Let’s speak metaphorically for a moment. Our Universe is a place of extremes, both insanely hot and insanely cold. For the survivability of a planet’s habitat, it needs to be in a very slim “goldilocks zone”. The same can be said for our own weather. We can have burning summers and freezing winters.
Not exactly rocket science, right? Perhaps we need to apply that notion to ourselves as well. I’m going to keep it strictly to exterior for now but I’ll dig deeper in subsequent posts. Just with image alone, we don’t want to dress like people did prior to the 20th Century in ridiculous painful and restrictive corsets etc, but neither do we want to dress like a bunch of slobs like people everywhere essentially do now. In one century, the US alone went from restraints to a nation of slovenly Walmart shoppers. Don’t laugh and agree if it probably applies to you.
People now think a shabby tee shirt and jeans is appropriate attire for an office. There is no such thing as even business casual anymore, it’s more like a free-for-all of shabbiness. I get it if you’re a construction worker, that’s not really a time for a neck tie or sky-high heels. Keep in mind, though, however we present ourselves, that is what we will live up to. If we look like a bunch of shabby bums, we won’t behave much differently. When is the last time you can remember a standard office fellow wearing a tie though? When is the last time you saw a professional woman wearing beige nylons instead of displaying her bare, veiny, knobby legs? No points for Hooters girls because they wouldn’t do so if it wasn’t part of the uniform. Kudos to trans women who are often more likely to wear tights than their cis peers.
Up until 1990, even high school and junior high girls and boys dressed like young women and men, and they looked fantastic. It has since flipped so now grown-ups dress like a bunch of eight year-olds at a playground. You know I’m right, so don’t bother disagreeing or coming up with a clever retort.
Shame on all of us. We need a path forward out the decline of civility we’ve fallen into. Everybody pretty much hates everybody. Before we can begin to heal any and all social ills, we all have to first hold ourselves to a higher standard. Maybe then we can see each other as fellow upstanding citizens instead of dumbing ourselves down to the lowest common denominator. We need to step back from a perilous ledge.
Guys, please throw on that blazer and tie, and try sticking with a polo shirt on the weekends. Ladies, make your peace with the beige nylons with a classy dress or skirt suit. If we’re going to expect decency from each other, then we have to start right now by looking the part and slowly working our way inward.
Kayla Says 