Dressed for the city then – Image source unknown
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” ~ Leslie Poles Hartley quotes (English Writer, 1895-1972)
If you’ve been a reader of my blog for some time now, you probably realize I love quotes.
This oddity stems from my fondness for the written word and when I find a quote that ‘speaks’ to me, I squirrel it away in my trusty quotes notebook like a treasured nut for winter’s sustenance.
Then at the appropriate time, that quote lends itself well to thoughts I may be pondering.
I’ve stewed over one idea for the past few weeks. This particular notion presented itself when hubby I ventured into the city and it has retained a spot on my “Things to Blog About” list, but I just couldn’t find a handle to hang it on until I discovered the above mentioned quote today.
I’m reminded more and more that the past really IS like a foreign country. All I must do to witness this is visit a public place – a school, a church, a store – or drive down the streets of the nearest city.
When I was younger, the majority of people dressed up in their nicest clothes and made themselves look presentable to go out into public. They wore their “Sunday best” to church, weddings, funerals, shopping, even the doctor’s office, and especially if they were visiting the city.
I vividly recall one day when I was a college student, a friend and I planned a shopping day downtown in our nearest large metropolis. As I was leaving my parents’ home, my father, who traveled there often for meetings related to his work, asked me with a hint of disdain in his voice, “Is THAT what you’re wearing?”
I thought I looked presentable in my bell-bottom slacks with a cute sleeveless summery shirt and my wedged platform sandals. Dad thought differently.
This was a man who dressed himself in a suit, shirt, tie and hat for work every single day even in summer’s heat. My attire, he informed me, was not suitable for the city. And he was correct.
I was stubborn and refused to change, but after my friend and I stepped off the bus onto the hustle and bustle of the city streets, I realized for myself how grossly under-dressed I was. Everyone was outfitted in very nice clothes and I felt self-conscious about the way I looked.
By today’s standards though, I would probably have looked dressed up. Recently, hubby and I drove to our metro area on a week day, a work day. I didn’t see many men walking along downtown dressed in suits, let alone ties. Women weren’t “dressed for success” either.
Dressed for the city now – Image source unknown
Almost everyone was casually attired and some were dressed inexcusably inappropriately with body parts and/or under garments exposed.
I couldn’t help thinking that my dad would have been appalled to see so many slobs in this downtown city, where he would not have been caught dead without his hat.
While hubby and I discussed this ‘trend,’ he recalled traveling on a field trip to Washington, DC when he was in elementary school. His mother made him wear a suit and tie because that was just good form back then.
He was, after all, visiting our nation’s capital and should be dressed respectfully. He still remembers a couple of classmates, clothed in regular pants and shirts with sweaters, calling him “Senator” because of the way he was attired.
Both he and I grew up during a time when people wore their best clothes when going out in public, not like they just rolled out of bed and were wearing clothes in which they slept. We also grew up in the thick of tumultuous change – the 60’s – and were in college and a young married couple in the 70’s. So we embraced the new freedom of style, but we still managed to understand dressing appropriately and to teach that concept to our children. Now, anything goes.
Before you call me an old fuddy-duddy, let me firmly state I don’t believe we should live in the past. There were definitely customs and ideas of the past that we gratefully put behind us, but I must ask why people prefer to dress like slobs today.
I don’t know if it’s just that society in general has become so casual about everything or whether people have just become more lazy and slovenly. Do they really not know any better? Or is it that people just don’t have respect for anything any more, not even themselves?
I wonder this when I attend a lovely formal church wedding (not in an outdoor setting) and notice not only men without suits or ties, but men clad in shorts. I wonder this when I witness middle-aged women attired in Daisy Duke shorts and revealing tops. I wonder this when I catch a glimpse of a person in t-shirt and jeans enter a funeral home to pay ‘respect’ to one who has passed away.
And I shake my head in amazement why people want to be seen in public like that.
I realize I’ve just delivered a bit of a rant, but on this 4th page, Chapter 6, in my book called Opportunity, I’m seriously wondering am I just a foreigner in this different age? Tell me what you think.
Copyright ©2011 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com
