Shackles UnShackled by Marianne V. Shackles

Dress Down Monday Friday, et al

When I went to school, I had to dress appropriately – by a strict set of rules The do’s and don’ts were set forth by the good Dominican sisters. Dressing appropriately meant skirts at a prescribed length, stockings, hat, and of course, gloves. Slacks, now known as ‘pants’, and shorts were indeed a no-no except for beach parties and the like. A girl or woman of any age would never enter a church without some covering over her head – be it a hat, a scarf, or at the very least, a tissue attached to the hair with a bobby pin. For those of you who do not know what a bobby pin is – it’s a – well, never mind, ask someone or give me a call.

Things have certainly changed. Talk about doing a 180N. Today, practically no one wears a hat to church. Even the powers that be, who were running a Royal wedding a couple of years ago, were asked not to wear hats. I found it rather interesting that both the Queen as well as the Queen Mother, ignored that request and did don fashionable chapeaus. Rank has class and does have its privileges.

When I resided up north, Saturday night dinner was "dress up" time. Gentlemen always wore shirt, tie, and jacket. And, oh yes, socks always went with the shoes. It was a real culture shock when moving to Florida. The word ‘casual’ meant ‘anything goes, anytime, anywhere’ - for the most part. A friend of mine recently was rejected from a restaurant - he was wearing Bermuda shorts after 6:00 p.m.. Yes! Proper attire and civility reared its beautiful head. Maybe there still is some hope for those of us who would like to see a return to a ladies and gentlemen era rather than a gals and guys age.

Casual is nice, but sometimes we’ve gone a tad too far. Maybe I am becoming too much of an old fogey. As an example, let’s kind of look at this "Dress Down" or "Casual" Friday at the workplace phenomena that’s is permeating our society. I can’t help feeling that maybe, just maybe, the way you dress is a direct reflection on how you act. Now you may think that is somewhat of a stretch, but observation keenly suggests that casual attire, provokes casual attitude, and casual language allows a bordering on profanity.

Someone just told me there are places of business making Monday and Friday ‘dress down’ or ‘casual dress’ days. That would mean that workers would only have to be appropriately attired on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If, in fact, dressing has no negative effect on workers, why not just eliminate dress codes all together? It makes no sense to me to go into a bank and be greeted on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday by a fashionably dressed bank officer only to return to conclude my business and be met with a polo-shirt, casually clad individual.

I know, I know, I am getting old. Got news for you folks. I am old. Now I’m not saying I want to return to the days of corsets and bustles, but don’t you think we could just dress up just a tad? Take a close look at the way our kids dress for school. And if you really want to ‘people watch’ all you have to do is spend an hour or two at an airport. Talk about ‘casual’? Or, watch a bunch of reporters working the city. Now that should really disturb a lot of people. 

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