the bus scenes, where at one point the passengers got into a rousing sing-along version of "The Man On The Flying Trapeze." That sort of thing wasn't a movie fiction -- Greyhound drivers had a policy of actively encouraging the passengers to entertain themselves that way, and that was still the policy into relatively modern times: when I took a cross-country bus in the early '80s, a girl with a guitar did a recital of spirituals from Amarillo to Albuquerque and those who knew the words were encouraged to join in. It was a pleasant way of killing the boredom, and helped relieve the uneasiness you feel when surrounded by random strangers.

Can you imagine something like that on a bus or a plane nowadays? Why not?

Honestly, even just the thought of such enforced socialisation makes my skin crawl.

Hi

I think that you have to allow for a different "dress code" for the TSA and modern flying than anywhere else. You can go for decades in American without being frisked or strip searched, but step into an airport and you can get both at each airport on your journey. I wear scrub pants (side pockets for the plane tickets), a hoodie, and slip on shoes for traveling. I now have my travel hat from Tony B, so imagine that outfit with a charcoal gray fedora... I haven't gotten to get felt up yet, but there's always time for that.

Just my $0.02 and worth every scent

(spelling error, but it was funny)

Never had a problem with dressing the way I do and air travel.... of course, I'm not embarrassed to take as long as I need to halfway disrobe and put everything in the tray. A nice bonus of leather-soled shoes is that I'm rarely asked to remove them for the scanner in the way I would be with gutties and whatever.

 

[Undertow]

I am 100% against dress codes, just as I'm 100% against being told what literature I should enjoy, or what food I should eat, or what programs I should watch.

That said, I yearn for the days when people willingly attend a reception in evening clothes, or don a suit and tie at a restaurant, or, -gasp- slacks and jacket at a dinner party with friends. In fact, those who came stumbling into a reception dressed like blind hillbillies would be shamed back out the door.

From what I understand, people used to want to look nice. [huh] Now it's come as you are, let it all hang out, grab a cheap beer and glance at your cell phone all night.

 

[LizzieMaine]

In fact, those who came stumbling into a reception dressed like blind hillbillies would be shamed back out the door.

Even hillbillies had a sense of occasion.

 

[AmateisGal]

I am 100% against dress codes, just as I'm 100% against being told what literature I should enjoy, or what food I should eat, or what programs I should watch.

That said, I yearn for the days when people willingly attend a reception in evening clothes, or don a suit and tie at a restaurant, or, -gasp- slacks and jacket at a dinner party with friends. In fact, those who came stumbling into a reception dressed like blind hillbillies would be shamed back out the door.

From what I understand, people used to want to look nice. [huh] Now it's come as you are, let it all hang out, grab a cheap beer and glance at your cell phone all night.

Agree 110%. :eusa_clap

 

[m0nk]

I am 100% against dress codes, just as I'm 100% against being told what literature I should enjoy, or what food I should eat, or what programs I should watch.

That said, I yearn for the days when people willingly attend a reception in evening clothes, or don a suit and tie at a restaurant, or, -gasp- slacks and jacket at a dinner party with friends. In fact, those who came stumbling into a reception dressed like blind hillbillies would be shamed back out the door.

From what I understand, people used to want to look nice. [huh] Now it's come as you are, let it all hang out, grab a cheap beer and glance at your cell phone all night.

It's because the vast majority of people have lost that desire that dress codes are sometimes nice. It enforces the quality of dress in a modern world where those who want to dress nicely don't feel as if they're being shamed out the door for an event that would otherwise call for it. Just my opinion, though.

 

[sheeplady]

I'd already say that the airlines have a dress code. It's called stuff that can be taken off easily, has no metal, and you don't care if an agent stuffs it in a bin and puts your shoes on top.

 

[scottyrocks]

I've found that the further I go away from an urban center, the harder it is to find a restaurant, for instance, with a jacket-and-tie dress code. This is probably due to congestion. Urban centers have the population and the money to support fancier places - those who have the desire and the money for a dining experience that features fine food and atmosphere, and the snobbery that often goes with it.

