Has Covid stopped young people from knowing how to dress for an occasion?

Why? Presumably it’s warm, why shouldn’t people wear shorts to dinner?

I sincerely hope heels have been consigned to the heap labelled ‘crap men invented for women so they look pretty’

Errr, yeah you could wear trainers at clubs pre-covid. Heck, I was wearing trainers to go clubbing in right up until my clubbing days ceased circa 2014.
I can’t ever imagine wearing heels to Fabric or wherever!

I remember in the early 80s being unwell at school and my gran picking me up. When mum got home from work she was wearing perfectly smart black trousers. Well my gran gave her such a lecture - a woman wearing trousers !

Forward a few years my mum lecturing me on my ripped jeans and dm boots - the neighbours will think we can’t afford proper trousers…

Now me on at dd about the length of her school skirt…

I must admit that since I retired it's a huge relief not to have to buy work clothes and shoes anymore and to be able to buy clothes just for me iyswim. But I still don't want to look scruffy.

I'm currently on holiday on a cruise, it's a small but informal ship,no formal evenings just smart casual in the evenings. The main dining room does have some rules, the usual thing, like no shorts or distressed jeans or bare feet but I've noticed the shorts rule increasingly being ignored. It's a shame I think.

I'm delighted at the 'lowering of standards'. I used to wear heels and skirtsuits and all sorts of nonsense to work but now I am comfortable and can focus on what I am actually there to do. If I go to an event and people are wearing all sorts of things I think 'oh how lovely, everyone looks comfortable' and then I carry on having fun.

I don't think it's covid exactly, but that was a massive influence on me. For the first time in my adult life I was physically comfortable every single day and making the active choice to make myself less comfortable seemed very strange after a break from it. My daughter is ND and the relaxed school uniform and general change in what is 'expected' from you when you attend a show or go out to eat or whatever has been nothing but positive for her.

I think if you are clean and comfortable that's the only important thing and I'm just sorry I wasted so much of my life worried about clothes.

@BananaCaramel so I do think it is harder to get well tailored, smart clothes at the moment. Everything is very boxy or baggy, which looks less well put together before you even start on the quality or approach to dressing up.

I work in an industry where being smart is essential and since the pandemic have really struggled to find edgy well fitted, quality clothing. Even when paying a decent price tag.

And I am old enough to remember the 80s and 90s grunge phase and having exactly the same debate with my gran and Mum. What I wanted to wear, was often not Sunday smart best.

I think some of the issues are less opportunity to dress up, combined with lack of decent smart clothes which you only wear occasionally, less disposable income for many families, and a much more relaxed outlook on life.

My guess is it will swing back eventually.

Well, I do make an effort to dress up for special occasions, and so do my DH and my dd. But I honestly couldn't care less what anyone else does. Not everyone wants to dress up. Not everyone can afford to.

You see people not making an effort to dress up as lazy/disrespectful and not making an effort.

I see people who care about what others wear as superficial/shallow and unnecessarily judgemental.

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

It's perfectly possible to feel comfortable and be appropriately dressed for the occasion.

If you’re communicating to your children that what they wear doesn’t matter then you’re doing them a disservice. Clothes are important within our culture… they communicate a message whether you want it to or not. The types of clothing might change but if you ignore the significance of it then clearly an individual can miss out. ( not getting the job for example). It’s possible to be comfortably dressed and still “ well put together” so you cannot use comfort as an excuse of looking like a sack of shit. Clothes have never been cheaper and so freely available on apps like Vinted so nope cost of living im
not buying that either.

My own DD is 13 so only entering a phase now where shes interested in clothes. Up until recently I wouldn’t have had a clue at what she would have worn as a wedding guest as her tastes were Nike Pro leggings and White Fox tracksuits. I’ve just shopped for her holiday and we’ve surprisingly come away with pretty flowery dresses and ra-ra skirts and a lot of cute florals. Took me by surprise totally and gives me a bit of hope that style isn’t dead within her cohort.

Define what you mean? Men for example often don’t wear suits anymore but IMO look far nicer. Gone are the days of people being forced to wear an ill fitting suit and a pointless tie to an event. Heels are no longer the definition of “smart”.

