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."
"About six people in the world wear expensive labels."
And those six are full of themselves. I've never been able to understand why some people think that the brand they wear means anything to anyone except perhaps the rest of the snobs. Those people are in a class by themselves, and it's a class alright, but it isn't "class".
You know what they say about Wagner, his music is better than it sounds.
Sorry, I think Ann Taylor is expensive. May not expensive for some.
Some of the expensive labels are better than other stuff you would find. For example Burberry raincoats are better than London Fog raincoats. No question.
The brands of clothing that nopardons is referencing are rarely worn or recognized outside of major metropolitan areas. Some are bought for quality, some for showing off and some because of brand loyalty that may extend back generations.
IMHO, that's true. Churches seem to be a mixture of social and spiritual function, with varying degrees depending on the established congregation. The more they tend toward the social, the more they're concerned with appearances.
AT makes very decent clothing for working women. Certainly better than the Limited and others...
It's not progressive. It's a reaction to "sameness."
LOL....it's his staging/theatrics,which are superlative,though I do like Wagner;except for THE FLYING DUTCHMAN.
My pet peeve: MEN WHO WEAR BASEBALL CAPS IN UPSCALE/MIDSCALE RESTAURANTS!!! I tend to find that many of these men are either rubes or bald guys embarrassed to show their heads. Baseball caps MUST come off when dining, or I will knock it off (that is if said person isn't built like a tank).
It refers to a real tradition in those days that when you went to a wedding, often the host of the wedding would give ALL the guests a garnment to wear for the wedding. People back then, including Yeshua, expected to dress appropriately to the best of their ability. We should expect it now, but many don't.
Years ago Peter Sellers (the director not the comic actor) staged and filmed a bunch of operas set in unique locations -- Marriage of Figaro was set in Trump Tower, Don G. in the South Bronx, etc. They were brilliant and the last operas I could tolerate.
I think it's stunning that you don't believe that G-d's word has anything to say about what to wear and when to wear it or that the Bible has any standards for your lives. How antinomian.
The bible is FULL of texts which show us how to dress appropriately for different situations.
For example, we've been talking alot about wearing jeans at funerals.
Gen 37:34 says, "So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days." Jacob dressed himself in the culturally appropriate way for a funeral or memorial service.
On the other hand, the levites and priests were told explicitly NOT to mourn, even when Aaron's own sons were struck down by the Lord. Lev. 10:6, "Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you will not die and that He will not become wrathful against all the congregation. But your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which the LORD has brought about. "
Exodus 28 goes through at length about what the priests were supposed to wear, down the fact they were supposed to wear what we would call "underwear" under their clothes.
G-d also calls His people His priests.
Ex. 19:4-7 says, "4 `You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. 5 `Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel." 7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him."
He also tells them they should differentiate male from female in their dress. Deut. 22:5 says, ""A woman shall not wear man's clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God. "
Mordechai showed respect for his king (who for the most part, hadn't acted in a way deserving of it) by dressing for his office. Esther 8:15, "Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. "
G-d's word also tells us our clothes should be clean ("white", which back then only wealthy people could afford to keep their clothes white) and we should be clean. Ecclesiastes 9:8 says, "Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head."
Psalms tells us in 45:13, "The King's daughter is all glorious within; Her clothing is interwoven with gold." Aren't you the King's daughter (or son)? Aren't you one of G-d's priestly people? Shouldn't you try to act the part, especially when coming before the King of the Universe in His house?
I still go back to the point I made earlier. People who don't have respect for themselves, for other people, or for G-d will wear "whatever they feel like" wearing whenever they feel like wearing it. On top of that, they believe their lack of respect for themselves, for others and for G-d somehow makes them less of a "Pharisee" than the person who wears their best for G-d. The idea that we wouldn't go out of our way to wear our best for G-d doesn't make sense to me at all.
Oh, I had it wrong then. oops... I agree that some of the more expensive "labels" are of a better quality and will last longer than a cheaper label. As for those who spend a hundred bucks or more on a pair of jeans, etc., IMO that is a ridiculous waste of money, and they weren't purchased for their quality denim, but more for showing off. When I hear of women spending several hundred, if not, thousands of dollars on a dress, or hundreds on shoes....well, I just don't get it. How egotistical do you have to be....wow....it's sick.
I suppose.
True to a point,but just WHEN did Sarasota become a "major metropolitan area" ?
True to a point,but just WHEN did Sarasota become a "major metropolitan area" ?
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