 

[Edward]

I am 100% against dress codes, just as I'm 100% against being told what literature I should enjoy, or what food I should eat, or what programs I should watch.

That said, I yearn for the days when people willingly attend a reception in evening clothes, or don a suit and tie at a restaurant, or, -gasp- slacks and jacket at a dinner party with friends. In fact, those who came stumbling into a reception dressed like blind hillbillies would be shamed back out the door.

From what I understand, people used to want to look nice. [huh] Now it's come as you are, let it all hang out, grab a cheap beer and glance at your cell phone all night.

There was a time when I objected to the idea of a dress code. No longer. They're stupid in some instances - see, for example, department store Harrods which (last time I paid attention, anyhow) had a door policy which banned specifically short trousers and ripped jeans. Despite the dim view I take of particularly short trousers myself, it always seemed rather jumped up for a mere shop to have a dress code. Other instances, I like them a lot. If your venue is going for a theme - whether that's goth, school uniform, vintage or whatever - and that is an integral part of the experience, I consider it important to turn away those who make no effort whatever. The things that succeed in this vein by and large do so because the club night sticks to their policy: I've seen one too many events crash and burn because they're far too full of tourists who want to laugh at the freaks or otherwise can't be bothered. Creates a sense of identity, somewhere that those who do belong will want to return to. no need for it to be too exclusionary (I heard of one vintage themed night in London that died the death when they got silly with it, turning people away for wearing "brown in town" and that sort of thing), but a vintage night should be a vintage night... and the rest. A dresscode is also a useful way of keeping trouble makers out - no sports / political colours, for example. In terms of restaurants and so on, it will again depend on the market. If what you are selling is a classy experience part of which is patrons make an effort, then you have to protect that business by setting and enforcing a standard.

 

[LocktownDog]

Bingo.

 

[Lily Powers]

when I took a cross-country bus in the early '80s, a girl with a guitar did a recital of spirituals from Amarillo to Albuquerque and those who knew the words were encouraged to join in. It was a pleasant way of killing the boredom, and helped relieve the uneasiness you feel when surrounded by random strangers
Can you imagine something like that on a bus or a plane nowadays? Why not?

I'm sorry but I can't think of anything worse...

Oh yeah? How about a mime? Crowded bus, standing room only... girl gets on and starts miming, with an occasional narrative about her next skit. Mimes creep me out when they perform on the street, and to sit inches away from one for blocks on end... I'll sing a spiritual any day over that.

 

[Edward]

Oh yeah? How about a mime? Crowded bus, standing room only... girl gets on and starts miming, with an occasional narrative about her next skit. Mimes creep me out when they perform on the street, and to sit inches away from one for blocks on end... I'll sing a spiritual any day over that.

Aren't mimes the reason why you folks have the Second Amendment?

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Oh yeah? How about a mime? Crowded bus, standing room only... girl gets on and starts miming, with an occasional narrative about her next skit. Mimes creep me out when they perform on the street, and to sit inches away from one for blocks on end... I'll sing a spiritual any day over that.

I have been giggling non-stop for about three days now (must be hormonal!) and this just set me off. I can only imagine. A sing-along would horrify me, too. I'd be embarassed if I were in either situation.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Aren't mimes the reason why you folks have the Second Amendment?

In the very least it makes you wish you had a real box to shove them into just like the one they're always pretending to be trapped in. Get out of this one, Sunshine!

 

[LizzieMaine]

All I can say is the gal with the spirituals was a lot more pleasant than the sweaty 350 pound elephant who sat next to me from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. With a stinking black rope of a cigar stuck in his kisser the whole way. I'd have gladly welcomed a mime over him.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Years ago I was on a bus and there was this mountain of a man who must have been 6'4", 400 lbs. He was walking up and down the aisle and preaching.