Disaffected.citizen wrote:A real can of worms there CRF![]()
I would be hard pushed to pin actual dates, but I suspect Ally McBeal had some influence on hemlines in professional settings; so IMDB might provide some point of reference.
Pdxfashionpioneer wrote:I'm not sure what the value of pursuing the history is.
I remember that in the early 80's there was a woman in a low-level backoffice position who was criticized behind for her miniskirts.
She was beautiful, with a good figure and great legs. Who cares which birthday she had passed? She looked terrific, even if she was a little out of step.
A few years prior, miniskirts had been quite acceptable.
There just weren't many women in high-level positions and fewer yet who looked good in minis. Several years later, it was anything goes, so long as it looked good and didn't look overtly trampy.
I think "The West Wing" does a good job of reflecting the business attire of the period (mid-90's) in which it was shot.
What matters is what are people wearing to work now? Anyone planning to wear a skirt or dress to work should look around the office they're working in and try to figure out what things that the women are wearing would look good on themselves.
If that's too small a sample size or you're some sort of free-lancer or consultant, make a point of finding a busy street corner and staying outside during lunch hour to observe.
Then dress a half of a step more conservatively or more formally than your female peers.
I say that because I feel we're betting a little of our professional credibility with this step so to maintain your status you go high not low, to paraphrase the First Lady.
(Yet another example of what a loss this last election inflicted.)
This should be a better guide than anything that gets posted on this forum because every city is a little different.
Sadlt, I concur. To some extent, I suspect there is an element of economics where times are hard; however, a quote of old comes to mind: "to be poor is unfortunate, to look poor is unforgivable".crfriend wrote:.... I regard that slovenliness as failure and am interested in the time-line and path that led us to that failure.
I agree with the first quote, completely; sadly, the herd seems not to. The second is more flexible in that we learn from successes, too.After all, "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it." Blending that ancient sentiment with the more modern engineering-influenced "failure is more valuable as a learning tool than success" yields the ideas above. In short, "Reverse-engineer the failure, learn from it, and don't let it happen again." (Something else will, and then we'll learn from that.)
My earlier reference was to "pop culture"; it has a significant influence on trends.On "Ally McBeal" and the media, I tend to regard the media with suspicion at best and at worst with contempt. They get it wrong more often than they seem to get it right, yet lemmings follow it blindly and unquestioningly. Note my commentary on attire worn by women in court settings in the north-east US.
Oh, yesI'm a big fan of short skirts on attractive women, but I'm also sensitive to setting. I've also seen 70-year-olds who can rock a mini with more aplomb than the cutest 17-year-old available. (Competence and skill is an aphrodisiac for me, vastly more-so than simple looks.)
That was hilariously lampooned in the movie Zorro, the Gay Blade as, "There is no shame in being poor -- only in dressing poorly!" (The flick is awash in good lines and over the top costuming.)Disaffected.citizen wrote:[... A] quote of old comes to mind: "to be poor is unfortunate, to look poor is unforgivable".
We do, but success breeds complacency. Recall my comment on "slovenliness as success" in my original missive. Once you've accepted something as successful, it tends to remain a constant. It's only when untried things are attempted that failure takes on an important role[... W]e learn from successes, too.
A comment on lemmings would not be out of place here.My earlier reference was to "pop culture"; it has a significant influence on trends.
Gordon wrote:Location and money are a big part of how people dress also. I live about 50 miles north of Seattle Washington in what could be called a rural area. When the wife and I go shopping at a local mall you hardly ever see people "dressed up". But if you go near downtown Seattle or over to the east side of Lake Washington to Bellevue there is a distinct difference in how people dress. There were lots of dresses, skirts, hosiery and high heels. Bellevue is known to be a very rich area of Washington state. You see lots of very expensive cars.
moonshadow wrote:[...] I still believe we're overlooking the 800lb gorilla in the room... when it comes to evolution, we (men in skirts) are blazing our own trail, "evolving" in our own direction. Why do we spend so much time trying to decipher what's in style for women?
If it's all about what's in style, we'd be best to stick to kilts of various types and refrain from anything "womens".
Since my employer has strict rules on what's acceptable per gender [...]
MEANWHILE, whilst eating at a Captain D's in Bristol with Amber, an elderly, somewhat chubby woman was across the room. She looked to be in her 80's or 90's, and as far as her body goes, well past her prime, but she was wearing the most elegant gown I'd ever seen. A long white flowing gown type dress with golden trim. She had a small flower tied in her hair. The outfit looked somewhat biblical, and I wondered if she was one of those hard nosed religious types that would douse me with holy water and salt.
I was wearing one of my skirted outfits, I believe a floral skirt with a decorative top. As she walked by, she stopped, smiled at me, put her hand on my shoulder and said "you look very pretty today!". I smiled back at her and said "thanks- I was thinking the same about you!". She told me to have a blessed day and went on her way.
Granted, not something that would suit me to wear for myself, but I have to give her props for her uniqueness.
Moonshadow wrote:She told me to have a blessed day and went on her way.
crfriend wrote:On reflection...Moonshadow wrote:She told me to have a blessed day and went on her way.
Do you suppose you may have brushed wings with another Wiccan? That's not a typical Christian line.
That depends on where you're located.crfriend wrote:On reflection...That's not a typical Christian line.
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