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AIBU?

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Original poster

To wonder why there are so many scruffy people these days

648 replies

Quirrelsotherface · 02/09/2019 18:06

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?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
XingMing · 03/09/2019 21:32

Scrubs are work wear. You have earned the right to wear them.

lljkk · 03/09/2019 21:35

London East End Children. 1920. Not looking very smart or groomed at all.

lljkk · 03/09/2019 21:36

An East End walking alarm clock. 1920. Not overly smart, I submit.

Original poster
Quirrelsotherface · 03/09/2019 21:37

lljkk

Where in my OP did I say that every single person on the planet back then was smart?

Great pic, though.

OP posts:
Original poster
Quirrelsotherface · 03/09/2019 21:39

I suspect that everyone saying that casualising dress codes for comfort and practicality is okay lacks serious ambition.

I rather agree. I also think they are the same people who have stopped indicating when driving. Seriously, why does no-one indicate anymore?! Grin

OP posts:
TomPinch · 03/09/2019 21:39

Standards were probably at their strictest in the 50s and 60s. By then, just about everyone could afford a 'best' outfit.

We forget that before WW2 really quite a lot of people were destitute or a week's earnings away from that, and one set of clothes was all they had.

mizzmelli · 03/09/2019 21:40

I have just left a job as a cleaner in a factory which dealt with corrosive chemicals. Steel toe caps, high vis jacket, combat trousers and a hard hat. I coujd not put my ever so pretty 19 whatever era dress or gloves on which was a shame!

busybarbara · 03/09/2019 21:42

Because it doesn't matter. People had to dress up to get status. Now you could be a multi millionaire in a track suit so it doesn't matter. And if things don't matter, people don't do them

lljkk · 03/09/2019 21:43

Were they 'smart' to wear collared jackets & macs with flat cap hats, or was that just the only available male clothing? I reckon not one of them ironed his own clothes. They would have worn plain t-shirts & hoodies if available.

To wonder why there are so many scruffy people these days
Original poster
Quirrelsotherface · 03/09/2019 21:47

Very smart, I'd say.

Much smarter than some of the beer-bellied oiks in my town, wearing no shirt in the Summer or cramming their sausage legs into skinny ankle jeans!

These men look distinguished, every one.

OP posts:
Original poster
Quirrelsotherface · 03/09/2019 21:48

If they had no standards, they'd be wearing the trousers, open shirt and no hat. But they did, because standards were encouraged.

OP posts:
celticprincess · 03/09/2019 21:49

@XingMing scrubs are work wear, yes, but they aren’t smart. Like when doctors and the likes used to wear a suit. Suits aren’t practical. Scrubs came about as they can be easily washed and incinerated if need be. They are also more practical for loving about in, less sweaty etc. Same with the Brownie/guide uniforms.

@Quirrelsotherface don’t get me started on the indicating though. My current biggest bugbear. Are we suddenly to become mind readers. Even an ambulance cut me up on a roundabout the other day as it was moving lanes without indicating then the passenger technician had the cheek to give me a dirty look and point. They weren’t blue lighting or anything. Just wanted to change lanes from behind me to the right to infront if me.

TomPinch · 03/09/2019 21:50

They would have worn plain t-shirts & hoodies if available.

More likely they were wearing the best they had to show that their protest was serious and deserved to be taken seriously.

Also, is it just me, or can I see the Shelby brothers in there? Wink

HermittaHobbe · 03/09/2019 21:52

I suspect that everyone saying that casualising dress codes for comfort and practicality is okay lacks serious ambition.

I've often found the opposite. The more intelligent, self-made people I know are also the most 'scruffy'. Particularly if they are women.

Why is it so hard to believe that most people don't base their achievement points in life on what they appear like to strangers?

longestlurkerever · 03/09/2019 21:52

I suspect that everyone saying that casualising dress codes for comfort and practicality is okay lacks serious ambition.

