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Original poster

Why don't people dress smartly any more?

216 replies

MilkTrayLimeBarrel · 30/01/2020 08:51

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?

OP posts:
Heismyopendoor · 30/01/2020 13:30

I love our church and everyone wears a suit or dresses up nice. My kids wear little shirts and bow tie and fancy dresses. They love getting to dress up and my husband looks good in a suit. He has to wear a uniform for work so it’s nice to see him looking sharp!

Comeonbabyyay · 30/01/2020 13:33

I think you are right but for some reason it is still the same in my hometown (abroad)
My mum had a shock when I left in my sport clothes.
And I used to polish my shoes, no more.

MaybeDoctor · 30/01/2020 13:34

I dress quite smartly for work (dress plus coordinating cardigan) apart from that weird time of year when it is neither summer nor autumn and I go into smart-casual to avoid wardrobe dilemmas.

However, for anyone who is interested in the signifiers of dress take a look at the column inches devoted to Dominic Cummings’ sartorial choices.

HelgaHere1 · 30/01/2020 13:36

Yes, but shirts , with their stiff collars and buttons to the neck are designed for ties. I think an open neck shirt ( not a casual one with a v neck) looks daft without a tie.

HelgaHere1 · 30/01/2020 13:39

What annoys me is that we mostly all look scruffy DESPITE never having bought so many clothes. We are adding to the destruction of the environment whilst looking unkempt!!! Why??

Floisme · 30/01/2020 14:34

I dress fairly casually but I put a lot of thought into it and I do kind of see where the op is coming from. I get most of my style ideas from watching people and it's pretty meagre pickings at the moment, although it's not so much the smartness I miss, as the creativity.

And despite never wearing heels, I don't see the current trainers trend as liberating. It's turned into ordeal by branding, as evidenced by the countless threads where people fret about whether they're wearing the 'correct' kind.

TheLightGetsIn · 30/01/2020 14:45

Really interesting thread. I've got mixed feelings about most of it as I do think it's nice to be a bit more creative with everyday wear rather than have a very restrictive uniform of suits etc, but I have to say I do really dislike the sportswear-as-ordinary-wear trend.

I also think it's a bit of a shame that there is almost nowhere to wear really nice dresses etc now. Smart casual is fine, but when pretty much every social occasion, even ones that used to be seen as something quite special, is some variant on "smart casual" (and anything else apparently marks you out as a country bumpkin stuck in a timewarp) it gets a bit...boring. I have a collection of nice dresses that I almost never get to wear any more, because they would look so OTT and dated.

On the sportswear trend, I've also never understood why this country has such a problem with shoes. In most other European countries you can buy European-made shoes that are both supportive, comfortable and smart. Here there's often a rigid division between trainers and flimsy, uncomfortable shoes that are bad for your feet.

Itsashame · 30/01/2020 14:46

I’m surprised at the pp who said the Americans are the only ones in suits. I travel to America off and on for work and in the last 20 years I’ve seen nothing on American men at work, other than chinos and blue open neck shirts.

yoyoinSE3 · 30/01/2020 14:51

CBA. Like to be comfortable. Am comfortable in leggings, a baggy sweatshirt and trainers, I work from home so 99% of the time this is how I dress.

Why would anyone care what other people wear?

yoyoinSE3 · 30/01/2020 14:52

I have a collection of nice dresses that I almost never get to wear any more, because they would look so OTT and dated.

You can still wear them. Plenty of people are into the vintage dress thing and look lovely. Fuck what other people think.

yoyoinSE3 · 30/01/2020 14:53

I think it’s also because we are getting fatter too. A tightly fitted waist band and a jacket that doesn’t do up might on a day to day basis remind us of that

Oh yes, that one always comes up on threads like this one.

yoyoinSE3 · 30/01/2020 14:55

Actually, having RTFT, here's the thing - the issue here is that lots of people seem to be complaining "I want to dress smartly, but can't because other people don't"

which is pathetic really. You can wear what you want. No one's stopping you dressing smartly. Who cares what others are wearing?

