I don’t leave the house without slacks, shirt, tie, jacket, fedora. I haven’t worn blue jeans since I was twelve, and I stopped wearing black jeans at 19. I dress the same for a funeral or wedding as I do to shop for groceries. My clothes are not starched or pressed, they didn’t come from Brooks Brothers. I’m scruffy and ragged and always surprised when someone suggests that I’m dressed up.
Since I’m only uncomfortable this way under extreme conditions, I feel that people’s sense that casual is more comfortable is more attitude than anything concrete. I myself would be uncomfortable and dysfunctional in what’s called casual attire.
As I grow older, I’m no longer bitter about the fact that people who dress casual have the bizarre impression that a tie is conformist, but khakis with a braid belt aren’t. Or printed t-shirts with jeans. Yeah, I’m the one not thinking for myself.
I range from tank top and jeans to nice blouse, make-up, skirt / slacks, tie, nice shirt with cufflinks, suit coat at random. None of my jobs have required nice clothes, so what I wear is purely up to me (and the weather). Currently at work I dress a bit nicer because it’s warmer (I don’t have any sweatshirts or anything) and I usually wear a hat.
I recently had to get more blouses because most of my shirts were either Hawaiian shirts or mens’ mostly-dress shirts.
I love, love, love suits; I’m found in them as often as Barney Stinson. When it’s warm I may break down and remove the jacket. I don’t find shirts & ties remotely uncomfortable, but then I take care when buying my clothes to get items that fit properly. I don’t fool myself that my neck is the same circumference it was in high school.
To me, getting dressed up means wearing black, rather than blue, jeans. I wear a flannel shirt in winter and a cotton shirt (or more usually a T-shirt) in summer. This was how I dressed before I retired and see no reason to change. When my mother was dying in 1991, I bought a suit for the funeral. When I was made emeritus nine years later, I wore it again. There was a ceremony and a fancy dinner laid on. Both times with a tie. When my daughter got married three years after that, both my wife and daughter insisted the 13 year old suit was out of style. So I wore it twice and eventually it was given to the diabetes foundation that resells donated clothing. Meantime I bought another suit for my daughter’s wedding in 2003. A year ago, I wore it again when a close friend’s son got married. I assume they will bury me in it. A couple years ago, I was invited to a fancy restaurant that had a dress code, so I wore wool pants, a sport jacket, white shirt and tie. I have eaten at Ruth’s Chris steak house (never again, I cannot do justice to those portions, not to mention prices) and wore my usual jeans and cotton shirt, no tie.
I guess I wear a tie about once in three years. Horrible, throat-constricting object.
I’m comfortable dressing up. I’m not comfortable in a skirt or dress in Minnesota in January and therefore wear tailored trousers at that time of year. I’m comfy in jeans or sweats and a worn shirt too - if I’m gardening or painting or doing something where its appropriate.
I kind of like dressing up. I will often wear a tie to a place I can get away with it, even if no one else there has one on.
I will always wear a suit if the situation will allow for it (I go to a Christmas party every year that is at a nice hotel. Last year I wore a very nice black suit and a top hat.)
Interesting. I don’t consider wearing slacks or fancy pants, leather shoes, and a button-up shirt to be dressing up, nor a jacket on top of that. My job doesn’t require anything beyond looking the part of the venue, which as a music teacher teaching at my studio just means I look vaguely put-together, but also comfortable, and at engagements just means wearing whatever they tell me to wear (you have to guess, but it’s not that hard – I’d say business casual is about as fancy as it gets these days). I guess tuxedo is the upper limit for me? Hate the cummerbund, don’t like the vestlet either, but I once had a tuxedo of my own when I was playing more cocktail jobs and had a bunch more money. It was a cheap one, and it just looks like I fished it out of a dumpster at this point. I’d never wear tails or a morning coat or any of that nonsense, unless I’d studied harder at piano as a kid and became a concert-level pianist (and grew my hair out long and illustriously-maned).
I don’t understand why people find ties uncomfortable. Yeah, I can see wanting to get out of the whole get-up after work, but the tie itself? Not uncomfortable.
If I’m wearing a tie, I’m “dressing up”. I do so about every two weeks, when I’m a Eucharistic minister at church. Of course, there are also levels of “dressing up” above that, such as adding a dress coat, or wearing a tuxedo.
I really enjoy dressing up. One of the funnest trips I ever took was a European cruise in which we were required to wear formal attire at dinner every night. I love the dresses, the jewelry, the hair and makeup, and wish I had occasion to do it more often, but I would hate dressing like that every day all day - it wouldn’t be comfortable for extended periods of time and it also wouldn’t be special anymore.
In every day life (including work) I dress business casual. Today, which has been spent running errands in town and lounging around the house, I’m wearing a pair of black slacks, a fancy-ish beaded t-shirt and a pair of black boots. I don’t wear jeans because they aren’t as comfortable to me as slacks.
Lately I’ve had a lot of dressy events and have had fun with smart summer dresses and skirts.
My only issue with dressing up is, I feel very strongly about comfortable shoes. It’s hard to find good shoes for dressing up, and sometimes I opt to go more casual because it will help me walk easier.
I dress for the occasion. As of the moment, I’m in a tank top and sweatpants, trying to somehow finish this paper and edit my appendix properly…well…trying to get motivated, anyway.
