By Jack Houvouras
HQ 78 | SUMMER 2012
While having dinner recently at Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse in downtown Huntington, something captured my attention. As a handful of college students, presumably out on double dates, entered the establishment, I was struck by how smart all the young women were dressed. Their dates? Well, all of them looked the same – low-rise blue jeans, T-shirts, flip-flops and the perfunctory baseball cap. It was a stark contrast as well as a sad commentary on the current state of fashion in America.
It’s no revelation that our country has, in recent years, abandoned fine and formal clothing in exchange for more comfortable attire. The examples are everywhere.
Last year my club, Guyan Golf & Country Club, which was founded in 1922, introduced blue jeans in the clubhouse at certain times on an experimental basis. Six months later the policy was permanently altered to allow jeans every day of the week with the sole exception of Sunday brunch. At dinner last week I spotted a man entering the club’s formal dining room sporting jeans, a golf shirt and flip-flops. He wasn’t wearing any socks, which may have been a plus.
On a recent trip to The Greenbrier I took notice of how many people were wandering the hotel in jeans, even though the famed resort’s dress code clearly states that jeans are only appropriate for such sports as horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking and other physical activities. In the hotel, the attire is to be “resort casual,” which includes collared sport shirts, dress slacks and walking shorts. Jeans and T-shirts have even permeated one of America’s finest resorts.
A friend of mine who is an attorney recently shared with me a typical tale about the descent of professional attire. At a gathering of 25 lawyers in a resort banquet room were professionals who represented national law firms and Fortune 500 companies. Of the male attorneys, the attire included mostly khakis, golf shirts and blue jeans. One gentleman wore a sports coat and slacks. My friend was the only person in the room dressed in a suit and tie. He did note that the female attorneys in the room were dressed far more formally than their counterparts.
That said, women are not immune to the ongoing “casualization” of America. On a recent trip to the grocery store I spotted numerous women dressed in sweat pants and T-shirts as well as the latest trend – pajamas. Visit a local doctor’s office or hospital and you will find nurses dressed in what they refer to as scrubs, but are really nothing more than glorified PJs. It’s hard for me to take a health care professional seriously when he or she is wearing Gummy Bear or NASCAR-themed scrubs.
So where did it all begin? Some cite the proliferation of designer blue jeans. Others blame “casual Friday,” which later morphed into “business casual” all week long. And it’s hard to ignore the impact that Silicon Valley has had on fashion in America. After all, the titans of technology have proven that you can find great success without actually looking successful. In the end, this must be what America wants. Then again, at one time America wanted bell-bottom pants, polyester shirts, shoulder pads, trucker hats and leisure suits. I’m hoping this latest casual craze is just another sad chapter in our nation’s fashion history.
