<p>ucb, I think we have gone way past talking about college students, so I was asking in relation to these towns where everyone is wearing sweats.</p>
<p>I don’t think size is really a factor in my area. Skinny people in sweats, fat people in sweats…everybody in pretty much the same attire.</p>
<p>I saw all kinds of sweats today, elastic waist, elastic ankle style, and a similar style but capri length. I also saw several pair of velour sweats, both with and without matching jackets. I saw a pair of what I would call “track pants”, they’re like the ones guys wear over running shorts before and after a run. The people wearing them were all in shape-and the women wearers were actually all young and thin. The heavier people were wearing jeans or some women, “jeggings”, stretch denim pants.</p>
<p>I’ve not paid close attention until today, but my recall is that older women tend to stick with velour, the younger ones wear what I think Bay calls “sloppy sweats”. Younger men wear cargo shorts or basketball shorts or jeans. Older men of varied sizes stick with jeans or track pants.</p>
<p>I’ve only read the last few pages, but I can think of a lot of reasons people might go out in sweats. Sometimes people are ill. Sometimes they have to drag themselves to the drugstore, or the grocery store, or take the kids to school when they have the flu, or when their asthma is acting up, or when they are going through chemo and are exhausted. Sometimes jeans and a cute top and flats are more than someone has the physical or psychological wherewithal to pull off. Sometimes new moms can’t fit into their jeans yet or are so sleep-deprived they can’t think straight. Sometimes people (like me) are seen in sweats or exercise gear because they were actually, yes, exercising! And decided to pop into the grocery store at the same strip mall as their workout place. Maybe it’s good that some people venture out in sweats – it gives others a chance to be superior.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Since dressier clothes tend to be those which are primarily worn for fashion and decorative purposes and are typically unsuitable for any kind of exercise or physical labor, indicating one’s status as one who is not required to do such, it may not be surprising that any clothing suitable for exercise or physical labor is seen as “below” other casual clothing. So “nice” jeans may be acceptable to some who would disapprove of “work” jeans or sweat pants or track pants or whatever, as the latter implies exercise or physical labor, which is associated with lower social status.</p>
<p>There’s definitely a social status thing going on in some of these posts, ucb. It’s there in the implication that just everyone HAS cute little sweaters and nice clothes. It’s there in the comments about how people who have to get dirty at work should spare others from having to see the dirty clothes by changing JUST TO TRAVEL HOME. It’s there in the assumption that we all work in offices, see clients who would be offended by any dressing down, and more. But it’s not just this topic, I’ve seen the social status thing plenty already in my short time on CC. It’s been educational.</p>
<p>Don’t think someone’s size or fitness level really matters as I’ve also seen people range from skinny to obese in sweats/PJs and other clothing. </p>
<p>Only notable difference is that there’s a much higher level of tolerance/acceptance for overweight/obese folks some regions like my NE Ohio college town versus my NE hometown of NYC or Boston where I lived for a period.</p>
<p>These days, if you don’t work out, you are looked down upon! I think the emphasis on healthy lifestyle and exercise has contributed to the broadened acceptance of sweats, yoga pants, etc. as daytime wear.</p>
<p>As for jeans, I’m a baby boomer, the generation responsible for the evolution of the jean from work place to runway. I don’t think anyone thinks a thing about people wearing jeans. You can line up four guys in jeans, and who’s to say which one owns the bank, cleans the bank, robs the bank or banks at the bank?</p>
<p>When teens popularized jeans in the 50’s, the older generation was aghast. Now that I am the older generation, gulp, I confess, I’m probably responding “aghast” to the echo boomers’ promotion of a sweats culture. 
