# Did People REALLY Dress Up This Much? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908 "2006-08-08T20:07:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/21 "2006-08-09T00:54:21Z")
As another example I give you [Cornelius ‘Connie Mack’ MacGillicuddy](http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/excerpts/american_league18.stm). Manager (and owner) of the Philadelphia Athletics for about 50 years or so. Note his suit and tie. MLB rules mandate that only personnel in uniform (other than medical staff) can enter the field of play. But Mack felt that he should wear a suit. So when the time came when a manager should be on the field (replacing a pitcher and whatnot) he sent someone else in with direction because he wanted to keep the suit. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/22 "2006-08-09T01:12:54Z")
[QUOTE=Spartydog] The Kennedy inauguration in 1961 sparked a controversy. Kennedy did not normally wear a hat and there was speculation as to whether he would wear one at his inaugeration. He did wear a tophat. Here is a Snopes article about the event: [Kennedy’s tophat](http://www.snopes.com/history/american/jfkhat.htm) The situation in the Snopes article is a chicken/egg question. Snopes accurately shows that the Kennedy inauguration did not “kill” men’s hat sales. However, the fact that Kennedy, for the most part, only wore a hat for that one event signified the trend towards more casual dress standards. It was said that Kennedy wore the tophat in deference to the hat manufacturers, not because he felt comfortable with it. [/QUOTE] It’s annoying that Snopes reports the facts right, but gets the overall picture wrong. The important point is that Kennedy took off his top hat for his inauguration speech. That’s the only part of the ceremony most people cared about and it’s the part that became famous. The image that people took away from the inauguration is of a hatless Kennedy, even though he wore his hat for the rest of the day. Talk about missing the forest for the trees. It’s not true that this one incident killed the hat business - they have that right. Casual dress was part of a longer and larger trend. But the rest of it is a classic case of nitpicking the facts until they become meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/23 "2006-08-09T01:18:09Z")
> [@](#): > > As another example I give you Cornelius ‘Connie Mack’ MacGillicuddy. Manager (and owner) of the Philadelphia Athletics for about 50 years or so. > > Note his suit and tie. And look at the fans in the seats behind him. Looks like Bank President’s Day at the ballpark. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Blue-Sighted_Shadow)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/24 "2006-08-09T01:30:40Z")
My grandparents put on some home movies from the 40s last Christmas. The men were in shirtsleeves, slacks and ties and the women in dresses. They were on a _ **camping** _ trip. Cooking over an open fire, setting up the tents and playing baseball, etc. The rest of the movies were more Sunday after-church, especially the really old ones, late 30s maybe? Even on the skiing trips, they were dressed pretty formally, to my eyes. I loved the women’s clothes, but can’t imagine having to wear them all the time, especially since they were obviously corseted, with those teeny-tiny waists. ::shudder:: ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/25 "2006-08-09T01:43:47Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] One thing I’ve always wondered, from this and previous times… how did they handle the heat in those clothes, particularly pre-airconditioning? [/QUOTE] They acclimated. Growing up in Texas in the 1950s I was in a jacket and tie in hot weather my share of the time. And you’ve heard of women who suffered “the vapors” or “fainting spells.” That’s what happened when you didn’t acclimate. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/26 "2006-08-09T01:52:24Z")
Thanks for the catch on the Kennedy UL, **Spartydog**. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/27 "2006-08-09T01:54:57Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Nashville’s female teachers weren’t allowed to wear slacks until the early 1970’s. Even then, we were restricted to pant suits – no casual slacks or jeans. [/QUOTE] My high school’s girls’ gym teacher once told me that when she had her first teaching job she wasn’t allowed to set foot out of the gymnasium (unless her class had outdoor activities) unless she had on a skirt, hose, and ladies shoes (not gym shoes). This included her lunch break, the male gym teachers just had to put on long pants (this was when shorts were _really short_). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/28 "2006-08-09T01:59:52Z")
Oh, and there were warm-weather suits made from light fabrics like seersucker or linen. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/29 "2006-08-09T02:32:31Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] T-shirts are a modern invention; jeans were working clothes for manual labourers. [/QUOTE] My buddy’s parents were older parents, and in fact may both be gone now from old age; they had grown up in the depression. He said that among the generational disconnects was the idea of “Why would you wear dungarees out around town?” Meaning the standard-issue Levi’s for every Led Zepp fan of the 70s, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/30 "2006-08-09T02:37:10Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] My high school’s girls’ gym teacher once told me that when she had her first teaching job she wasn’t allowed to set foot out of the gymnasium (unless her class had outdoor activities) unless she had on a skirt, hose, and ladies shoes (not gym shoes). \*). [/QUOTE] Not that dress codes are gone in some places. I substituted for a PE class, and one of the regular teachers affirmed that the policy was “no hats, period”. He said that he told the administration that considering the amount of time he was in the sun, they could take it up with his union rep if they didn’t like it. I understand that his hat-iness was then ignored. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/31 "2006-08-09T02:49:34Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] The important point is that Kennedy took off his top hat for his inauguration speech. That’s the only part of the ceremony most people cared about and it’s the part that became famous. The image that people took away from the inauguration is of a hatless Kennedy, even though he wore his hat for the rest of the day. Talk about missing the forest for the trees. [/QUOTE] Why? No one wore a hat while taking the oath and giving the address. [Eisenhower didn’t](http://www.medaloffreedom.com/DwightEisenhowerInaug.jpg) wear a hat. [Truman didn’t](http://www.authentichistory.com/1950s/speeches/images/19490120_Truman_Inaugural.jpg). [Roosevelt didn’t.](http://www.eiu.edu/~eiuaam/newsletter/archive/dec04/images/roosevelt.jpg) Neither did [Hoover](http://www.ecommcode.com/hoover/hooveronline/hoover_bio/archive/pres/images/p2inaug.JPG) or [Coolidge](http://iraq-kill-maim.org/prezsec/pict467.jpg). It would have been a fashion faux pas to wear a hat while making a formal speech. The inauguration had little to do with the decline in the use of hat (which I deplore – I love hats). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/32 "2006-08-09T02:56:54Z")
