Which decade is the worst in terms of style?

[John in Covina]

Out this way in the So-Cal LA Area many girls, young women and even older women insist on weaaring the tightest possible jeans and pants for the skin tight look. The problem is that the roll of belly, love handles and even in the back poofs out over the top of the jeans. :eusa_doh:

I was switching channels on TV recently and a woman refered to this look as being a "Muffin Top" where the top of the muffin sticks out past the top of the baking form. Great reference!

 

[Tango Yankee]

But are they helping to perpetuate unhealthy eating habits by giving in and making everything available in stretch?

In my personal opinion, yes. As a current overweight person (who is in the process of losing the extra baggage) I think stretch fabrics are evil. They fool you into thinking you're a smaller size than you actually are, because your clothes just keep stretching with you as you gain weight....there's no physical barrier of discomfort that signals you that it's time to change because you've just gone up another size. (Until, that is, even the stretch clothes have stretched themselves out of capacity.)

This goes along with a theory I had when I was still in the Air Force. When I first joined, the two basic uniforms were blues and fatigues. You wore the uniform appropriate to your duties, i.e., you worked in an office you were in blues, on the flightline turning wrenches fatigues (to overly generalize.) Then things started to change...

In 1986 I was assigned to Osan Air Base in Korea. For the first half of my tour there things were pretty much as I just described until a general came through the base on a tour. I think he may have been the commander of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). He made a side comment along the lines of "Why are all these people in blues in a war zone?" The base commander took the hint and everyone wore fatigues from that day forward. That was a preview of the mindset yet to come.

Fast forward a couple of years, and the AF decided to give up on developing it's own AF-unique utility uniform to replace the fatigue uniform and adopted the US Army's Battle Dress Uniform (BDU). Around that time Saddam decided to annex Kuwait. Across the upper echelons came the realization that we were warfighters, and by God, we should dress like it. The BDU became the uniform of the day pretty much across the entire Air Force. This was in 1990 and on.

Well, here's the thing about the BDU: it doesn't come in sizes, it comes in size ranges (S, M, L, that sort of thing) it has tabs with buttons, unlike fatigues and blues that came in actual sizes. The idea is that you can get close enough in the waist and then use the tabs and buttons on the sides to tighten up or loosen up the waistline in both the pants and the blouse.

During this time more and more people were gaining weight and failing fitness tests (as I recall from the AF Times and my own observations). If you didn't have to wear a uniform that fit properly every day you didn't have the daily reminder to watch what you ate, just as with the stretch fabrics. A set of BDUs could hide a lot--and I should know, I had a weight problem myself and still do, obviously.

The AF was also going through some changes in the fitness testing. Because we only had to run a mile and a half once a year (within a specific time based on age) they were getting a lot of injuries during the annual testing. Every once in a while someone would die. So the AF decided to go with something safer: a ride on a stationary bicycle while measuring your oxygen use.

After about 10 years of this the AF finally started to ditch the bike and go back to a run, adding push-ups and sit-ups. I'm retired now, and haven't been on a base in five years so I don't know if that's helped or not. It obviously hasn't helped me!

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Big Man]

... I guess you were the guy to be seen with at work.

Like my Dad used to say, "I carried a lot of weight at work."

Dad was 6'-6" and 320 lbs (I'm 6'-6" and 360).

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Big Man is a darn good title for yourself then. I thought I was a big guy at 6' 1, 250. Must be hard for you to find vintage clothes in that size!

Like my Dad used to say, "I carried a lot of weight at work."

Dad was 6'-6" and 320 lbs (I'm 6'-6" and 360).

 

[Paisley]

Re: loose clothes and weight, I wear tailored clothes every day. It's a long story, but I gained 20 pounds in three years eating pretty much the same diet and having the same workout routine that I'd lost weight on before. I was aware I was gaining weight. Frustrating? Yes!

