Saturday, September 03, 2011

Topless shopping


Taste is subjective
Grand Bend, ON, August 2011

Once upon a time, we dressed up when we went out to dinner, went shopping, took a flight, went to work, etc. Maybe the world was a more formal place back then. Maybe we spent more time thinking about how our behaviors impacted others.

I get the whole shift to casualness. After all, who wouldn't want to walk around in shorts and sandals instead of a stuffy shirt and tie? Life is short, so why would we deliberately spend it wearing clothes we hate?

Still, a little voice in the back of my head - what, you don't hear them, too? - sometimes suggests, in a whisper, that there's such thing as too casual, and sometimes it may make more sense to put some real clothes on before stepping out the door.

Your turn: Is there such thing as too casual?

8 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Back in the 70's people dressed up to go to dinner, that is, in California... It was fun dressing up in your best, I thought especially if you were eating in a high end restaurant... I noticed the decline in dressing up in the 80's and even today... I think the average Joe public has gotten lax, even arrogant in thinking they can go to a high end restaurant in cutoffs and a shirt... Then again, from what I have noticed, celebs will still dress up though,I feel its because they feel a need to uphold their image... Too bad the average Joe doesn't seem to care?

Steve Gravano said...

The village of Southampton as a law that you must wear have a shirt and footwear while in the village. Some disregard the law saying we are a beach community and beach attire is ok for the village. I think you sill can look casual and cover up.

Peter Anthony Holder said...

As you mentioned, there was a time when people dressed to travel, either on a train or a plane. Those days are gone, but also gone with it is a certain amount of civility.

People now seem to act as if they are sitting in their living room when they travel.

Call it elitist, but there used to be a difference between people who travelled by plane and those who travelled by bus, but that distinction has disappeared.

That's why I like to refer so some discount airlines as "Greyhound in the Sky."

Peter Anthony Holder
The Stuph File Program

NJ said...

As my 25 year old would surely say, "Put a shirt on!!!" I think walking downtown...even if it is Grand Bend super beach town just isn't right. :)

Kalei's Best Friend said...

@Peter Anthony : Dude u hit the nail on the head.. CIVILITY! amen... manners seemed to go out the window as well...

The English Teacher said...

I think it depends on where one is as much as what one is doing.
If, for example, you're running in to buy more ice at the marina shop only reachable by boat, it ought to be perfectly acceptable to shop in your bathing suit. And you'd look mighty funny in a suit and tie there.
However, I'd rather you didn't wear your bikini or speedo to the local grocery store in a suburban neighborhood. Of course, a tux or prom dress there would be just as out of place.
In my mind, a formal restaurant calls for formal dress, while a trip to the local sushi place calls for jeans and a polo shirt, and a visit to the ice cream shop in a beach town is great for a bathing suit and a cover up.

Dionna said...

I agree. And the casualness in dress goes along with how casual people speak and carry themselves. It's just a drop in respect for themselves and others.

dennisthemennis.co.uk said...

here in the UK we have a growing number of people who will gladly shop in their pyjamas, it amazes me absolutely amazes me and the need for young men to show us their underpants i just cannot get my head around ...