According to a Chicago Sun Times interview with Linda Przybyszewski , associate professor of history at Notre Dame, we have become a society of people who take no pride in our appearance.
She hates that flip flops, shorts and t-shirts have become the fashion staples of today and is writing a book about it called "Nation of Slobs-How Americans learned and forgot how to dress." She is also teaching a new course about Americans' poor dress habits.
Her extensive collection of 300 home economics books, dating back to 1918,were used as a reference. These books are guides to clothing ,sewing, design, grooming and budgeting — essentially books about the
"art of life,'' she says.
Supposedly our fashion sense has been heading in a downward spiral since the 1960's and I can't say I disagree. Although there are definitely appropriate places to wear the myriad of sportswear choices available today, these ultra casual styles are now seen almost everywhere, including weddings, funerals and job interviews. It does seem like we're becoming too lazy to put any effort into how we present ourselves, no matter what the occasion.
Like the professor, I agree we could all benefit from being a bit more conscious of our appearance. I'm really getting tired of seeing jeans that droop down so low that I have to look at undergarments (or worse yet, butt cracks), t-shirts with obscene sayings that aren't even clever or amusing, clothing so tight and cut so high or low that there is nothing left to the imagination and enough with the sweatpants already!
At the risk of sounding like some old prude, I think the sportswear of the 40s, 50s and 60s was much classier than what we see today . But, even then, it still would not have been considered appropriate attire for more formal occasions. I definitely think it's possible to dress informally without looking slovenly and it's just plain laziness to show up at someone's anniversary party looking like you just stepped out of the gym. Of course, I don't think we should be all stuffy and uptight, but I'm concerned the etiquette pendulum is definitely swinging so far the other way that we're losing our sense of decorum.
How do you feel about our trend toward extremely casual attire for any occasion? Do you agree with the professor that, as a nation, we're in need of a fashion makeover?
Here are some contemporary classic fashion choices from the FashionTribes blog to help you "stand out stylishly in a nation of slobs.