If it’s a costume party, I go all out.
Fashion show, same thing.
Job interview? I’m Jackie Kennedy.
At home? Whatever the weather demands.
–Casual: T-shirt, jeans or cargo-type shorts, sneakers or Docs or sandals*. Suitable for almost everywhere that isn’t work.
–Work: Khakis, button-up shirt, brown New Balance sneakers or casual shoes. My office is casual enough that people who dress up much more than this are regarded with suspicion. I used to wear a tie with this ensemble until I read that they’re a major vector for hospital-acquired infections.
Adding a decent jacket to the “work” ensemble is dressy enough for nearly any event or occasion I’m likely to attend.
I wear a suit about twice a year. My main objection to guys’ dress clothes is that they’re so damn hot–multiple layers, long pants, long sleeves, closed shoes and socks, dark colors. I think it’s the main reason I hate going to weddings–I usually have mild heat exhaustion by the end of them.
I think I’d dress up more if I didn’t seriously hate the way I’m shaped–short and ovoid. I don’t want to make myself “look good” because I don’t really want people looking at me at all. That sounds self-pitying, but it’s true.
Sandals only with shorts. Guys should never wear sandals (especially flip-flops) with long pants, IMO.
I consider business casual to be dressing up, but I’m not adverse to dressing that way on a daily basis–but I do it for others, not for myself. At home, I wear pajamas and a t-shirt or sweatshirt at all times.
I actually intersperse my jeans with my “dress pants”, BTW.
Your shoes will last longer if you get 3 or 4 pairs and alternate, as shoes need recovery time. Even two pairs would be better. They can be nearly identical.
Shoes are one thing I’ve always cared about, even though I still have fewer than even women who say they don’t really like shoes. But they always look nice, and casual shoes are an easy way to dress down the business casual I mentioned (As is wearing the dress shirt untucked and partly unbuttoned.)
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–Work: Khakis, button-up shirt, brown New Balance sneakers or casual shoes. My office is casual enough that people who dress up much more than this are regarded with suspicion.
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Sounds like my office (internal bank security) Guys there wear anything from polo shirts and jeans to buttoned shirts with chinos or cargo pants. So much better than my first bank operations job, where we had to wear shirt and tie, despite having no customer contact and not even being in a building that had a bank branch. I think the bank president thought “stuffy” was a virtue.
The women at my office may be a bit nicer-dressed, but they’re still pretty much at a polo shirt and slacks level. If I showed up in a pressed button-down shirt and tie, people would certainly start gossiping that I was interviewing for another position.
At least people in my office dress nicely. I see other people at the cafeteria and wonder what department they’re with in their tatty t-shirts and ripped jeans. Even the cleaning people dress better.
At work, I wear scrubs but I try to make sure they look somewhat cute. It is like wearing pajamas cool: to work.
off duty, I wear jeans and a Tshirt, usually. For church I wear a skirt and a dressy top
(with sleeves) or dress pants and a dressy top. For special occasions such as weddings or funerals, I will dress more formally, up to, and including , a hat.
A few other people in this thread have commented that there’s nothing uncomfortable about wearing a tie, but I’ve got to vote with you Mr. Seldon.
A tie makes my head feel pressurized. Putting my hands lightly around my throat causes the same sensation. Possibly some people have vessels closer to the surface than others.
I’m self-employed, but don a suit (no tie) to deliver jobs to a certain client. With the suit, I wear black leather shoes that I bought for a wedding 10 years ago (they get worn 1 hour a month). Wearing the suit isn’t uncomfortable, but wearing immaculate shoes is annoying.
If the heels rub together while I’m driving they’re scuffed. If the sides touch the door frame when I exit the car, they’re scuffed. If I get out to pump gas and get too close to a safety island, they’re scuffed. I’m sure if I wore shiny leather shoes often, I could learn to avoid all those obstacles without thought, but I got got enough physical inhibitions already. Don’t want to cultivate more.
I dress somewhat professionally for work: dress pants/slacks, a nicer shirt, sometimes a dress or skirt depending upon how little physical work I’m doing that day, but mainly I dress for practicality over “dressing up” level professionalism. I work in a school library and spend a lot of time with middle and high school kids, including troubleshooting computer issues and playing in the stacks. Though I wear heels to work more often than not, they’re of the “can I run away from an attacker in them?” variety, not the “4 inches and higher” variety. I like dressing nicely for work, but sometimes it’s really impractical if your job is even remotely physical-- I couldn’t have dressed up at all at my last job because I spent a lot of time on every shift shelving, shelf reading, bending, squatting, running about and generally being a busy fool. I didn’t wear skirts that hit above mid-shin after the first week and I rarely wore skirts at all; shirts had to cover my abdomen at all times, including when bending and stretching. These days, I’m concerned about the same things, but have to add in “doesn’t show cleavage even when I bend over” to the mix. I’m going to have to update my wardrobe a bit to accommodate this for the next school year.
In the evenings and on the weekends, I vary from jeans and shorts with a tank top or t-shirt to the same dresses that I wear to work on occasion. It all depends on how I feel during the day, but I enjoy dressing up as much as I enjoy a cozy pair of jeans.
to work.