Is classy wear going out of style in the Western world?

[Dalaran1991]

It's just my personal observation and it applies to both men and women, and I've lived in USA 4 years and been living in Paris for 13 years and counting. And no, Paris people absolutely do not dress like in that ridiculous series.

By classy wear I mean suits (and not just formal suits but casual suits too), nice blazers and pants. You d think living in Europe people would dress better but that's not the case. Everywhere and I do mean everywhere it's jeans and sportswear: baggy trousers, oversize t-shirts. I'm usually the only one in the metro who wear nice boots/shoes, it's always sneakers. If I go to the office wearing a casual suit people would ask what's the occasion. And I work in fields where you would think that people would dress nice (media, communication)

With the exceptions of the Monaco Casino, every place that's supposed to have a dress code no longer enforce it. The Moulin Rouge, several 5-stars hotels, etc, sometimes you would see people in flip flops....

Even at a marriage mostly you would just see pants and button-down shirts and not many people rocking a suit.

Surprisingly enough, the only countries where women dress nice are in eastern europe, and for men it's Italy.

I just feel like dress codes are getting dumped down every day. And I'm only 30s years old.

What are your thoughts ?

 

[St1X]

Enjoy it.
If you wear a suit, you'll stand out and attract attention.

 

[comrade]

You are basically correct. Except in certain quarters of certain cities where
well-cut tailored clothing is still commonplace or casual wear is elegant. Places
where I observed it in the past decade include the Upper East Side of NYC,
Mayfair/Kensington/ Chelsea/Whitehall/London/ Naples/Rome/ Milan/ Vienna.
I do not know whether the sociologists yet have a term for this phenomenon.
I call it slobification.

 

[altavista]

Practicality wins.

 

[DougDevious]

didn't have a better place to post this so i'll post it here

 

[JFWR]

You are basically correct. Except in certain quarters of certain cities where
well-cut tailored clothing is still commonplace or casual wear is elegant. Places
where I observed it in the past decade include the Upper East Side of NYC,
Mayfair/Kensington/ Chelsea/Whitehall/London/ Naples/Rome/ Milan/ Vienna.
I do not know whether the sociologists yet have a term for this phenomenon.
I call it slobification.

I've very rarely seen well dressed men on the Upper East Side.

But yes, people are dressing more casually. Now can we stop the hand wriging over it? You know how you make it cool to dress well again? Be cool wearing nice clothes. Go get some nice clothes, wear 'em, and make it fashionable again.

I know that sounds kind of silly, but lead by example and encourage your friends to do the same.

 

[comrade]

I've very rarely seen well dressed men on the Upper East Side.

But yes, people are dressing more casually. Now can we stop the hand wriging over it? You know how you make it cool to dress well again? Be cool wearing nice clothes. Go get some nice clothes, wear 'em, and make it fashionable again.

I know that sounds kind of silly, but lead by example and encourage your friends to do the same.

So the Upper East Side has been slobbified too. I haven't actually been in my home town
in over 5 years. Where I live, Silicon Valley the decline began decades ago and when tailored
clothing was still common, eg in the 90s, it usually looked like it came from Nordstroms.
Respectable but not fine. I have always been something of an exception, not having grown up
in the area. Nor being a techie. My taste was formed by my father and the Ivy stores in NYC,
especially Chipp.

 

[JFWR]

So the Upper East Side has been slobbified too. I haven't actually been in my home town
in over 5 years. Where I live, Silicon Valley the decline began decades ago and when tailored
clothing was still common, eg in the 90s, it usually looked like it came from Nordstroms.
Respectable but not fine. I have always been something of an exception, not having grown up
in the area. Nor being a techie. My taste was formed by my father and the Ivy stores in NYC,
especially Chipp.

There are some well dressed men in NY, don't get me wrong; you'll see men who look presentable and who look interesting and stylish and the like. That being said, it is increasingly rarer.

I think that if we want to buck cultural trends we just have to go out there looking well put together and go from there. We can't rage against the decline in dress without embodying a contrary view.

That being said, I'm also not holding my breath for some renaissance of men's style. That is probably not going to happen, especially now that so many people are shifting away from dressing for work and you can get away with so little in terms of going out on the town.

That being said, just do your thing and hopefully that encourages more people to look good.

