To wonder why there are so many scruffy people these days

[Quirrelsotherface]

I've been looking through old photographs lately, from the 20's through to 60's probably, my grandparents era. What I absolutely couldn't get over was the amount of people who were so well dressed back then! There were group photos, photos of streets with lots of people in the background and to be honest, I couldn't really pick a scruffy looking one out of any of them. Not particularly affluent areas, just everyday public. The clothes, though, look expensive and well cut, the men in hats and the women with beautiful haircuts. Beautiful coats and shoes.

Why then, these days do we not have this pride in appearance that they had back then? Walk out now in any town and smart people are really in the minority.

AIBU to wonder why this is?

@feelingverylazytoday I don't think many people would think a tea dress and leggings were scruffy tbh (although admittedly probably didn't match my slippers)

SheSaidNo some people hate leggings whatever they're worn with, so it is possible.

@feelingverylazytoday like I said not many, they might think tights would have looked better (I never go bare legged and plus it's wet here) but not that it was scruffy. Even my pet hate cheap Ugg's don't look scruffy the first couple times you wear them (purely going on my own visual experiences). We all have different styles and that's a good thing, but disheveled isn't a good look on anyone

I am probably the scruffiest person I know and I couldn't give a f**k

I usually look like I have been dragged through a hedge backward , more than likely atm been weeding a huge drive way and front garden of the house I am doing before laying the driveway.

If you find me with brushed hair and non paint stained clothing then you know I have dressed up.

I really don't think twin set and pearls are really conducive to painting the outside of a house.

I don't own a dress, a handbag, make up or jewellery.

My grandmother didn't get dressed up unless she was going out to town. In the house she wore a dress covered by a crossover apron, slippers and a hairnet. She would be properly dressed in shoes, coat, hat and her wedding ring to go uptown or likewise on holiday. My grandfather wore tatty gardening clothes all the time I knew him, after he had retired and I never knew him to go out. These were two middle class teachers who married before WW1 and who had a three bedroom house with bathroom in the 1930s. Their wedding photograph shows full Edwardian finery. My grandmother came from a family where her father owned a tailoring business and land; early photographs of my grandfather show him in similar social circles, in his rowing club blazer, and on his motorcycle. Yet they certainly didn't dress up like that in the house. There were everyday clothes, working clothes and going out clothes.

My other grandmother, married in 1918, wore a nylon housecoat over old clothes. Going out and out came the coat, hat and decent shoes. She and her sisters in law all wore slippers in the house.

There was much more of a demarcation between outside and inside clothes.

As I child we had indoor clothes

Outside the house, we had few clothes

It was bath day on Friday, because that was clothes washing day
Sunday was also bath day & wear best Sunday clothes

New clothes were only bought on birthdays or Xmas, perhaps one thing if grown too much like a winter coat. Clothes were bought a size or two bigger to last longer

There is a lot more choice of clothes today & a wider variety of choice

There seems to be more emphasis on fashion

I have found this thread fascinating.

... and would love to read more from the fashion historian.

My other grandmother, married in 1918, wore a nylon housecoat over old clothes. Going out and out came the coat, hat and decent shoes. She and her sisters in law all wore slippers in the house

Yes the shoes! God forbid my Grandmothers ever left the house in dirty old shoes. Always well-fitting and so smart. Always slippers in the house too.

Even going out to a restaurant now people turn up in jeans and trainers. If you go out wearing a dress people joke and say "where you going all dressed up?". I think it's a real shame tbh

I’m always internally kinda saddened when I go to see orchestras play and realise that very few people bother to get at all dressed up for it these days, I know I’m BU as ultimately you show respect for the performers by showing up and listening quietly and buying tickets. And just because I feel this way doesn’t mean anyone else ought to. But I wouldn’t dream of going to an orchestra performance not dressed at least somewhat nicely, wouldn’t show up in jeans for example. I see it as a form of respect. Though tbf I’m just glad anyone still attends at all, the audiences are almost always 80% over sixty and I genuinely fear that orchestras won’t be able to survive as anything other than local hobbies in a few decades to come as so few younger people I know would think to go or listen to ‘classical’ music.

the nation wasn't obese back then. Clothes tend to look loads better in slim than on overweight people.

pointythings
' I'm glad to live in a world where (in the main) we are judged by how we behave and what we achieve rather than by how we dress.'

I agree although if this thread is any indication there are still people happy to judge based on appearance. How sad.

TheBadCop yes, I think at first glance a crowd scene full of slim people is automatically going to look more neat and well put together than one where there are loads of different shapes and sizes and lots of people who are obese. Plus clothes hanging better, having more options for what to wear etc. I haven’t ever been obese but I know when I was bordering on overweight I didn’t have anywhere near the same choice of clothes as I did before and after at a lower weight. It’s so nice not to have to go clothes shopping worrying about what will cover up my hips or stomach or upper arms, just what looks good. Clothes undoubtedly look better on slimmer people unless someone who’s overweight has very good dress sense, knows how to dress stylishly and has that sort of hourglass figure rather than apple or pear.

