And no, I am not talking about the economic kind.
Besides, it's kind of hard for something to disappear, when nobody wants to acknowledge its existence in the first place.
No, I'm speaking of that other kind, what my mother often referred to as "raising" when I was younger. It seems that class is no longer en vogue in this country. Girls walk around in public in their pajama bottoms, with tacky, sexually suggestive words plastered across their asses. Wives of NASCAR Daytona 500 winners walk out on to the track in running jackets with their hair in scrappy ponytails. And apparently, jeans are acceptable just about anywhere these days.
This last one is the one that fueled my initial desire to write this post. So the Boy and I went to Morton's on Saturday night for our delayed Valentine's Day dinner. We had an incredible meal, and a wonderful time together, but other aspects of the evening really struck me as out of place - namely the people in their Levi's.
Oh, and the people who thought it was a "family friendly" restuarant, especially on the Saturday evening after Valentine's Day.
Maybe I am just old fashioned but if you're going to shell out Benjamins, multiple Benjamins, to eat a dinner, maybe you should leave the Levi's in the drawer for a night, and get a babysitter for the kids. Luckily, I have a man who knows better than to even think about wearing his jeans when we go to a place like Morton's, much as he loves them, but I guess every woman is not so lucky. Is nothing sacred anymore? Is it really such an EFFORT for you to put a pair of slacks on, and maybe a nice sweater? And the kids - why? Why would you even want to bring kids to a place like Morton's?
The Boy had a good point, though, and I think there is an element of truth to it - that dressing down is the "last frontier" for the nouveau riche, to differentiate themselves from everyone else, as if to say "I can afford to look like a slob." I think the same notion of skewed pride applies to those who bring their children to restaurants like Morton's - "we can afford to shell out $500 tonight with Johnny and Jenny in tow". You know, nevermind that practically everyone else in that restaurant was there on a date, you wanted a steak and you didn't want to or couldn't find a sitter.
I kind of feel bad for the old money folk who used to populate places like Morton's, and would at least put a nice sweater and pair of slacks on for the evening. Maybe a tie. Their wives and girlfriends would be tastefully attired in evening wear. They would be out together for a nice evening and yes they had all the money in the world, but they also had class. Nowadays, if you can't see the bottom curves of a woman's ass, or her bra through her shirt, she's just not trying hard enough. And her boyfriend - yes his jeans cost more than your entire outfit, but they're still jeans.
And I just kept noticing it all weekend - the girl walking out of Starbucks with her boyfriend in her Uggs and pajama bottoms, her hair piled messily in a bun atop her head. The wife of the guy last night who won the Daytona 500, who looked as though she just finished teaching gym class. Even last week at the opening for the show running right now at the Theater - the hordes of people in jeans and t-shirts. When did caring about your appearance become such a horrible thing?
Like I said, maybe I am old fashioned. My mother still believes in getting moderately dressed up to go on a plane, which I have never personally agreed with, but she always wanted us to look our best when she took us out as kids. Maybe it's a part of being poor, too - you never want someone to think less of you because you have less, so you more than compensate by always looking your best. Seems to me, though, we really do live in a society nowadays where nobody cares. Everything is so casual, but I for one do not like it. I still want to get gussied up for an evening out with my boyfriend and, while I may not always look like a million bucks on a Sunday morning coffee run, I will at least take my pajama bottoms off before going out in public.
I may not have as much money as the other people around me, but I can at least take solace in knowing I have some measure of class. And that, my friends, is priceless.
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5 comments:
If I've said it once before, consider me a stalker: You are my hero.
I totally agree with you, and have said the exact same things before. Loudly, even. My experience on Valentine's Day was similar - at Hugo's Frog Bar for an 8 pm reservation, WHAT were kids doing THERE?
I'm from the south, and my mother is from a conservative Catholic family from the midwest, and that combination meant we dressed up on planes (it gets me bumped to first class occassionally, so she was right), we didn't wear our PJs anywhere but in the house, we dressed up for holiday meals (even at home) and we didn't wear jeans to nice restaurants. Ok, so the lady did make us bring our own ziploc baggies of popcorn to the theater, but at least we got to go.
Anyway, hooray for you! (And, yes, we wrote thank you notes, too. Go figure.)
In general I agree with you but sometimes I think a nice well tailored pair of jeans with a dress shirt, jacket, and nice shoes can be acceptable if done right. PJs in public, jacked up hair, bras intentionally showing through clothes, kids out on date nights those are all out of the question.
Well Colleen consider the admiration mutual. :)
I used to fly every week for work,and while I always looked nice, after awhile it became such an effort to be in pantyhose when you knew you would be sitting on a tarmac in Orlando with six billion pissed off children who didn't want to leave Disney World. But I agree in principle with what your mother and mine preach. It just shows you have some raising.
Incidentally, I was told at my new job that I was the only applicant who wrote thank you notes after my - multiple, let's just point out - interviews. I thank my mother every day for the little things she taught me as a child.
Nat - yes, there are times when dressy jeans are ok. I just don't happen to think Opening Night to a command performance of Othello or Morton's are two places where it is particularly advisable. Not to mention, nobody I saw was wearing anything you could even remotely classify as "dressy" or "well-tailored". "Just pulled from the dryer after sitting in there for a day - with my cat napping on them" or "laying on the floor of my bathroom for a week" would be more accurate descriptions. :)
i wore jeans to the theater this evening... i'm so ashamed.
I totally agree with you, Friend, and had a very similar experience on my after valentines dinner. It was disgusting.
That being said, I regularly leave my apartment wearing nothing but pajama bottoms, shoes, and a coat to go on coffee runs on weekend mornings.
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