WHAT FASHION IS TODAY!!

[Fred in Skirts]

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[Sinned]

I know which I prefer. The fifties was a time of wonderful fashion. Nowadays it's just grunge.

[r.m.anderson]

Something anti-akin to "Rags to Riches"

AND this stuff is sold on the retail floor

Dresses to de pants and in some cases to hell with any modesty
No cover-up over tight tights or PH - may as well be painted on clothing

[denimini]

Skirts too. The description says great condition!

[Jim]

I think both pictures should be acceptable for men or women.

[Faldaguy]

A few years ago when this grunge fashion trend of torn jeans was emerging, a couple of us would approach, usually a young woman -- so "dressed" and offer to take her shopping given her obvious need. A few smiles but most of the retorts let us know we were out of line, so I still think it, but refrain from extending shopping excursions anymore.

[STEVIE]

Sorry Guys
I reckon we have no damn right to criticise other people's fashion choices.
Sure the 1950s women are visually more appealing in some eyes but a lot of those women would have been compelled to adopt those styles. Their choices would have been virtually nil.
What's more, a guy in a skirt in the 1950s west would have been Scots, crazy or possibly dead.
Yeah, we really wish to return to those good old days, don't we?
Maybe not the grunge look but our freedoms are largely based on how other trends have modified societies outlook regarding men in skirts.
Even at that, the attitude of so many of our generation would still be stuck way back then and judgement passed accordingly.
The kids have the right of it, they are not causing harm and actually don't care what the nay sayers think.
More importantly they would also be a hell of a lot more accepting of fashion variables than our beloved peer groups.
Hmmm, now where have I come across similar sentiments in the past?
Oh yeah, right here in this very establishment.
Steve.

[Sinned]

I agree with Steve here in that if people can appear so attired and raise no comment then a man in a skirt should expect the same lack of comment. My original comment just expressed which I prefer. I see the ripped jeans look ( and worse ) often in my line of work. A young woman occasionally comes into the store in 50's dress complete with hair band.

[crfriend]

I suspect that this may dovetail into my observation of a couple of weeks ago that compared what passes as "modern fashion" to the Brutalist style of architecture from the 1950s and '60s. This was epitomised by the use of raw concrete and simple (brutal) shapes, glass, and little colour. Compare and contrast to black leggings and tee-shirts in modern "style". This, of course, was pooh-poohed by somebody who probably objected to the use of the word "brutal" in the name.

I then went on to compare the Brutalist style to the New World version of Queen Anne revival [1] and asked the rhetorical question, "In which of these would you prefer to live?" because what we wear is part and parcel of "where we live". Would it be the posh Queen Anne gaily painted Victorian house or, say, Boston City Hall? One is elegant and luxurious and the other coldly functional.

Before anybody gets the wrong idea, I'd like to point out that Brutalist architecture can be quite good indeed -- it just needs to be done in moderation -- and I'm in a vocal minority (mainly architects) in New England that actually quite like Boston City Hall for its look and function and have since the 1960s when it was brand new. It's also widely hated, which unfortunately is not the case with jeans, legging, and tee-shirts (and associated grunge wear). Compare with Trinity Church or Old South Church some several blocks away which are late-Victorian and Renaissance Revival designs.


[1] ... and which got an absolutely wonderful satirical send-up in The Addams Family

[mishawakaskirt]

It's really sad to see where we have come from.

Even quite a few women wore skirts and dresses in the 90s when I was in highschool, to school and out and about. Now the blasted denim jeans or leggings are the norm.

I go to a fairly conservative church similar to that of a Baptist church. And on any given Sunday about 25 percent of the women are in skirts or dresses. I figure that probably is a higher than normal average than some fellowships.

Out the other night Christmas shopping, I think I saw 1 woman all night in a skirt, all others were in trousers.

It's culturally more than just fashion and the lack of skirts and dresses, it's the loss of femininity.

Short hair, the amount of women with short hair.

It still throws me off balance when I hear a woman use profanity. Most recently we had a outside inspection firm at our company. and during a discussion she drops out a few expletives.

Tattoos are in a huge increase on women.
And piercings on other parts of the body.

Both things I have never cared for. To be fair this goes for men and women.
The human body is a work of fine art. Tattoos are no more than graffiti on that work of art.
Would you take a pen or a hole puncher to the Mona Lisa?

Women got the equality they sought, they dress , talk, look and act like the boys.

Not a improvement upon society over all.
So much for fashion.

[Bodycon]

I suspect that this may dovetail into my observation of a couple of weeks ago that compared what passes as "modern fashion" to the Brutalist style of architecture from the 1950s and '60s.

"Passes as modern fashion", who are you / we to decide that? Do the current generation not get to rebel (if they want to) and do their thing, just as you and I may have done? Fashion is as much generational as it is cultural, the fashion that is relevant to me is not going to be relevant to an 18 year old.

Brutalism in itself was a mere passing fashion, however due to the number of civil projects constructed, many buildings remain and have become iconised. There have been some wonderful Brutalist buildings, the Cardross Seminary (Gillespie Kidd and Coia) in West Scotland, close to me, was / is a fantastic design, but badly detailed (so was damp and cold) and fell out of use then into disrepair. It is now a ruin. As an aside Andy MacMillan used to give Lectures at the Art School while drinking a can of Tennents lager (after lunch of course).

Brutalism was about simplicity, showing the buildings mass and structure and, being post war, keeping costs down. In that correlation to ripped jeans fashion, you are obsoletely correct. My own house was constructed in 1958 and is of red facing brick and render construction with a plain tiled roof, windows would have been Crittal style, but are now modern. I would rather live in this house than a Victorian money pit which is expensive to heat, has cracks all over the ceilings and with windows, doors and a roof that needs replaced (been there).

I think I had a point when I started this; it was along the lines of beauty is only skin deep and fashion is only a couple of layers of fabric, so be careful what you wish for, in a couple of months time it could be something you dislike even more.

[Bodycon]

It's really sad to see where we have come from.

All of the things that you decry are freedoms of expression for groups or individuals.

Would you return to those days past where the fashion was a reflection off your utopian dream, but you would have probably have been arrested for dressing as you do today?

[crfriend]

I think I had a point when I started this; it was along the lines of beauty is only skin deep and fashion is only a couple of layers of fabric, so be careful what you wish for, in a couple of months time it could be something you dislike even more.

Given the current trajectory, I suspect you're right on my disliking it even more, but considering the depths I think it's sunk to I'm not sure how that's really possible.

Note that I am not advocating a return to past times; rather, I am hopeful that once again creativity, levity, and whimsy might once again captivate the imagination of society and make experimentation possible instead of mechanical obedience to dictate.

[Bodycon]

I am hopeful that once again creativity, levity, and whimsy might once again captivate the imagination of society and make experimentation possible instead of mechanical obedience to dictate.

Hold onto that thought.

[Sinned]

Well, there have been those aspects shown in men's fashion, dresses and skirts worn as "high fashion" that's ok but nothing that any of us would consider wearing. What we need is creativity applied to designs that could be applied to street wear.