I think for men they had it drummed into them in the Army doing national service that presentation was really important. My father was always immaculate. His clothes were always beautifully pressed and he always wore polished shoes and stood and sat up straight. I never remember him lounging on the sofa or lying down at all apart from to sleep. He had a background in the Army and then in the services. It shaped him. These days men are sloppy and lazy by comparison.
I watch Gogglebox sometimes, and it's really apparent how much things have changed. No one sits up straight, they eat snacks watching TV and dress like slobs. I speak for myself when I say this. It's a shame really.
I really think going out in your nightwear is the absolute pits.

Sorry, but I do agree with the OP, especially in London. Admittedly it's a real melting pot but generally speaking people are on the scruffy side.
I'm pretty sure lycra has a lot to do with it. In non stretch clothes (most of mine) it is obvious if they don't fit. They either don't fo up of cut on around the waist/ edges and you need a different size or style. With lycra you can buy something far too small and/ or unflattering and keep stretching it without it being uncomfortable. The number of times you see women in black leggings stretched as thin as a pair of 25 denier tights over the bum demonstrates this- just buy a couple of sizes bigger, or buy a different style.
People have also lost sight of what gym wear and in some cases pjs are for! I wear my leggings and sports tops for work outs or taking my child to play in the park, what they are designed for. I wear a dress or trousers for other things.

@GammaStingRay The problem is that the price of tickets it too expensive for a lot of younger people.

I agree with you in principle, however I've just come back from a camping trip. It was actually quite cold and in the interest of warmth, comfort and practicality I wore leggings to bed and a hoody which I got up in nipped to the loo and cafe in.
There were women there who looked a damn sight better than I did in print dresses and trousers etc but I could hear the group saying they were freezing! I'd rather be warm in my leisure wear than looking cool.
On the other hand I recently went on a coach trip in Majorca and I wore a cotton/linen dress while everyone else wore shorts Tshirts. I was mistaken for Spanish in the shops and made the assumption it was because of my clothing.

lavenderandthyme personally I think it’s more to do with ‘classical’ music not being listened to or seen as something for everyone. Most of the performances I attend have discount tickets for a fiver in certain seats, or are heavily discounted for students already. Not to mention the many performances by non professional orchestras you can attend for a tenner! People find the money to attend gigs by bands, singers/songwriters etc. so I’m not convinced it’s the cost of tickets that’s the barrier for most (of course for some people none of this is affordable). A ticket to see my local orchestra perform is £20 max in the best seats. Ed Sheeran played round here recently and my friend paid £80 per ticket to sit so far back she could barely see him.

You do realise that the see through leggings are usually also the cheap ones

Cheap leggings are fine as long as they are the right size and aren't worn beyond their lifespan. They look see-through when they are overstretched and/or where they have worn thin over time. Because they are stretchy, people can fit into a pair that's smaller than the size they need, but then they stretch too much and look see-through.

Leggings under a dress are a great way to keep warm in winter.

I agree with you, OP. I’m very judgey (and I’m not sorry about it) about people who go to the supermarket or do the school run in PJs. But even aside from that we are definitely a scruffier population than we were twenty or thirty years ago.

I’m 39 and I remember a time when people dressed up to go on an aeroplane - this was a time before Ryanair’s cattle class and all the hassle of tight security mind you. But I also had older parents, born in the 1930s, and they were completely unable to be scruffy. My dad never owned a pair of jeans or a t shirt in his life. Up until he became ill in his late 70s I rarely saw him without a tie. My friends used to comment (kindly!) that he was like an old time gentleman. My mum is still around and is nearly 80, and I have never seen her even approaching scruffy.

Even going out to a restaurant now people turn up in jeans and trainers. If you go out wearing a dress people joke and say "where you going all dressed up?". I think it's a real shame tbh

This I will agree on. I do like to dress up now and then but really only get the chance to at weddings. When I moved to this area I went out with a group of friends to a nice restaurant and I could have died. They all have jeans and casual tops (even hoodies) on and I felt so overdressed. Only had smart jeans a nice top and heeled boots.

It's not just the UK though, me and DP went to New York recently and the first night we went out I felt so dressed up, I just wore jeans and a top the rest of the evenings.

Weight is a red herring. This isn’t about fashion or fit, it isn’t even about what you wear, it’s about the effort you put in. You can be a couple of stone overweight wearing an outfit from Primark and still look immaculate. Equally, you can spend a fortune and still look like a refugee from a jumble sale.

And, yes, I’d like to hear from the fashion historian too. What a great job.

Cheap leggings are fine as long as they are the right size and aren't worn beyond their lifespan. They look see-through when they are overstretched and/or where they have worn thin over time. Because they are stretchy, people can fit into a pair that's smaller than the size they need, but then they stretch too much and look see-through.

Cheap leggings often look see through on me unless they are so big they fall down and are visibly baggy at the knees and ankles. There are many different body shapes out there, cheap high street clothes only cater for one.

Posted too quickly... a few people have mentioned polishing shoes. I can’t get my head around the fact that most people don’t seem to do this. Admittedly my 1030s vintage dad taught me when I was very young but I’ve always looked after my shoes properly, I would never go out in dirty shoes unless I’m going for a run or have the need to wear wellies etc. No matter how lovely your outfit is, scruffy shoes will make you look untidy.

^1930s vintage ffs, fat fingers.