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?

Does anyone remember housecoats? The joys of nylon. Bright pink or industrial blue check nylon ‘coat’ your granny wore to do her housework, to protect her woollen skirt (worn with a girdle and a half slip underneath.)

As a menopausal woman I feel weak at the thought of all those constricting layers.

I don't want to go back to the days of the sensible skirt, corset and headscarf, or a waistcoat and cravat but I do think the more you slob around in elasticated waisted trackies, the more it encourages a slobby attitude in general

I think this is true.

Plus - most working people actually had a job - they weren't stuck on an unemployment pile. Their work clothes, if they were in a shop or office, were expected to be smart.

When they finished work they usually changed into smart leisure clothes because they wanted to look nice when they went out, too. Clothes were much more formal on the whole.

I think that "women's lib" has led to much more casual clothes - so many of the clothes women had to wear (corsets etc) ere to make them attractive to men and were very restrictive regarding movement etc. Women now tend to dress to please themselves, and (rightly) refuse to wear constricting clothing.

My mother (who would have been 90 now, had she lived) was a great believer in "keeping things for best."
As a result of which, when l cleared her house after she died, l couldn't believe how many new (still with the labels on, or in bags) clothes there were in her wardrobes and drawers. She was smart when she went out (which wasn't often) but at home she was a bit of a scruff, like l am. Clean, but wearing obviously 'old' clothes "to do my housework" in. l'm a scruff at home because l have house rabbits and l'm always playing with them, therefore l get covered in fluff and bits of hay.
l remember one of my aunties being very smart, back in the day though. Hair and makeup always done, immaculately turned out. My mam wasn't interested in those things besides being clean.
And previous posters are right - people did dress up for photographs, because having your photo taken was a special occasion, certainly before the 60s if you were working class like me. l have a beautiful photo of my grandma when she was about 19 (taken in 1909, l believe). lt's a sepia studio portrait and she looks so elegant. Like something out of Downton Abbey.

LIke these children?
www.alamy.com/stock-photo-london-poor-children-about-1920-132981697.html

B&W doesn't show the dirt as much s colour but you can see many of the children have no shoes and the clothes are shabby and illfitting.

Then of course there was cleanliness before baths in houses and washing machines. My mother remembers using the tube to go to work in the 50s/60s and trying to hold her breath for the journey. Men would change collars but wear the same shirts for up to a week sometimes. Many people had no baths or relied on public bath houses once a week if that. You can't smell that in pictures.

Speaking of nice cotton dresses...I'm jealous of school girl checked dresses for the summer...nice cool cotton, knee length, sleeves so you don't get sunburn on your shoulders, buttons so you can breastfeed...

If they made them in some grown up patterns I'd buy a handful and wear them all summer.

Some of the older generation still dress that way, I only remember my grandad ever wearing woolen trousers and braces and a shirt.

But I remember my mum rolling her tight elastic girdle on. It went from an inch down her thighs to a high waist level. It looks so uncomfortable.

I dress for comfort I guess, but I see that as an absolute positive.
I'm not sure if my clothes would be considered scruffy, but I wouldn't dream of wearing anything like heels or with tight waists or push ups bras; or anything in fact that isn't 100% comfortable. I think it's a good thing - it's because I'm extremely confident in who I am. I would honestly see someone who looks good, but uncomfortable, as insecure and I find it a bit sad tbh.
80% of time I wear my 'active wear'; ie as if I'm about to go out for a run, but I'm not. Is that scruffy?

I agree - I watch Downton Abbey and yearn for those days when people changed several times a day for lunch, riding and dinner. Everybody looks scruffy these days (me included), but I always wore a suit to work with heels and never, ever wore joggers or sneakers, even to go shopping. Dh looks a mess the whole time - I loved it when he wore a suit - he looked so lovely - aahh those were the days!

People dressed in their finest for photographs. My granny (who was a Victorian child), lived in her tabbard and grandpa in his shirtsleeves and garden digging trousers.

I find it depressing that women were brought up to wear corsets, stockings, long knickers, heels, the list goes on.

I'm very comfy and happy in my leggings and scruffy boots. Hasn't stopped me "bagging a man", getting a good job, owning a house, and not giving a shiny shite what people think of how I dress. ✌️☮️

But I remember my mum rolling her tight elastic girdle on. It went from an inch down her thighs to a high waist level. It looks so uncomfortable.

I remember my mum's too, she called it her roll on. Strangely enough I was talking about it the other weekend to my husband when we were getting ready to go out and I was prancing around in a pair of Spanx shorts before putting my dress on . He thought shape wear was a new invention.

I read on here that a pair of jeans in the 1970/80s would have cost c.£40 the same as today

I don't know about the 70s because I wasn't old enough to buy my own clothes then, but jeans certainly didn't cost £40 a pair in the mid-to-late 80s - not high street brands, anyway.

I’m not here to be decorative

I feel like this needs a 🙌

We have a photo of us as kids in the eighties with my great Nan on the beach. She is wearing a fancy coat and hat (not bobble, one of those silk ruched affairs) ridiculous.

Awful retailers and the dress down tech company influence are a part. As is the level of overweight people.

When I was a child my working class dad would wear a shirt to the beach, and that was not uncommon. My memories are of him being sweaty and red on the beach. Now he is much older he wears clothes that are comfortable and practical. My mum has memories as a child of wearing smart clothes that you were not allowed to play in, being told constantly not to lean against anything in case she got her clothes dirty, and hating it all. She dressed her kids in comfortable and practical clothes.
There are very good reasons for the big change in clothing.

Partly because jeans/trackies/puffer jackets are de rigueur but also because we’re comparing fuzzy monochromatic photos to high-def images provided by our eyeballs. You can admire your flawless reflection and then flip over to the magnifying side of the mirror and behold all of your moustache hairs and blackheads

People are scruffy because we can be. There isn’t the same societal pressure to be ‘proper’ and conform and I think we are better for it.
If you enjoy dressing smartly at all times then that’s great and you should carry on doing it. If other people want to dress for comfort not appearances then they should be allowed to without censure.

It is our actions not how we look which is important.

The photos you have seen won't have been taken of all people. Look for photos taken in slums and you will see kids literally in rags.

Things changed in the late 60s and early 70s as far as I can remember. Mum started buying ‘pantyhose ‘ which was pants with the stockings already attached. She was always on a tight budget so when the legs bits were beyond repair, she cut them off and wore the pants. She started being allowed to wear ‘ladies’ slacks’ to work, which was the beginning of the decline into the glorious comfort we can now enjoy!

It is our actions not how we look which is important

This.

I'm a size 16 and I dress for comfort. I'm clean, which I think is the main thing

Fortunately we have the freedom of choice now which we didn't necessarily have back then, however that doesn't mean people always make the right choice!

Seriously, I do need a house coat though.