Silicon Valley is definitely a nadir for American style, though. The whole tech industry reeks of casual ugliness.

 

[Dalaran1991]

There are some well dressed men in NY, don't get me wrong; you'll see men who look presentable and who look interesting and stylish and the like. That being said, it is increasingly rarer.

I think that if we want to buck cultural trends we just have to go out there looking well put together and go from there. We can't rage against the decline in dress without embodying a contrary view.

That being said, I'm also not holding my breath for some renaissance of men's style. That is probably not going to happen, especially now that so many people are shifting away from dressing for work and you can get away with so little in terms of going out on the town.

That being said, just do your thing and hopefully that encourages more people to look good.

Silicon Valley is definitely a nadir for American style, though. The whole tech industry reeks of casual ugliness.

I agree with you, it's a sad state of things and a sore on the eyes. It's the same with women's clothing though. And I also agree that despite the situation we need to keep dressing well.

I'm going to office everyday with at least a blazer with pocket square, or suit up when the weather allows it. I don't care for the attention nor the criticism.

I don't agree 100% with the whole practicality however. For me it's just laziness. Classic menswear was basically invented with practicality in mind, even though times have changes. I can not go out without my jacket because then I dont have any pockets to put my wallet, phones and keys in. I see other men wearing a banana pouch or men purse to put their stuff.... Also I guess there's no "giving your jacket to the lady when she's cold" anymore

 

[msimon]

I prefer to dress casually, but it is the way people are dressing casually that needs talking about. Ripped jeans, oversized clothing, those stupid plastic bin liner duvet jackets, sports shoes, logos everywhere and the list goes on.

All you need to do is dress in clothes that fit you properly, a well put together series of clothes for the occasion whether that's casual or formal.

 

[JFWR]

I agree with you, it's a sad state of things and a sore on the eyes. It's the same with women's clothing though. And I also agree that despite the situation we need to keep dressing well.

I'm going to office everyday with at least a blazer with pocket square, or suit up when the weather allows it. I don't care for the attention nor the criticism.

I don't agree 100% with the whole practicality however. For me it's just laziness. Classic menswear was basically invented with practicality in mind, even though times have changes. I can not go out without my jacket because then I dont have any pockets to put my wallet, phones and keys in. I see other men wearing a banana pouch or men purse to put their stuff.... Also I guess there's no "giving your jacket to the lady when she's cold" anymore

I also agree that the practicality argument is nonsense. As is comfort.

Lots of men may have gotten a bad taste in their mouth from poorly fitting "dress clothing" as a child. I think everyone might remember having to put on a tie for an event when they were young and it feeling all constrained, etc. But in reality, good fitting (even DECENTLY fitting) men's wear is comfortable and easy. Plus, as yous aid, the abundance of pockets helps tremendously. When I throw on a sportscoat or a suit, I have plenty of room for everything I am carrying. In fact, it is often when I am NOT wearing nice clothes that I have a problem balancing my assortment of accoutrements.

 

[pasadena man]

I also agree that the practicality argument is nonsense. As is comfort.
. When I throw on a sportscoat or a suit, I have plenty of room for everything I am carrying. In fact, it is often when I am NOT wearing nice clothes that I have a problem balancing my assortment of accoutrements.

“balancing my assortment of accoutrements” is one of my most vexing daily First World problems.

 

[JFWR]

“balancing my assortment of accoutrements” is one of my most vexing daily First World problems.

It truly is.

Wallet, keys, phone, sanitizer, mask, lighter...lots of stuff to have to find a place for.

When I carry an attached case I can at least rely on that.

 

[GoldenBrahms]

This discussion has been happening forever. I don't think it's any worse now than it was 10-12 years ago. If anything, I think people (especially college students) care more about their appearance now than they did when I was in college, even if their style trends don't align with my tastes. I'm not sure why Europe would be any different than the US in that regard...pop culture is fairly universal these days - most are exposed to the same media and brands.

I'll also add: I could certainly wear a suit everyday in my line of work (academia), but I much prefer the creativity that comes with building around a sportcoat (even if I gravitate to similar combinations out of habit).

Just wear the clothes you like. No need to bemoan the dress of others.

 

[TimothyF]

sanitizer, mask, lighter

A very health-conscious smoker