Why Americans dress so casually
By Roberto A. Ferdman, Washington Post
Look around you, and you’ll likely notice a sea of different outfits. You might see similar articles of clothing — even the same ones — worn by different people, but rarely do you find two pairings of tops, bottoms, shoes, and accessories that are exactly alike.
That wasn’t always the case, said Deirdre Clemente, a historian of 20th century American culture at UNLV, whose research focuses on fashion and clothing. Americans were far more formal, and formulaic dressers, not all that long ago. Men wore suits, almost without fail — not just to work, but also at school. And women, for the most part, wore long dresses.
Clemente has written extensively about the evolution of American dress in the 1900s, a period that, she said, was marked, maybe more than anything else, by a single but powerful trend: As everyday fashion broke from tradition, it shed much of its socioeconomic implications — people no longer dress to feign wealth like they once did — and took on a new meaning.
The shift has, above all, led toward casualness in the way we dress.
Is it possible that the ‘casual Friday’ of the ’80’s morphed into more casual (every day) by absorbing “TGIF” via a ‘take this job & shove it’ mentality that needed tolerance to get anything done by a constantly evolving (think ‘turnstile’) staff?…
It was then also said that the ‘Power Broker’ was the one who could show up at a Board meeting carrying only an 8 X 14 legal pad – as it was other ‘menial’ types who prepared most of the agenda of the Board meeting. . .by making copies for everyone. . .
It was then perhaps that this silliness was then found to offer the best solution: if one is comfortable, then maybe it’s possible to actually get more done, with less bother, & more effectiveness – w/o stressing lower salaries with the need to buy more formal attire. . .a start of office wisdom?. . .
Presentable can be done ‘casual’, as ‘formal’ becomes stiff & stultifying, which can dampen the spirit of a satisfied staff, as appearances replace what might actually get done.
Fashion then became a way for “each” to make their own statement as to their creativity, attitudes, & animus ‘out-in-the-world’ – who they want to be & show (?). . .
For me, it got a little cumbersome when people brought their dogs to work, a sign of forgiving & tolerant attitudes…stepping over them in order to conduct the business-at-hand is an unneeded distraction, as being a bit too casual… but then, we humans are known to way overdo some good things. . .