Oh, another youth bashing thread. What else can we blame on them? They don't know how to work, they don't know how to dress, they aren't having enough babies to support the older generations pension.... That's just the threads I've read this morning!

Look, they don't care what you think about how they dress. Personally I like the fact that I can go out wearing scruffs and no one cares. You're preference for dressing up doesn't trump their preference for dressing down. It's just tough.

I have 4 children in their early to mid 20s. They and their friends all know how to dress up. I would not agree with that opinion.

I do thunk as a nation we have all gor a lot scruffier. Its noe common to walk j to a sulernarket in a bathrobe and pjs for example. For me that is not attire to go out in.

Or that they think they occasion it’s important but that what they wear isn’t?

All the pictures I see of Proms plus when I walk past graduations which take place near my work show that young people still very much like dressing up and looking smart on special occasions.

When it was hot, some women didn’t bother about their bra being exposed. It shows they don’t care and looks bloody awful. Best example was a low backed dress and the woman wore a washing machine grey bra which the entire back of bra sat above the dress. Didn’t see the front

There are a few tops I can’t wear with certain bras. As bra is on show

Bras are underwear and the name suggests that your wear it under your wear

There is a culture of dressing up to go drinking in town in my area.

Heels even seem to be making a comeback... although walking in them needs a bit of practice... there was one girl the other evening walking in stilletto heeled boots who looked lovely other than the fact that she looked like she was walking/stomping in a 4 season mountaineering boot with crampons rather than a normal heel-toe foot movement

Some young people don’t know how to dress for an interview. A friend who has been a note taker for a few interviews the past couple of months has seen an increase in young people wearing things such as ripped jeans, football shirts and strappy tops. Everyone who wore clothes above - the company doesn’t allow these even it’s a casual dress policy, did not get jobs. The clothes made them too relaxed and showed not being interested.

When my cousin got married in 1980 my brother (a metal head) wore his long hair, cords , a bomber jacket and clogs. It was the smartest my mum could coerce him to wear.

It's always been the same.

My two 20-somethings love dressing up for occasions. My daughter has some clothes I would love myself.

My DCs are in rapidly growing adolescent weed mode so there's little point in wasting money buying clothes they'll hate for a just few hours use before they grow out of them.

When we had a funerals phase a few years ago, DS1 wore his new secondary uniform (he was due to start shortly) and I bought a linen style shirt for DS2 to wear with school trousers. That shirt got a second use when another grandma died 9 months later. That shirt had about 9 hours of use in total. At least the school uniform parts of their outfits were used anyway.

For adults it's a different matter. I realised that I needed a funeral wardrobe upgrade as my previous black dresses were looking tired, but they can stay in the wardrobe long term between uses and get their use long term so are worth it.

I'm not going to worry about formal wear for teenage boys until they hit 6th form age.
For work experience, uniform black trousers and open collar school shirt will do the job. DS will do work experience in DH's company where standard dress code is trousers, open collar shirt, jumper.

And your parents and grandparents will have been saying exactly the same kind of thing about your generation 😉

I pulled out from attending a wedding as I can’t wear pretty dressy shoes. When working in an office in the summer , I wear Mary Jane Skechers or fully black Go Walks

Have various issues with my feet to prevent me from wearing nice shoes. There maybe brands that can help me but refusing to spend silly amounts of money on shoes I’m going to wear a few times

For a recent job interview, I bought a patterned shirt and wore with loose fitting black trousers and boots. It was for a support role in a school and I got the job.
At a previous interview, I wore a smart dress from my previous working days, tights and low-heeled shoes and felt awkwardly over-dressed compared to the other (younger) candidates. They were smart, but in an everyday working way rather than going extra formal.

I've recently given away my suit. I concede that I will never be the size that I was 20+ years ago, but I hadn't worn it in 15+ years either. I was never comfortable in it (I always hated the restrictiveness of school blazers too) and had long since been wearing dresses for interviews with much more sucess.

I donated the suit to my DCs' school for a 6th former for the new school year. It seemed to be the best chance for a size 8 suit to be used again and in good news, boot cut is back in fashion again.

Seen young person wearing black combats, oversized hood and black trainers at an elderly person's funeral. Oh no that was me in the 90s at a grandparents funeral. It's just an age thing in my opinion were the younger generation fashion choice doesn't aline with our own fashion sense.