# The main factors in why people dress down much more today compared to previous generations? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 11, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447 "2012-10-11T19:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![GQELITE33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@GQELITE33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GQELITE33)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/101 "2012-10-12T15:53:55Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I own my own business, a sole proprietorship. There are few perks to my situation, but one is that I can wear whatever the fuck I want. And I do. You are a true American Rebel. Such built up hatred for society who thinks that men dressing nice is a positive thing. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/102 "2012-10-12T15:56:14Z")
GQELITE33, replace all of your uses of “dress” with “language” (with other substitutions as appropriate). Now tell me why your judging by dress is more important than my judging by language. Your language is not awful, i.e. illiterate, but I would judge it as slovenly. I downgrade you for it. How do you respond? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/103 "2012-10-12T15:57:05Z")
I love how GQ is unwavering in his quest to convince us that we are slobby lonely assholes quietly quaking in fear as we move through life, whenever not wearing a suit. Also, it seems that “people” as contemplated by him are all men. I’m pretty sure he has never considered the suit as women’s attire… apparently women are all cocktail-dress wearing arm candy when he thinks of them at all. Dude, simmer down. What’s funny is how this thread dovetails the “things men do to impress women but really just make them look like assholes” thread. Loudly proclaiming your stylishness and leadership qualities, spending loads of time on grooming and talking about grooming, casually dismissing women… yeah, it’s all here. So, OP, do you have a loud sports car or conspicuously expensive sedan? One whose price you “accidentally” mention on every date? Please, please tell me you do. ---
**Author:** ![GQELITE33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@GQELITE33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GQELITE33)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/104 "2012-10-12T15:58:17Z")
I agree with you. But this topic is about a mans style , not how well he uses proper English. P.S. Wigs on men were not used as a fashion statement. When showers were scarce, men shaved their heads to banish lice. Wigs were easy to clean, could be taken off before bed, kept the sun from burning your scalp, facilitated hairdressing and may have even repelled ticks, mites and other vermin. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/105 "2012-10-12T16:00:10Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > You are a true American Rebel. Such built up hatred for society who thinks that men dressing nice is a positive thing. I don’t hate society, but they can MTOFB as far as my dress is concerned. I’m clean. ---
**Author:** ![GQELITE33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@GQELITE33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GQELITE33)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/106 "2012-10-12T16:04:13Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I don’t hate society, but they can MTOFB as far as my dress is concerned. I’m clean. You know what? I agree with you. You worked hard to own your own business and if you want to sit in your office with your boxers on, you have every right to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/107 "2012-10-12T16:08:03Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > Five reasons why young men should dress sharp 1957 called, they want their list back. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/108 "2012-10-12T16:08:33Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > Five reasons why young men should dress sharp > > … > > Image is very important. A young man who dresses sharp gives a strong image to which people will be attracted to and will strive to maintain this attention. You sound just like an article from GQ or Maxim. Either you’ve ripped it from one of those rags or you write for them. I don’t think you’ll find a very receptive audience here. Those magazines seem to be geared for celebrity-worshipping idiots who need to be told how to dress. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/109 "2012-10-12T16:17:54Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > You know what? I agree with you. You worked hard to own your own business and if you want to sit in your office with your boxers on, you have every right to do that. Briefs. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/110 "2012-10-12T16:19:43Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > I agree with you. > > But this topic is about a mans style , not how well he uses proper English. We’ve thoroughly covered that aspect of a man’s style by universally disagreeing with you on it. Now we’re broadening the topic to cover other aspects of how men are judged. Your wearing a suit does not cover up your lacks in any other aspect of you as a total package; you are judged on everything. > [@](#): > > P.S. Wigs on men were not used as a fashion statement. > > When showers were scarce, men shaved their heads to banish lice. Wigs were easy to clean, could be taken off before bed, kept the sun from burning your scalp, facilitated hairdressing and may have even repelled ticks, mites and other vermin. Wigs were absolutely a fashion statement. Period. You can show this by noting that the poor, who had more functional reasons for wearing wigs, did not do so. Wigs were an upper class affectation, and appeared and disappeared in various times and various cultures, even when the same underlying sanitary conditions continued. You can also point to the deliberate shunning