Why don't people dress smartly any more?

[MilkTrayLimeBarrel]

More and more recently, I have noticed that people in general just look scruffy whether for work or leisure. My DH is a prime example of this. He always used to wear a suit and tie or trousers with jacket and tie for work - he looks lovely in a suit - this was one of the things which attracted me to him! Now it's jeans and a t-shirt for work every day (he works in an office so it's not physical work) - and he just looks as if he has fallen out of bed! He tells me that 'nobody' bothers to dress smartly for work any more. Why have standards fallen so far?

*It’s also a status thing, particularly for men.

“I work in tech, I wear whatever I want.”

Vs

“I work in a shop, I have to wear what I’m told to wear.”*

Absolutely.

Also "I'm not a cog in the corporate wheel" ... while sticking to the IT alt-uniform ... dh used to work in defence but tbh even then (in the 90s) it wasn't any "smarter"... there is a definite inverted snobbery about suits - suit = works in finance or a wannabe (or off to a funeral!).

I was pretty smart when I worked (medicine) - mostly nice trousers/dresses & heels rather than suits though I did have (& still do!) a lucky viva suit. Only very senior men worse suits - my male colleagues wore chinos/shirts.

Might be something to do with erosion of the class system and erosion of the belief that there are other people that you defer to.
Children used to dress like mini adults. The working class used to dress like a version of the middle/upper class.People believed in society.
Now, people are more individualistic. They do what they want for themselves. They don’t feel a need to be like others or dress as others think they should.
The extreme end of this is the wearing pyjamas, slippers and rollers out and about. I’m sure there have been theses written on this.
In Europe, perhaps there is still more of a sense of society and perhaps that accounts for the sartorial difference?

Compared with when?

If you look at footage from the 1990s, people were proper scruffbags when grunge was around and it really influenced mainstream fashion.

Fashion is going through a phase where people dress a bit smarter, IMO. Not as smart and formally as the 1950s when everyone still wore a hat outdoors, but still with more fitted clothing than baggy and loose.

I suppose it depends where you look. In a lot of the country loads of people are massively overweight and I guess it's easier to dress in loose clothing.

Dressing ‘smartly’ with no regard for the work environment you’re in is seen as a bit passé these days - it’s up there with matching shoes and handbags or applying for jobs by printing your CV on fancy paper and posting it

Personally I think everyone should wear what the fuck they want, be that a suit or joggers. As long as they are pleasant to work with and do their job well, who cares?

'This is absolutely location dependent, not to mention lifestyle.' There's a kind of brown bread/white bread quality to it, the more dressed down you are the higher up in the hierarchy.
In the 90s the dressy top and jeans look drove me potty, how did you know anything was special? But that's kind of the point, it denies the specialness of anything and you're meant to look a bit bored/unimpressed/nonchalant.

I think a lot of people find traditional "smart" clothes uncomfortable and also possibly women at last beginning to stop putting themselves in eg uncomfortable shoes to conform to some bygone era.

Why should we not be ourselves if you like being trusted up like a foiled turkey it's fine or if you prefer more casual clothes it's fine. If you dont want layers of make up or you do that's fine. It's the person inside that's important.

Depends where you work I suppose. DH and I are both in corporate banking. He's in a v. senior customer facing role, and wears a suit every day. I'm in a back office and we have a smart-casual dress code. The men tend to wear shirt and trousers, some wear ties, some don't. The women are usually either in a pair of tailored trousers or smart skirt with a nice jumper or blouse and shift dresses are still popular. We are not permitted to wear jeans or trainers and tattoos have to be covered.

I like to think I dress smart-casual, but I know what you mean.in summer i just wear simple shift dresses with ballet flats and in winter in wear riding boots or wellies and dark wash Jeans with zero rips or chinos, a patterned shirt under colourful cable knit sweater, a statement necklace and a smart collared wool coat if the weather calls for it.

I do think it depends on your work environment, I work in an office and smart jeans/casual trousers plus flat shoes are ubiquitous, and the men tend to be in jeans/chinos open necked shirts. Anyone in a suit would look quite out of place.

I welcome it, I don't like dress restrictions, you can make an effort and still look good in casual clothes, save suits etc for special occasions, they make more impact that way. And comfy footwear all the way, court shoes and heels are a total no for me.

I work in tech, not customer facing and at my most recent company shorts (providing they are longish), t-shirts, ragged shirts or ripped jeans, trainers, flip flops are all fine. Just about to move to a very different role - suits, proper shirts, proper shoes, any accessories which have to be thought through, is expensive and time consuming! I am sure that one thing I will miss about my old company is the relaxed dress code!

I always dress smartly,I don't work anymore though because I'm disabled but I still always make an effort,for me if I'm to ill to make an effort then I'm generally to ill to go out anyways.

I always made an effort (and it has always been for myself)even when I was a single parent to 4DC.