Re: Air Force fitness tests. As I recall, BDUs didn't have an elastic waist. However, pasta was all the rage in the 90s and the government and health authorities were telling people to eat a bunch of starch and sugar. IMO, that's what has driven a lot of weight gain. Clothing styles merely followed the trend. For ten years now, women's fashion has been geared toward the thin--e.g., low-slung pants that create a muffin top if you have a little extra flesh around the middle, camisoles that display back boobs if they're there, and now Daisy Dukes to show hail damage. None of this seems to have lead to a skinnier population.

 

[The Good]

It seems that during my absence, this thread has come back. Anyway, I'm rethinking my original post here. Notice how I had mentioned the 1980s, followed by the 1970s. Well, I'm more inclined to say 2000s and 2010s, at this point. I know it's very early in our own decade, but this is based on my own opinion of things so far, and I doubt that there will be that much radical changes by the end of it. Skinny tapered jeans, or ridiculously baggy jeans, low rise pants, something of a decline in tie-wearing, etc... these are some reasons why I'm not very interested in modern style. True, the 1980s and 70s were outrageous, fashion-wise, but from what I know, the general public still usually dressed for certain occasions, such as church, work, cruises, weddings, funerals, and so on. Today, on the contrary, you could get away with wearing very casual clothing almost anywhere, not that I will discriminate against those who choose to, it is merely not my preference, that's all.

 

[Gingerella72]

For ten years now, women's fashion has been geared toward the thin--e.g., low-slung pants that create a muffin top if you have a little extra flesh around the middle, camisoles that display back boobs if they're there, and now Daisy Dukes to show hail damage. None of this seems to have lead to a skinnier population.

Boy do you have this right! I always tend to veer towards baggy clothes to try and hide my excess weight, these people I guess want to show off all their folds with pride.....feeling OK in your own skin and loving yourself is one thing, but I'm sorry, I do not want to look at your proud flab! lol

Or are people seriously in that much denial when it comes to their weight? Do they think that by wearing skinny jeans they'll *be* skinny? [huh]

As far as clothing trends, I see women's clothes in particular being split into two categories: 1) fashions for the young skinny trendy folk, and 2) fashions for the average everyday woman. It's always been like that, but it's #2 where the proliferation of stretch fabrics has taken over, turning even dressier professional styles into a spandex, polyester nightmare, unless one can afford to shop at high end stores and pay for better quality.

And then there's the Walmart-ization of the country where the concept of cheap and easy now dominates every facet of our (collective whole) lives, including clothing...but that's a whole other tangent.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Re: Air Force fitness tests. As I recall, BDUs didn't have an elastic waist.

Not elastic. I was thinking button tabs, but that was on the BDU blouse. The trousers had adjustable waist tabs that you pulled on to tighten the waist up or slide back to loosen things up.

I can't find an online photo of the adjustable waist tabs and all of my uniforms are packed away in the basement so I can't take a photo. Be that as it may, the upshot of it was that you had a lot of leeway to expand within that uniform!

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Paisley]

Yes, I used to have a pair of those pants. Weren't the Marines wearing those for decades before the Air Force adopted them?

I have a pair of pants with adjustable tabs that I adjusted when I lost weight.

I'll buy the idea that certain clothing styles are enabling to weight gain, kind of like Roman togas.

 

[Tango Yankee]

The BDUs were an Army uniform.

I recall reading a coupld of articles in the Air Force Times in the late '80s. One was an interview with the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, during which he was asked about a new utility uniform. The Chief replied that the Air Force was working on developing an Air-Force unique utility uniform to replace the fatigues. In the same issue was an article stating that the USAF was adopting the US Army's BDU as their new utility uniform.

I remember it because I was a bit shocked that the CMSAF apparently didn't have a clue as to what was going on--he was out of the loop. In retrospect I figure it was more of a matter of when the Chief was interviewed as opposed to when they actually printed the interview.

To go further off topic, an urban legend regarding the adoption of the Army BDU was that the US Army had fouled up an order they'd placed with the BDU supplier, a typo that added a couple of zeros to the number ordered. Something had to be done with all those extra uniforms...

Not likely, but ya never know!

Aim High,
Tom

 

[miss_elise]

I'll buy the idea that certain clothing styles are enabling to weight gain, kind of like Roman togas.