SapphireSeptember · 30/01/2020 14:56

I think I dress nicely, not overly smart but not scruffy either. Scruffy is when I'm bumming around at home in my nightie. Grin My usual outfits are t-shirt/long sleeved top and a skirt, although I have some nice dresses too (that I wear with a denim jacket, depending on how warm it is.)

I wear uniform at work (shirt and trousers) and there's no point in ironing said shirt because it's hidden by an apron and usually ends up covered in bits of food.
I see this come up all the time when watching vintage videos about how to dress/do make up. I wonder if people in the 1950s were thinking the same thing when comparing their fashion to that of the 1900s.

cushioncovers · 30/01/2020 14:58

Too expensive
Too time consuming needs ironing
Too uncomfortable

PatellarTendonitis · 30/01/2020 15:01

Why would anyone care what other people wear?

So they can be judgy and sneering and tragically nostalgic over a past that's gone.

TiddleTaddleTat · 30/01/2020 15:07

I think about this too. I find it very difficult to find decent quality smart-ish clothes suitable for work without looking inappropriately smart. Eg. Hobbs is far too boxy/stiff for me but the next step down eg. Warehouse the quality is not great.

jewel1968 · 30/01/2020 15:09

I like putting a bit of effort into my work attire. It cheers me up cos I am a bit shallow. On days I work at home I am in my comfy clothes and in some ways I think I am more productive. Doesn't bother me what others wear but I do find it depressing to see men always wearing navy or black suits. Why not try a different colour.

I work in a large office which has a huge mix of styles from those that look like teenagers that fell out of bed to men in boring suits to the occasional man with a flair for the interesting. One man I saw yesterday was wearing pale pink brogues. I love the variety.

Women generally always look nice but very varied styles. None of it impacts their work.

AlaskaElfForGin · 30/01/2020 15:18

I totally agree OP. When I first started working in the early 80s just about everyone made an effort, particularly going to work. Everyone in my office had their hair done, nails looked after, beautiful clothes etc. Now, I think that standards have dropped massively.

AlaskaElfForGin · 30/01/2020 15:20

So they can be judgy and sneering and tragically nostalgic over a past that's gone.

Part of this is absolutely true. It is a past that's gone. I certainly don't judge or sneer at what anyone wears now, it's perfectly possible to believe that standards have dropped without doing so. It's just the way it is now.

Runneryogi · 30/01/2020 15:22

I always dress really smartly for work. I'm one of the few women in senior management and fairly young compared to my colleagues and I look younger. If I wear jeans and a hoody I look like a student. I want to be taken seriously so I wear smart clothes that don't detract from what I'm saying/doing.

I really like clothes and dressing up too - at the weekend my style is more playful but still quite smart. I would wear a nice dress to go for a pub lunch for example.

We all have our own styles and it's refreshing that we can be ourselves.

onthewatchlist · 30/01/2020 15:32

When I first started working in the early 80s just about everyone made an effort, particularly going to work. Everyone in my office had their hair done, nails looked after, beautiful clothes etc. Now, I think that standards have dropped massively.

Knowing what people dressed like in the 80s, I would say that I respectfully beg to disagree with you.

motortroll · 30/01/2020 15:51

Quite a lot if business is over the phone/online these days so what's the point?

Also I don't want to lol

AlaskaElfForGin · 30/01/2020 15:57

Knowing what people dressed like in the 80s, I would say that I respectfully beg to disagree with you.

Well @onthewatchlist it's all relative isn't it!? 😂 That's what's so good about fashion in that they change and we can look back and have a good laugh at what we wore. Fashions seems to be much more casual now than it was then and I include myself in that too. What kind of things did you wear in the 80s?

AndThenThereWereSeven · 30/01/2020 16:00

My DH still has to wear a suit - costs a fortune in dry cleaning and replacements though.

IlikebigMutts · 30/01/2020 16:08

@TheLightGetsIn I'm not sure it marks you out as a "country bumpkin stuck in a time warp" I always feel like it marks me out as working class when I'm wearing a dress and am dressed up a bit and everyone else casual. I don't care though Smile my mother is from the east end of London originally and is always dressed up matching handbag etc.