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?

Jinxed2
Wow you are nice Aquamarine!

The word I thought of when reading her post was truthful. The truth often isn't nice

that depends on the style you like too OP
I personally think fashion from the old days is ugly, impractical and im so bloody glad that women now have choice, not regulated to skirts and dresses, nor expected to wear corsets.
I got better things to do than care about if i look acceptable to others

but is it a waste of energy trying not to offend others

yep especially if jeans, tights or a hoody offend. Hell if i cared i wouldnt have purple hair, oh the looks i get from old women LMAO

I'm a slob.

It isn't all about appearances mostly nowadays. It is more substance.

In the great old days, not everyone had a camera, let alone one on their non existent mobile phone. TV channels were limited.

Ergo, when photos were being taken it was generally a special occasion or big deal. It isn't anymore.

Not many pictures of common folk finishing up down the coal mine in their tuxedos???

What a load of twaddle

It is because of women's liberation. I never wore any trousers, even jeans until I was about 13. Skirts or dresses only.

Oh the horror, choice and rights for women

I am sick of seeing kids in leggings what happened to pretty dresses
they not practical for play, that simple
as a kid i refused to wear a dress, it made riding a bike hard, roller bladeing hard, climbing a tree hard, no rolling in the grass from fear my dress would come up.
I wanted to do stuff not sit around and talk

You can always tell when it’s race day in york..people dress beautifully.
I love looking at all the dresses, the lads in shirts and trousers, shoes not trainers.
It feels like we’ve lost something somewhere.
My mum used to wear beautiful tea dresses, dad blazers and trousers. We weren’t rich , just a 50s/ 60s working class household.

It’s shocking the quality of some of the clothes these days...even designer stuff.
You hold it up to the light and you can see straight through some of it.

My own personal opinion is it the breaking down of society. People don’t care what other people think, enjoy attention even if it’s negative. Also laziness.

Think about the people going out in their PJs as just one example.

I’m sure we can all think of other examples of things we have seen out and about that were outrageous, risqué or down right gross.

This has made me think about my grandmother. She was a very working class woman, but she always wore all the underwear and stockings, and had morning and afternoon clothes. In the morning she wore an older skirt and blouse, covered by a full apron to do the house work, then, after lunch, she always changed into a newer skirt and blouse. She often didn’t see a soul all day, but she still dress up for the afternoon, as it was just the ‘done thing’. If she went to town, or to see the doctor, a costume came out.

I think there is a societal issue with uniforms. My husband was a police officer for thirty years and wore a tunic and helmet. In the summer, depending on the whim of the senior officer, he was allowed to remove his tunic and work in shirt sleeves with his collar number on his epaulettes.. For any important events in the city, and definitely for any funerals he attended in an official capacity, it was full dress uniform, helmet, white gloves, polished shoes and belt. That appearance gave him an air of authority and with it, respect. At the recent sad funeral for PC Andrew Harper, the attending officers, white frankly, looked a complete mess in their polo shirts and baseball caps. We were chatting to a couple of bobbies last week wearing military style jumpers and baseball caps. It wasn't immediately obvious if they were policemen or store security guards. Bring back the helmet!

Equimum

I love that. The fact she took so much pride in herself, even if she wasn't going anywhere.

My Grandmothers were similar and, in particular, their houses were absolutely spotless. Right up to them being in their 70's and 80's. One GM had a really active social life but still, one day was set aside for the house and it showed. I struggle with keeping mine spotless now! Again, looking back, I think it was all to do with standards.

All this nostalgia for a golden age of 'standards' and 'pride'.

Do people not realise what it cost women? What was driving it?

It was exhausting. Most didn't have washing machines or steam irons. It was all done by hand and it was utter drudgery.

If they didn't turn themselves and their families out immaculately they were judged.

I think the fact that we can go out looking 'scruffy' is fantastic.

Nothing stopping people dressing in a 40's skirt suit or twin set and pearls. Go for it. I know people who do and they look great.

Don't judge us scruffs however, you just make yourself into a wanker by doing so.

aliteralAIBUforonce

It's all opinion though, isn't it. You'd call me a wanker for judging scruffinesss, I'd call you a wanker (although I wouldn't, horrible to call people) for being so proud to be scruffy. Personally I think standards make for a more peaceful and contented society.

Have you tried to get a vale/lady's maidt?
It is difficult to find a good one.

No. The utter drudgery of the past is not an opinion. It's a sad fact.

Those women had sod all time for a life of their own. It was a shitty part time job (cleaning or factory work) followed by scrubbing clothes in the poss tub or hauling them over a twin tub. Then you have ironing with an iron heated on the range. Add in a pregnancy a year...

They ended up with horrendous anxiety and depression, often heavily medicated with stuff we consider too strong to use on anyone other than psychopaths now. Or they hid these mental problems for years and they come out in later years, often in residential care.

None of this is opinion.

Stop using a romanticised idea of the past to judge others. It's makes you look like a fool.

*Those women had sod all time for a life of their own. It was a shitty part time job (cleaning or factory work) followed by scrubbing clothes in the poss tub or hauling them over a twin tub. Then you have ironing with an iron heated on the range. Add in a pregnancy a year...

