Some People....

[talon]

http://www.wlox.com/global/story.asp?s=12731601

Honestly, who cares what other people wear in public? Or don't wear, for that matter?

I can see dress codes at work, especially if one is working in an environment where improper clothing could get you seriously hurt or even killed, or where improper clothing could harbor bacteria that could be spread to food, or where it is used to make an impression on others. They all have reasons for the dress codes.

I'm not quite as comfortable with some of the draconian dress codes in schools. I think some of those go overboard, and I believe that because the school administration makes such a big deal out of it, the students do, too. Fashions change and there's no reason why schools should be locked into a fashion ideal that existed 40, 50, 60 years ago. What we consider normal clothing now was once considered terribly extreme. T-shirts, for example. When I was a student, we weren't allowed to wear T-shirts, even just plain white or solid colored ones, because they were viewed as undergarments, not clothing; or corsets on the outside - again what was once undergarments are now outerwear.

We were once a more formally dressed society, and I think that perhaps affects a lot of people, especially older people. And weirdly, it seems the children of my generation are the hardest on dress codes - those people in their 40's and early 50's seem to be angered most by the casual fashions of the younger generations.

I remember the fashions I wore as a teen and young adult. I didn't wear them to anger anyone. I didn't wear them to please anyone but me. And yet, I did anger a lot of people over my clothing choices, usually because my skirts were too short. Back in the late 60's/early 70's, there was a fashion called "bikini sizzler" that was a really short dress over a pair of matching hot pants because the hot pants were visible (that's how short the skirt of the dress was). I had a black chintz one and an orange taffeta one with a keyhole neckline. Both were long sleeved. Neither really looked good on me as I have always had heavy hips and thighs, even back then when I weighed less than 90 pounds. I should have worn longer skirts (a length known as "waltz length"). I wear that length now, on the advice of a very fashion savvy friend, and it does slim my outrageous hips and thighs. I still look frumpy, though. This is because I have no fashion sense, never have, probably never will at my age. I am always fascinated by other people writing about their fashion choices because of my own lack. I love reading about and seeing their choices and how awesome they look in their new clothes, and sigh wistfully as I continue to wear the same old long skirts and turtlenecks day after day. There are some people on my reading list whose blogs I skim just so I can get to their fashion posts.

I'm not appalled by "sagging" pants. I am amused by it, more than anything, and sometimes even pleased by it when the "saggy" pants wearer sports some really cute or unusual underwear showing. I loved the Mickey Mouse ones I saw the other day, and the guy wearing the rainbow hearts undies that billowed above his jeans made me laugh. I might feel differently if they wore thongs...but I think the fashion is to wear low hanging jeans to show off your underwear.

Women have lots of pieces of underwear that can be converted to outerwear, but men? All they have are their socks and briefs.

I think clothing manufacturers should consider this fashion trend and help the guys along by designing jeans that sag with a higher crotch - if only because I think of how badly that low crotch must chafe even the skinniest legged men.

Fashion should hurt.

OK, maybe that's only my idea of fashion, and I've already admitted I have no fashion sense.

I guess the biggest reason this bothers me is that I see no harm in these people wearing the "saggy" pants.

Yes, it looks untidy to older eyes, but so do the outerwear corsets, and back in the day, the bikini sizzlers with matching hot pants. Someone's going to be offended by other people's fashion choices - it's just the nature of fashion.

I think we're all strong enough to survive seeing someone else wearing clothes we don't like. This is not a matter for legislation of any sort. It's not like they're wagging private parts in a rudely suggestive manner, they're dressing to impress someone or dressing because they think it makes them look cool. And fashion trends are just that, trends. Eventually they go away. And then they'll come back to haunt us for a while and go away again.

It's not worth our tax dollars to even notice this, let alone create laws about it.

I know I'd rather have my tax dollars spent far more wisely than policing fashion!