I am laughing over the discussion of body shape and how revealing some sweats are…you can see every cellulite dimple, bulging muffin top and tumescent body part. :eek: </p>
<p>Truth be told, sometimes I hear a little voice in my ear–it’s my mom–helping me select the right outfit. I still dress the way I do because that’s the way I was raised!</p>
<p>"you can see every cellulite dimple, bulging muffin top and tumescent body part. "</p>
<p>Wikipedia quote—Tumescence is the quality or state of being tumescent or swollen. Tumescence usually refers to the normal engorgement with blood (vascular congestion) of the erectile tissues, marking sexual excitation and possible readiness for sexual activity.</p>
<p>Eeewwwwwwwww!!! Time for looser sweat pants.</p>
<p>
This is incorrect. It is people in higher social status who has time and money to exercise. My daughter, a lowly analyst, is working 14-16 hours a day. She wouldn’t have time to exercise.</p>
<p>Just want to throw it out there…Our girls know not to wear jeans if they are going out with us or visiting our friends. </p>
<p>sseamom - there are a lot of different kind of people on CC. I have also learned a lot on CC. I came from limited means, but what I did learn is what I know or see is not always the norm, there is a big wide world out there. I am not in awe or look down on people who have more than I do. Whether you have money or not, it is offensive to be wearing dirty clothes in front of people, especially when you are sharing public space with others. It is common courtesy and it doesn’t take that much to put on a clean pair of pants or shirt.</p>
<p>
Whether you are aware or not, most people do work with clients, unless they work in a factory (most of those jobs are disappearing), whether they are sales clerk, KFC cashier, account executive, customer service, professor, administrative assistant…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>On the other hand, my daughter often shows up in jeans when going out with me unless we have plans to go somewhere where jeans would not be appropriate. And I might be wearing jeans, too (although they don’t look anywhere near as good on me). </p>
<p>Different strokes (fabrics?) for different folks.</p>
<p>Marian - exactly. Our girls’ school didn’t allow kids to wear jeans. I am not a fan of jeans. It is only more recently that jeans were “allowed” in restaurants. Kids laugh that they have to “mommy clothes” when they go out with us. For me, it is quite strange to read it is ok to wear PJs in the public.</p>
<p>What bothers me the most about this thread is that posters have frequently used the words “cute” and “little” to describe “appropriate” women’s clothing. Does anyone ever say about an adult male, “He’s wearing a cute little sweater”? What a sexist double standard. “Cute” and “little” infantilize women. They suggest that it’s preferable to be attractive, but only in a childlike way so as not to intimidate anyone. Moreover, “little” is also a judgment about weight and body build. So, if a “cute little” top is the goal, then those who do not choose to wear, or merely cannot fit in, “cute little” tops are not conforming to some cultural ideal of how a woman should look.</p>
<p>A toddler’s heart-print dress and pink leggings are a “cute little” outfit. A three-year-old boy’s overalls with a dinosaur on the bib are “cute” and “little”. Using those same words to describe the clothing of a grown woman, but not of a grown man, however, is rather sexist.</p>
<p>By the way, I’m not picking on any specific person. I’m just saying that we need to think about the impact of language on culture. It is at least as important as the impact of how we dress – probably even more so.</p>
<p>Oldfort, do you only visit upscale restaurants?</p>
<p>The eye opener for me about this thread, is how many people feel no duty to consider others or show them respect when selecting their clothing, and are upset that anyone (I) should suggest that they must think of anything but their own comfort. I always thought this was basic civility (and even “kindness”). Apparently I am both wrong and “superior” by some people’s standards for having the nerve to expect mutual respect from others.</p>
<p>mim, I love your post 884. I don’t discount the posts here that point out the advantages of dressing for the occasion. I’m a fan of cleanliness and aspire to what oldfort was talking about when she said she wanted people to remember what she said, not what she was wearing. I personally have found it helpful not to judge, for lack of a better word, my fellow humans for what they’re wearing - or at least to consider that I might not know what the rest of the story is when someone is dressed so inappropriately that even I notice it.</p>
<p>This thread has put me in mind of “This Is Water,” one of my favorite pieces by David Foster Wallace. [DAVID</a> FOSTER WALLACE, IN HIS OWN WORDS | More Intelligent Life](<a href=“http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/david-foster-wallace-in-his-own-words]DAVID”>http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/david-foster-wallace-in-his-own-words) He wasn’t talking about wearing sweats to class, but I think his point applies:
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>One of the happiest days of my life was the day when girls were finally allowed to wear pants, including jeans, to school. This happened in 1969, when I was in the tenth grade. Unless you have spent ten winters standing at bus stops in Connecticut in short skirts at the crack of dawn, you probably cannot appreciate what a wonderful change this was.</p>
<p>Since that time, except for schools that require uniforms, I have never heard of a school that did not permit students to wear jeans. My own kids rarely wore anything else (on the bottom halves of their bodies, I mean. Of course, they wore shirts or sweaters on the top half).</p>
<p>
We don’t like to go out to eat for the sake of going out to eat. H happens to be an excellent cook, so a restaurant would need to be pretty good for us to go. More often than not those restaurants are upscale because it costs money to make good food (time and ingredients), but we’ll go to Bareburger for good hambergers or various ethnic restaurants, and those places are fairly casual. For our family, eating is an experience. The girls will ask H to recreate some dishes we’ve tried. Very much of bonding experience for us.</p>
<p>Our kids’ school didn’t have uniform, but they did have a dress code - no jeans, collar shirt (tucked in), straps must be 3 fingers wide, skirt needed to be few inches below one’s finger, no shorts until it is very hot.</p>
<p>Where I live the HS girl version of dressing down or sweats/pyjama is Lululemon yoga pants and zip hoodie with Uggs. That’s $400 worth of shlepping around wear not counting the top and bag. It definitely says “I tried and I care”. :D</p>