I think this is the crux of the division on this thread. The posters who are appalled by scruffiness associate it with all sorts of behavioural characteristics they disapprove of, whereas those who don't mind scruffiness say how you dress is independent of anything else you might do or think.

Obviously some people in the latter camp know that not everyone feels the same way and will adjust their own appearance in order to give the impression they want to give but since this is mostly for selfish, albeit understandable, reasons they don't ascribe a lack of moral fibre to anyone who fails to do the same, whereas those in the former camp appear to feel that people owe it to other people not to look scruffy - that this is somehow letting the side down.

I can sort of see it both ways but I really don't think anyone has yet put forward convincing evidence that looking scruffy correlates to treating other people badly.

celticprincess · 03/09/2019 21:59

@longestlurkerever I can sort of see it both ways but I really don't think anyone has yet put forward convincing evidence that looking scruffy correlates to treating other people badly.

Well I’ve seen many a suit mistreat someone and many a hoodie be the saving grace, and vice versa.

TomPinch · 03/09/2019 21:59

I've often found the opposite. The more intelligent, self-made people I know are also the most 'scruffy'. Particularly if they are women.

I work for a large organisation. The six or so people above me are all female, and while to be fair I only meet them at work, they all always look smart. So ymmv.

Why is it so hard to believe that most people don't base their achievement points in life on what they appear like to strangers?

For me it's not about that. If I go out with DW I wear something decent out of respect to her. That's what dress standards used to be about and the reason it's changed is because society is more individualistic. Particularly so in the UK which may explain why people on the Continent dress smarter.

RoyEastmannKodak · 03/09/2019 22:05

Primark May be marketed as the wear once and non fashion however for those of us on a tight budget it can last some time. They sell many a smart outfit in there for work. Not everyone can afford the expense of an expensive suit each day.

This. Thank you @celticprincess

Bloody MN snobbery. What am I still doing on here after all these years?! I guess because once you weed through all the cleverly-articulated-but-nonetheless-classist-twattage there are still some lovely, big hearted people to be seen, observed and learnt from. Answered my own question.

celticprincess · 03/09/2019 22:08

@RoyEastmannKodak you’re welcome.

RoyEastmannKodak · 03/09/2019 22:09

Oh and my CEO is only suited and booted when he has a corporate meeting! The rest of the time he's just as respected, at work in his sportswear or what appear to be gardening clothes.. with shoes and no socks!! And he's not the only professional of his ilk to do similar. Some of you guys only see life from a certain angle and you make generalisations

LeahWarburton · 03/09/2019 23:40

I agree about a lot of people looking like slobs. Here in New Zealand it is common to see guys with their jeans halfway to their knees. I look at them and can't help thinking "Oh dear, what a shame they never learned to dress themselves properly". And yes, I know that may be unfair, but that's the way they look. I mean, if they haven't got a belt, even a piece of string would be better. It just looks like they have no pride in themselves; like they've just given up. Which is sad.

TomPinch · 03/09/2019 23:59

LeahWarburton,

Hah! New Zealand is where I live too. To be fair, there isn't a great range of men's clothing and the value is pretty poor but there are loads of people who don't seem to have the first idea how to dress.

LeahWarburton · 04/09/2019 00:06

I think there is a difference between dressing casually, and being scruffy. You can dress casually, and still look tidy and presentable. Then there are those who "look like they've been pulled through a gorse bush, backwards", as my mother used to say.

TomPinch · 04/09/2019 00:14

The saddest thing is that most of them dress that way because that's what their peers expect. They're not "doing it for themselves" and the vast majority have enough money to buy something better.

TomPinch · 04/09/2019 00:30

I think that it's particularly true of menswear that modern clothes aren't as hardwearing as the older equivalents. Nothing is made of tweed or worsted anymore. The closest equivalent is, well, a pair of good quality jeans made of 100% denim, ie, heavy cotton.