I recommend an academic gown - comfy, warm, hides all manner of flaws and it makes you look smart! Plus all that book reading encourages an expanding waist line

 

[Son_of_Atropos]

I think part of what I hate about modern fashion, is the complete indiscretion, you can have everything on show and for some reason it doesn't matter. No matter how cheap you look, no one actually seems to care.

I've come to love the idea that leaving a bit to the imagination is far far sexier than something like this:

which seems to have only developed in the last couple of decades.

T.G.I. Friday's has a real relaxed dress code.

 

[bunnyb.gal]

T.G.I. Friday's has a real relaxed dress code.

lol I think in this case the scales are so tipped they'd have to call it an undress code...

 

[lostinthe50's]

I have to go with the current decade.

I have noticed more and more that the line between gender becoming more and more less noticable. Girls (not going to call them women because they sure dont look or act like them) that look like 12 year old boys, wearing mens clothing and hair styles. Boys wearing jeans that look like they have raided there sisters room, and wearing make up (in most cases more than women).

I was at the local fireworks yesterday(hot and humid in the 90's, and saw what i believe to be a young man wearing a long sleeve black shirt, hair of an unkept sheep dog and so much eyelinger it scared me. To each there own but can we at least not become an androgynous society. This is just my point of view, I hope I don't offend anyone. Just had to get it off my chest.:eusa_doh:

 

[Puzzicato]

I have noticed more and more that the line between gender becoming more and more less noticable. Girls (not going to call them women because they sure dont look or act like them) that look like 12 year old boys, wearing mens clothing and hair styles. Boys wearing jeans that look like they have raided there sisters room, and wearing make up (in most cases more than women).

I was at the local fireworks yesterday(hot and humid in the 90's, and saw what i believe to be a young man wearing a long sleeve black shirt, hair of an unkept sheep dog and so much eyelinger it scared me. To each there own but can we at least not become an androgynous society. This is just my point of view, I hope I don't offend anyone. Just had to get it off my chest.:eusa_doh:

I saw a child the other day who I could have sworn was Justin Beiber. But since she was wearing the uniform of a local girls' school, I guess it wasn't!

But as a child of the 80s, I think there were more boys wearing makeup when the New Romantics were around than I see now.

 

[lostinthe50's]

the girl cut jeans on guys just isnt right...there wont be a next generation if they keep wearing those...lol...I like a little wiggle room.....the make up isnt as bad as the hair cuts and clothes...:rage:

 

[kamikat]

I have noticed more and more that the line between gender becoming more and more less noticable. Girls (not going to call them women because they sure dont look or act like them) that look like 12 year old boys, wearing mens clothing and hair styles. Boys wearing jeans that look like they have raided there sisters room, and wearing make up (in most cases more than women).

Androgyny isn't something new. David Bowie started doing it back in the 70's and when I was in high school in the 80's, a large percentage of my male friend wore makeup, trying to look like Robert Smith.

 

[Mid-fogey]

Worst decade...

...apparently, whichever one I happen to be in.

Sorry, I guess it's all my fault.

 

[lostinthe50's]

I guess I'm just lost in the 50's. Bad thing is my parents were the one's who grow up in the 50's not me. I guess I am just wishful of the days gone by and wish that times were different. Times when family, friends, and neighbors were valued and not just used. Times when it was a big deal for you and your lady to go out on the town, and it was ok to open her car door without her feeling like you are tryig to treat her like a child. Sorry all just venting...hope everyone has a glorious day.:rage:

 

[Gingerella72]

Browsing on Youtube over the weekend at various vintage film archives from the 40's instructing young women how to dress, do makeup, etc., I paid attention to the comments people left.

Almost every single comment was along the lines of "The women back then were so pretty and soft and feminine, why can't it still be like that today?"

It shows there is a real desire and need right now for something to change. At least it's comforting to know a small (but growing!) percentage of the population is disillusioned with the cheap, fake, plastic, slutty fashion trends right now and how "sexy" is defined in 2010. The above photo of the girl with her, um, girls, is *not* sexy.