All them geezers were old guys. Kennedy was young and had a great head of hair. His whole campaign was about (explicitly or implicitly) the changing of the generations. Think of all those touch football games for Kennedy vs. those rounds of golf (and operations) for Eisenhower. It didn’t matter what people had done before. What mattered was the image they associated with Kennedy, as opposed to the images they had of the earlier presidents. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/33 "2006-08-09T03:09:33Z")
You can see [films of a Westinghouse manufacturing facility](http://rs6.loc.gov/papr/west/westhome.html) in 1904. The factory mechanics wear white shirts, neckties, and vests as they work [assembling a generator](http://rs6.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?papr:1:./temp/~ammem_APOL::). [Supervisors in the factory](http://rs6.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?papr:11:./temp/~ammem_APOL::) wear three-piece suits and hats. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/34 "2006-08-09T03:30:34Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] And people _always_ dressed up for pictures. Having your picture taken was a special event, and you wanted to look good. [/QUOTE] I found a box of daugerrotypes at work not too long ago. My curator was thrilled because one of them included a man dressed in rough work clothing. We didn’t have anything like it in our collection. > [@Jahdra](#): > > I loved the women’s clothes, but can’t imagine having to wear them all the time, especially since they were obviously corseted, with those teeny-tiny waists. ::shudder:: They may have been wearing a [girdle](http://www.anothertimevintageapparel.com/images/stock_PFC_a.jpg), but [corsets](http://www.knowlesville.com/matt/vintage_fashion/images/1900-corset-5.jpg) were pretty much gone by then. (Elastic is a hell of a lot more comfortable than metal stays!) ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/35 "2006-08-09T03:53:28Z")
I find it hilarious the joy at the tossing away of hats, when a huge number of men wear baseball caps 24/7. I get annoyed because at my place of work, during racing season, we play the anthem and everyone in the room is supposed to rise. I am shocked at those that do not rise and offended at those that leave their hats on. I am especially shocked at the old men that leave their hats on. I wish the dress would improve on the oompa loompa and bimbo looks of today. Give me ANY of the dresses from the movie “Desk Set” and I’d wear it forever. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/36 "2006-08-09T04:00:55Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] They may have been wearing a [girdle](http://www.anothertimevintageapparel.com/images/stock_PFC_a.jpg), but [corsets](http://www.knowlesville.com/matt/vintage_fashion/images/1900-corset-5.jpg) were pretty much gone by then. (Elastic is a hell of a lot more comfortable than metal stays!) [/QUOTE] squeeee! That corset is gorgeous! Is it in your museum’s collection? I know, I know, I’m one of those crazy chicks who wishes corsets would come back in style - at least as an option. With my curves, the only time I can run downhill without my tits knocking my chin is in a corset! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/37 "2006-08-09T04:09:15Z")
Like Ethel and Eve I certainly wouldnt wear jeans on the Subway. Pretty much exclusively shorts from April to October, thank you very much. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/38 "2006-08-09T04:12:38Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] squeeee! That corset is gorgeous! Is it in your museum’s collection? [/QUOTE] No, it’s just a picture I found for illustrative purposes, but we have several very similar ones and a ton of other styles/time periods (including a child’s corset from the mid 1700s). ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/39 "2006-08-09T04:26:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Oddly enough, people’s manners improve as their dress code improves. Or maybe it’s the other way around - but you get the idea. That has not been my experience. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908/40 "2006-08-09T14:45:06Z")
As a child in the 1970s, I lived across the street from a family that seemed straight out of the 1950s. One story: I was playing with the boy across the street, and his mother calls him inside - they’re going to McDonalds, and it’s time to get dressed. The kid runs inside, and comes back out in a suit. The mother and daughter look like they stepped off the set of _Leave it to Beaver_. They returned about a half hour after leaving. They _really_ dressed up to go to McDonalds - the boy had a McDonalds cup in his hand. Every time that family piled in their car, they were dressed up as if they were going to church. (They were just regular Catholics.) There were still quite a few relics of 1950s culture evident in the 1970s. Some older men wore button-down collared shirts and ties when they sat on their front porches. Quite a few women on my block didn’t know how to drive. [This is the cover](http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cover9tt.jpg) of a 1936 Spiegal catalog a co-worker shared with me. [Here’s a page of boys clothing](http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=boybiltsuits7vx.jpg). Think about it - _suits with knee-length pants_. (Half of the items in the catalog were described as “snappy” or “gay”.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-people-really-dress-up-this-much/367908.md?page=3)