They ended up with horrendous anxiety and depression, often heavily medicated with stuff we consider too strong to use on anyone other than psychopaths now. Or they hid these mental problems for years and they come out in later years, often in residential care.
*

This is absolutely true. You only have to watch Who do You Think You Are or that programme A House in Time (think that's the title). Our ancestors lives were full of misery and suffering. Even the life of a rich woman was dreary beyond words. No power, no autonomy, just a man's possession at the end of the day. For working class women life was very hard and many had depression and health problems for which there was no assistance because they couldn't pay and healthcare was in the dark ages. The ever present threat of dying in childbirth was there too.

Men had hard relentless lives with little security, and often turned to drink to cope .

I do think things have swung far too much the other way though. A lot of people now have no pride in themselves and no respect for others. This is what we have lost.

I am sick of seeing kids in leggings what happened to pretty dresses

I grew up in the 70s and 90s. Most pictures of me I am in brown trousers, dungarees, jeans, old-school tracksuits and a variety of plain, mud-coloured tops. I never had to worry about messing up a dress when I was playing. In more recent years people have started dressing kids in dresses again, at least adding leggings underneath adds a degree of practicality.

Dresses for women, especially young women, have also undergone a resurgence in the last 10 years. They used to be quite rare in shops like Dorothy Perkins and it was all skirts, trousers etc apart from the odd summer sun dress. Even when I was buying my first work wardrobe in 1998 it was mostly trousers suits. Now there are day dresses galore and I have been wearing wrap and shift dresses to work for years, can’t remember the last time I wore a trouser suit.

My grandmother was always beautifully turned out and sewed her own clothes. It was a matter of pride to be well turned out in their mining community. Oh, the work that the women had to put into it, though. I don’t think any of us want that back.

I used to work in a dry cleaning shop and the difference in quality between vintage garments and modern ones is huge. We want disposable fashion these days though, so why make things well? Good quality clothes wash better, iron better, hang better on the body, but won’t reflect this season’s trends. I wonder if we’ll start moving back in that direct due to environmental concerns.

I think its also a matter of perspective, my nonna (85) thinks she had an easier adult life then her granddaughters.
She was a MC housewife in the 50s/60s with a lovely husband and lived her whole life in walking distance of her sisters/SILs/friends.

She sees us renting tiny flats, staying in education till our 30s (me), having long distance relationships due to work (cousin), struggling to afford child care (me) and thinks our lives are harder.

Most people want clothes they can chuck in the washing machine after one wear, what is the point of using good quality and thus expensive fabric to manufacture them?

Casual wear wasn't as widely available. Sports clothes were only worn when playing sport, it simply wasn't the done thing to go about one's daily business in tracksuits or trainers.

We were encouraged to keep any fancier clothes 'for best' which meant they were hardly ever worn and we had fewer items of clothing (especially shoes) which were expensive, saved for, and looked after. We didn't have cheap throw away fashion so things were expected to last and were mended.

Not many people go to the trouble of darning socks now - why bother when you can cheap replacements from the supermarket?

'The utter drudgery of the past is not an opinion. It's a sad fact.
Those women had sod all time for a life of their own.'

Phew! There speaks someone who wasn't alive in the fifties! My mum might have only had a part time job but she definitely had a life of her own. The difference between her and modern women is that she enjoyed simple pleasures. Taking us all out walking in the countryside for example. She'd sit on the rocks at Burbage while we played in the stream and got really filthy while she could read her book in peace. She'd trail us all on long walks through Porter Valley and treat herself to a cup of tea at Forge Dam.

She'd take us blackberry picking and bilberry picking and come home and teach us how to make pies and crumbles with them. She lived baking and her sauces were just amazing. I've never tasted any as good.

She baked her own bread - not because she had to, but because she enjoyed it. Her and my dad used to go to the steel works social club on Friday nights to a weekly dance which she loved.

Sure she didn't go to the gym or do spinning classes or dump us in a creche (like the mums I see regularly at our gym); or be glued to her phone or gossiping with the other mummies while her kids create totally chaos in the gym cafe. She didn't need to pay for her exercise, Her love of the outdoors and being in nature kept her super fit.

Seriously if she was still alive she'd laugh her head off at the suggestion that she didn't have time to have a life of her own and she'd think we were all bonkers wearing ourselves out trying to do it all and be it all.

I think it's a problem that modern clothes aren't made to last, so they look scruffy after a few wears. Even though they are cheap by comparison to previous decades, normal people can't afford to keep replacing clothes every few weeks. It's really difficult to find good quality clothing on the high street without spending £££. And we've lost the ability to make our own clothes.
Sometimes looking scruffy isn't intentional or to do with lack of pride.

I think leggings are a fab invention though.
I'm also not sure that nice clothes have to be uncomfortable or that comfy ones have to be scruffy. I think we need to start making everyday clothes out of more durable materials and try to get away from the acceptance of shoddily made clothes that last 5 minutes.

@Camomila and @Lincolnfield are spot on. My mum, who was born in 1918, used to marvel at my life and comment on what hard work it must be to work full time, keep the house decent and raise kids. She’d have said my life was more drudgery than hers. And mine’s been easier than a woman having kids now.