Are we in an epsiode of The Twilight Zone, or The Outer Limits?

There are days when I observe the people around me, and how they appear for public consumption at work, in a professional environment mind you, and feel as though I am, in actuality, simply in the midst of a great huge daycare center.

The jettisoning of the tailored wardrobe is merely a part of the larger and ongoing 'democratization' of dress that started to standardize the wardrobe with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and whereby we may all eventually be encased in the same synthetic coverall and molded plastic footwear. Still others will tell you the degeneration of the trad wardrobe is all part of the “me” generation’s retreat from social consciousness and public style, part and parcel of a general lack of empathy, manners, and responsibility. More ancient members of the community can often be overheard muttering that we will eventually descend into anarchy, barbarism, and loincloths. -- G. Bruce Boyer

Read the entire article by clicking here!

As one reader has suggested here at Classic Style in the last year and a half or so, it seems like a substantial portion of society will not be happy until they can appear publicly in sagging diapers and/or onesies with food smeared on one cheek, sleep in their eyes, and terminal bedhead. I'll go a step further and submit that we're just about there. Rod Serling (of The Twilight Zone fame) would appreciate it.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Comments

Gentleman Farmer said…

That is just a wonderful article, remarkably on point, by Mr. Boyer published in what is arguably America’s finest religious journals...

September 26, 2018 at 6:36 AM

The Problem of "Business Casual" Attire. . .

This is how it's done. Business Casual the RIGHT way, ladies and gentlemen. Even during the summer months. A photograph (taken by Studio B Portraits) which appeared in 425 Business Magazine in May 2017.

This post on the problem of business casual dress began as a quick postscript to a previous blog entry last week but quickly grew and grew as additional thoughts occurred, were developed in more detail, and revisions made. So much so, that it seemed, eventually, like a better idea to make the initial P.S. afterthought into its own entry. Are ya ready, Freddy? Then, here we go. . .
------------

Unless you actually plan to sell beach snacks and trinkets on Cozumel, become a serial barista, or greet customers at a fancy nightclub after taking out huge student loans to attend university somewhere for four or five years, plus an MBA afterward, it's really a better idea to err on the side of (somewhat) more formal work attire any time you head into the office or meet with clie…

If You Travel Abroad This Summer. . .

No baseball caps or fanny packs visible here, but you take the point I hope.
A comment was left on another attire and lifestyle blog that I look at a few times a week that hit the nail on the head:

"When in Rome do as the Romans. Please don’t wear shorts, a fanny pack, sandals, and a baseball cap as they scream “ugly American.”

I would add only that the visually jarring look described above also has its British, Scandinavian, and German variants. To borrow a page from the late Nancy Reagan's book, "Just say no!"

Unless of course you are by a swimming pool, or on a beach somewhere with the aim of looking like a cooked, slightly inebriated lobster by day's end when you stagger back to your hotel for dinner and later clubbing with all of the usual tactless, ostentatious displays of lowbrow drunks off the leash away from home for a few days. Then, by all means, go right ahead.

For those interested in doing things in a more understated way, dressing with comfort in m…

Dressing for the January Cold. . .

Said 'polo coat,' found via Ebay and acquired for pennies on the dollar.

Dressing for the cold in a professional sense can sometimes be a challenge in our age of so called athleisure technical gear that looks like it might be more at home on the ski slopes, or tobogganing at the local park than in a quasi-white collar setting. Sure, there are still companies that produce classic men's overcoats of one kind or another, but too often these items are obscenely expensive when purchased new at full retail price. While I no longer shop thrift and charity establishments, let's be reasonable.

Luckily, there are other options though, for instance Ebay, where I stumbled onto this vintage Polo University Club double-breasted 'polo coat' (in a wool and camel hair blend) at the end of November 2018. I've been on the lookout for one of these for several years, and given the ridiculously low asking price, I made an offer, which the seller accepted. Yes! Call it a late …

Classic Style

Search This Blog