During the After the Rose TV show -- after Ali had picked Roberto over Chris on The Bachelorette, oh my), I noticed that like many young men seen on television these days, Chris was wearing jeans for his appearance.
And watching a little of Oprah while sitting in a waiting room this week, I also noticed that her guest, Nate, whoever he is, was also wearing jeans.
Now is this just a man thing or a television thing or is this relaxed form of dressing something that has infiltrated our society so deeply that it's OK to wear dungarees to fancy events? Admittedly, I have also seen lots of women stars wearing jeans too, but there is still a part of our upbringing as Baby Boomers which says this might not be considered appropriate.
I mean, would you wear jeans to a wedding? Maybe not, but there has definitely been a trend towards dressing down for these events which used to require suits, buttoned-down shirts and ties for men and stiff dresses and nylons for women.
I can remember when I was young trying to get those pesky nylons on in a house that was about 100 degrees hot. Weddings always seemed to take place on the hottest days of the year in venues where air conditioning -- one of the best inventions ever -- was years away from being a reality.
So I'm not saying that some of the more relaxed dress code we see at weddings and parties isn't a good thing. It's just that I wonder sometimes where it will end. A few years back a women's sports team was criticized for wearing flip-flops to the White House, but that might not even raise a hue and cry today. And with business people dressing "biz casual" at work now, there's not much inclination to go glam for evening or weekend events.
Maybe I should ask Heidi Klum or Tim Gunn what they think, but instead I will ask you! If you have an opinion on the relaxed state of dress in today's world, shoot me an email to tkflatley@gmail.com. Also, check out my BLOG (www.BoomThis.blogspot.com) about "Summer Freedom" for more on the wardrobe discussion.
By Teresa K. Flatley
8/10