of wigs by many in the upper classes of revolutionary America in order to show their difference from the British aristocracy. The lower classes never wore wigs and so never needed to abandon them. In the broader sense, any mode of dress will become a fashion statement for those who are obsessed by fashion, as you are. It doesn’t matter if the object is a suit, a wig, knee boots, a watch, a tie, sneakers, sweatshirts, leisure suits, or eyeglasses. Anything and everything will sooner rather than later be turned into fashion. Dressing down is also a fashion statement, therefore, and a perfectly legitimate and equal one. In addition, repeating the same argument over and over at longer length is not a winning strategy. It doesn’t work for young men, either. ---
**Author:** ![GQELITE33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@GQELITE33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GQELITE33)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/111 "2012-10-12T16:20:42Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > 1957 called, they want their list back. 2012 called. They wanted to know why you dress like a bum and don’t care? ---
**Author:** ![GQELITE33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@GQELITE33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GQELITE33)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/112 "2012-10-12T16:22:00Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > We’ve thoroughly covered that aspect of a man’s style by universally disagreeing with you on it. Now we’re broadening the topic to cover other aspects of how men are judged. Your wearing a suit does not cover up your lacks in any other aspect of you as a total package; you are judged on everything. > > Wigs were absolutely a fashion statement. Period. You can show this by noting that the poor, who had more functional reasons for wearing wigs, did not do so. Wigs were an upper class affectation, and appeared and disappeared in various times and various cultures, even when the same underlying sanitary conditions continued. You can also point to the deliberate shunning of wigs by many in the upper classes of revolutionary America in order to show their difference from the British aristocracy. The lower classes never wore wigs and so never needed to abandon them. > > In the broader sense, any mode of dress will become a fashion statement for those who are obsessed by fashion, as you are. It doesn’t matter if the object is a suit, a wig, knee boots, a watch, a tie, sneakers, sweatshirts, leisure suits, or eyeglasses. Anything and everything will sooner rather than later be turned into fashion. Dressing down is also a fashion statement, therefore, and a perfectly legitimate and equal one. > > In addition, repeating the same argument over and over at longer length is not a winning strategy. It doesn’t work for young men, either. Dressing down is considered the bum look. Do you like looking like a bum or a million bucks? The choice is yours. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/113 "2012-10-12T16:23:37Z")
I’m a director at Fortune 500 company over 3 orgs in our trading organization. I don’t wear a suit because I don’t feel like it. I’m still in charge 🙂 Some of the VPs wear suits, some don’t. Our CEO usually does, but not always. In general, nobody gives a crap. eta: I did wear my camel hair blazer today, since it’s chilly out and super comfy ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/114 "2012-10-12T16:27:08Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > 1957 called, they want their list back. [RealMeanRealStyle.com](http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/5-reasons-why-young-men-should-dress-sharp/) called, they want their list back. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/115 "2012-10-12T16:27:15Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > 2012 called. They wanted to know why you dress like a bum and don’t care? 2012 got my voice-mail. Message deleted. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/116 "2012-10-12T16:35:34Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > 2012 got my voice-mail. Message deleted. Actually, I’ve got them on ignore, but I didn’t defriend them on FaceBook yet. Their posts are a little political right now but I’m guessing that will settle down soon. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/117 "2012-10-12T16:48:35Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > [RealMeanRealStyle.com](http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/5-reasons-why-young-men-should-dress-sharp/) called, they want their list back. OK, so is a plagiarizer in a suit more respectable than a casual, but clean original writer? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/118 "2012-10-12T16:50:47Z")
I have been blue collar most of my life. When I put a suit on I feel like the whole world is looking at me saying that guy is just not a suit guy. I have worn dress casual to all my high school reunions but one. Each year I was a bit underdresed as 90% it seemed were wearing suits. I fianly decided to wear a suit to one and have it tailored to a nice custom fit so I wouldn’t feel so out of place in it. I felt great putting it on and wearing it. Turns out this was the first year the guys didn’t wear suits, but I still felt great. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/119 "2012-10-12T17:10:44Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > [RealMeanRealStyle.com](http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/5-reasons-why-young-men-should-dress-sharp/) called, they want their list back. Stealing somebody else’s words is the only way he won’t get judged on his own failings. Stay stylish, my friend. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/120 "2012-10-12T17:20:33Z")
GQELITE33, do you work for Men’s Warehouse or something? I don’t get what your motive is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447.md?page=7)