Fashion Vent

This little rant has been welling up inside all summer.

I think the evolution of women's fashions over the years has been good, in general. The ability of women to wear pants in the outside world and not have to wear multiple layers of undergarments is much more practical, and considering how much trouble we have keeping up with the laundry I'm glad to have less to wash. I also think that the tasteful showing of neck, lower legs and lower arms is perfectly acceptable for almost any occassion. But what really gets on my nerves are women (I'm not even going to go into men in this rant) that show much too much skin ALL the time.

In my opinion, sleeveless tops, shorts, skirts more than 1-2" above the knee, flip flops and any top that shows real cleavage are just NOT work appropriate. I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there who would disagree, and clearly there are because I have been seeing plenty of women all over town dressed in the items above. I don't assume that they are all going to and from work, but there is such a high percentage of innappropriately dressed people that some of them have to be.

What really gets me are the women that wear a nice, short-sleeved blouse with a knee-length skirt and a pair of FLIP FLOPS. I just really don't understand. When did it become appropriate to wear flip flops anywhere other than the beach or the pool? Is there another piece of footwear out there that is uglier? And why don't the people wearing them everyday get themselves a pedicure?! You don't need prefectly painted red toes...just clean and neat with a little clear polish would be fine with me. If your toes are exposed, then they become part of your wardrobe, so they need to be as well groomed as your fingernails (or better).

As for the sleeveless tops, maybe this is just me, but I don't think so. There is something about showing off your shoulders that means you should either be (a) at the gym (b) on a hot date (c) in an evening gown or (d) at the beach or pool. I sometimes wear a sleeveless top under a cardigan or jacket to work, and if I get overheated (which rarely happens) and take off the top layer, I always feel underdressed in a sleeveless top. There is just too much skin exposed for the workplace.

I realize that most of the people who agree with me order from the senior menu at Eat'n'Park and those who don't know me in person are probably doubting that I'm only 30, but oh well. This just drives me nuts and it will continue to until it gets cold enough out that people start wearing real shoes and tops with sleeves.

I was recently reminded of the saying (from watching The Office last night), "Don't dress for the job you have, dress for the job you want." Touche.