I do know what you mean though OP,I love fashion and I love the different ways people interpret it but for the last few years I've noticed that when I go out there just seems to be a sea of people in jeans and t-shirts and I just find that so boring.

I do love how on a night out you see lots of late teen/20-something girls in trainers now, way more practical and comfy than heels!

I think the rise of tech industries probably has a part to play in changing workwear trends. Tech has always been very, very casual and if you want to employ these people in other industries you will have to bend to them re dress codes rather than the other way round. Their skills are in too high demand. This has a knock on to other employees.

I’m in the middle I reckon

At home - jeans, cashmere / knit, good quality t, good boots, scarf and pea coat. Leggings are sport only. But I wouldn’t wear a shirt or silk just round the house.

At work - blouse, shirt, blazer, jeans, jumper if no client, slim trousers, block heel.

Going out,- dress but comfortable not tight and heels but only if I don’t have to walk far and not too vertiginous

My hair isn’t overly coiffed but good cut and colour.

I feel quite good with the mix

I did think Milan was uber stylish when I visited, more so than other cities, but saw style you don’t get here.

I think it’s possible to look smart without being corporate/formal. I love clothes, makeup, and putting outfits together, and I think I always look smart, definitely “polished”, but absolutely not formal. Everything is ironed, clean, thought through, nice accessories etc.

I’ve got a few days off this week, so currently knocking about in “lounge wear”, far from smart, but for work on Monday (creative environment) I wore:

Black leather skirt, just above the knee
Slim black polo neck jumper
Black opaque tights
Black and white leather Veja trainers
Silver Alex Monroe necklace
Nails painted dark navy, red lipstick, otherwise minimal makeup

My rule for work tends to be to wear one casual item (trainers, jeans) and keep the rest of it smart.

In my work the smartest people are senior managers, or security staff, both of whom wear suits.

I remember my first interviews out of university everyone wore a suit with the shirt collar over the top of the jacket.

Glad we’ve moved on from that ;

I agree that its really positive that trainers and other supportive shoes are so ubiquitous now, so nice to see women and girls wearing these instead of heels, they look great and are far better for your posture, foot health etc. Long may it continue.

To everyone claiming standards have slipped and you always dress smartly even though others don't - how many of you wear hour-glass corsets, stockings with suspenders, hats and gloves every day?

Because if you don't, by the standards of the 1950s, you're as scruffy as the rest of us.

I agree, as 'low heel' now means 3 inches which produces the arse-out duck waddle, here's to the end of 'smart'. Hopefully ballet flats will also go out, again produces a waddle to keep them on and lots of whinging about sore feet. Wear shoes fit for purpose or stop blubbering.

dress for what you are doing. Clean and tidy if in an office, customer facing etc. Practical and warm for outdoors. Jeans, fashion boots, a 'showerproof' coat for a walk or an outdoor activity makes you a laughing stock however smart you might think you are.

Dh used to wear a Paul Smith suit with Thomas Pink shirts and ties cufflinks etc for work but dress like an absolute scruff at home - which pissed me off a bit - I too liked his suit but hated his scruffy casual stuff. The whole formal suit thing was considered a bit old fashioned/out of touch, didn't match his company image so now he dresses smart casual for work and he has invested in a proper coordinated good quality wardrobe of casual clothes and consequently he now dresses more smartly out of work too - the suits only come out for board meetings with investors or very traditional clients.

I think, unless you're in a very client facing formal role (or uniformed), employers tend to prioritise comfort at work over being smartly dressed. I used to work in an office where men were expected to wear full suits and women smart suits/skirts with heels. It was completely pointless. We just sat there processing data and had absolutely no interaction with clients or the public. Considering we were being paid pretty much minimum wage for this, expecting that level of dress was unreasonable IMO.

I now wear smart jeans and nice tops to work, I feel a lot more comfortable and I prefer my staff to feel comfortable too. As long as they don't wear trackies or Pjs to work and they perform well I DGAF what they wear.

I think offices with a suit/tie dress code are just uptight macho managers expressing a literal fetish for control over their subordinates.

Think about the symbolic language of mens suits: Cuffs. Collars. A leash. Language of restraint and bondage.

Fine for consenting adults in private or a sex club. Deeply problematic when compelled to wear it in daily life.

I agree that its really positive that trainers and other supportive shoes are so ubiquitous now, so nice to see women and girls wearing these instead of heels, they look great and are far better for your posture, foot health etc. Long may it continue.

I wake up at 5.30am for work. Unless I go to bed at 8 I am just too tired to dress up.

I look presentable but my hair just gets brushed and barely any makeup and the clothes I can afford are fine but become quickly damaged/faded/worn.

So a combination of clothes being bad quality or good quality being too expensive and there being no housewife at home to press and lay out clothes and spend a long time on their appearance.