Iam a Boot Freak
Posted on 03/09/2005 9:47:25 AM PST by qam1
NEW YORK – They've been part of the American "uniform" for years, worn to casual restaurants, house parties, and some workplaces.
But as jeans become more expensive, they are also becoming more ubiquitous, showing up everywhere from Midwestern churches to Broadway shows. Nothing is off limits, it seems. Or is it? Among those who buy high-priced, designer denim or who simply don jeans frequently - there's debate about where it's appropriate to wear them.
The tug of war over jeans etiquette is particularly prevalent in New York City. Here, people tend to be more creative about their appearance, and are often more demanding about how fashion-conscious people should look, says Dannielle Romano, editor at large for DailyCandy.com, a fashion and trends website.
Many 20- and 30-somethings here have theater backgrounds, for example, and often say it's inappropriate to wear jeans to theater and other cultural performances out of respect for the performers and the surroundings (even though the venues themselves have no official dress codes).
"I am all in favor of the current denim revolution that we are having, but I do feel that there are times when jeans should be left at home," says Lisa Kerson, a jewelry designer in her early 30s, whose parents insisted that she look nice when going to a play or traveling on a plane. "I still get bothered when I see people wearing jeans to the theater, ballet, opera, etc.," she says in an e-mail.
Melissa Popiel also prefers not to see denim at the theater, or at an engagement party. To her, jeans are OK for a house party or a casual dinner, but not for traditionally dressy places. "I don't like going to cocktail parties and seeing people in jeans," says the advertising executive, who's in her late 20s.
Ms. Popiel estimates she owns about 15 to 20 pairs, including premium brands, and has paid as much as $200 for a pair.
Many others are also paying big bucks for their jeans - from $150 to $1,000 or more per pair. Celebrities, in particular, are making jeans their garb of choice for appearances on talk shows and at some red-carpet events.
That, say fashion experts, sets the tone for the masses, who are encouraged by features like one in the Jan. 24 edition of Us magazine, "Hollywood's 10 Hottest Jeans," complete with suggestions for buying "premium" denim ($140 or more).
The concept of designer jeans is not new, however. They were also hot in the 1970s and 80s.
Are these jeans made for parties?
Etiquette experts offer few hard and fast rules about jeans, but among them are the obvious: Leave them in the closet when you're attending a wedding, or if your workplace bans them.
"A lot of it has to do with the appropriateness of the kind of jean you're wearing," says Peter Post, grandson of manners maven Emily Post and author of the book "Essential Manners for Men."
It comes down to determining if the jeans are for fashion or work. A pair that you do yard work in, for example, are "probably not appropriate to be wearing to a restaurant that night," he explains.
Mr. Post has seen men show up in quality restaurants wearing denim, which doesn't bother him as much as how sloppy their appearance sometimes is.He recalls seeing a man dressed in a T-shirt and old rumpled jeans. "He hadn't taken any care to step it up just a notch, to say to the woman he was with, 'You know, you're really important to me. I want to look good. I want you to look at me and be proud of me,' " he says.
Dark denim is making it easier for men to comfortably wear jeans in the evenings, especially since black jeans are no longer "in." But no matter how hip a certain style may be, some places are still off-limits.
"I probably won't wear them to a funeral," says Robert Smith, a 30- something businessman in Rockton, Ill. But in the past few years he's started wearing them everywhere else - to church and to most work-related functions.
Not the fabric but how it's used
The good news for jeans devotees is that standards for judging people on their appearance are loosening a bit - at least among women under 40. A recent study by Cotton Incorporated indicates that Generation X-age women (26 to 39) are less concerned about first impressions when it comes to dressing than they were 10 years ago, and more often are taking the approach that "you can't judge a book by its cover." The reverse was true for women boomer-age and older.
Alice Harris, author of the book "The Blue Jean," attributes the rise of jeans to casual Fridays in workplaces, which shifted the way people viewed dressing.
"We've actually gone back to a much simpler way of looking at it," suggests Post of the changing attitudes. It's not that certain materials, like denim, are bad. "It's what you've done with that material."
Um, I think you have misposted. The quotes you are responding to came from someone else completely and have nothing to do with my posts.
I don't think Melas wants a piece of this. ;)
His mother loved it when we wore those shirts to a reunion prior to her death...she used to be a country and western singer years ago, she toured the country. We only have one set of matching shirts that we wear on special occasions, it's not like we dress up like twins every day. It was her funeral and she would have loved it...who are you to judge?
Or I have too much respect for my friends to expect them to be superficial snobs. For what it's worth, I don't recall what *anybody* at my wedding wore, apart from the actual participants, and I do not care if someone wore jeans. I haven't had my funeral yet, but I promise I won't care then, either.
The top of those boots look like the hat the guard to the City of Oz was wearing.
Quite the contary, I respect everyone the same. I wear jeans or leather pants everywhere. Whether I'm wearing jeans or leather depends entirely on how far I rode to get there, and the temperature outside. No dissrepect meant to anyone. Like I tell my wife:
Yes my wallet does need to be on a chain.
Yes, my t-shirts have to be black
Yes, I have to wear combat boots
Yes, my beard has to be this long
No, my tattoos can't be covered up
No, the earing doesn't come out
And finally, "It's not a hanky it's do-rag and get used to it"
Amen. They have no respect for themselves or anyone else and if you call them on it, you're the one with the problem.
"1 Cor. 5:12: For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?"
What do you believe that Bible quote means?
"... when it comes to the things of G-d, we are call upon, even commanded to exercise G-dly discernment"
So, Tamar1973, you feel you would be excercising Godly discernment by judging someone on what clothes they are wearing? If so, okee dokee.....whatever floats your boat.
For the symphony, I'd advise a dress shirt (no tie unless you feel like it), slacks and a sport coat. Do-able?
Lol, bring it on...
You're gonna make a really cool angel! LOL! Ah, I love it.....
James 2:1-4,9 -- "My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? . . . but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors."
Iam a Boot Freak
I'm wondering how you would react to someone arriving at HD rally on a Honda wearing a suit.
"When I see a person (who's not homeless or hopelessly poor) wearing jeans to churches, weddings, funerals, etc., I see a very selfish person who respects no one, not even themselves."
What happens when you see a person wearing jeans to church who IS "homeless", or "hopelessly poor"? Since you can spot selfish people so well, you might want to ask those well-dressed people in church to go without their new Sunday clothes, and instead, perhaps they could give the money they would have spent on their "outfit" to these hopelessly, homeless poor people. IYIYIYI!
There is nothing prettier than a nice "caboose" packed into a pair of Levi's. IMHO.
IMHO :)
I second that opinion!
I guess that goes with your name, huh?
And self-absorption goes with yours, I guess.
As Stendahl said, "bad taste is a crime."
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