Looking back: What has gone wrong with the fashions of today?

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June 16, 2012

Looking back: What has gone wrong with the fashions of today?

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Sat Jun 16, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. But is it right to be wrong? (Or vise-versa?)

Since we all are imperfect and do some "wrongs" during this lifetime, still there is always the opportunity to correct the wrong by asking for forgiveness by just taking some positive, good action _ correcting the error.

Ethics, the principles of right conduct, seem always to be questioned in our everyday life as the years go by. Many customs and rules of conduct have changed. Some were good, some bad, and some just questionable.

Remembering my high school days when we gals were always dressed most modestly: Skirts were always worn and never _ and I say never _ did we wear jeans, shorts or those mini-mini "skorts" to school. All skirts were knee length and necklines high.

After school we changed into slacks or "play-clothes." Our school clothes were neatly hung up and cared for, so as to be worn another day.

Our young men were no exception, for they too had an unspoken code of modesty, cleanliness and well-arranged clothing along with being well-groomed. (That is, for the majority.) Long hair was for the girls, and close-cut hair cuts for the guys. Remember the "butch" and the "Mohawk" crew cut that some opted for?

True it is that the going hair cut today is quite pricey, and it wasn't too many years ago that the fashion was for men to have long tresses and powdered wigs: Then why the biblical Scripture of long hair on a man being a dishonor? (If you want to look that up it's at 1 Corinthians 11:14).

Oh, how happy I was when pantyhose came on the scene. The old fashioned silk stockings with dark seams going up the back of your legs were a headache for us gals with slim legs. There was always the continual problem of keeping the seams straight.

Then came the seamless stockings that were an answer to many prayers. But there was always the uncomfortable garter belt or two-way stretch to hold them up.

Freedom was given to us females with the now popular pantyhose and knee highs. But sad to say, our men still have the uncomfortable neck ties and stiff cardboard collars.

Fads, customs and fashions have changed, for now I see the "anything goes" dress code. The loose-fitting "droopy-draw" casual trousers for the men are called anything but modest, especially when they bend over. (A centerfold they would never make.)

I don't want to be prudish, but good taste doesn't come in a bottle when it comes to just being pleasant-looking with well-arranged dress.

But I must say, for the most part, that our school children try to be on top of the fashionable world of today. So, as I people-watch, the truth is, "money always talks," for it seems most folks have to buy the latest and the newest for what is displayed in stores and in the media.

Then there is the money crunch and I don't know if the blue jeans with the tears and holes are just worn out or they were purchased that way. (I can't believe anyone with any sense would buy something that would have been in the rag bag not too many years ago.) Oh, well, to each his own.

I must admit that I'm not a Ph.D. in the fashion world, but as a person ages there are the unwanted pounds and flabby "love-handles" to deal with. The newest of fabrics with spandex can be disastrous _ telling all and showing all. Each curve and bulge is accentuated, as the fabric clings and exaggerates all the unwanted inches. So larger sizes do the cover-up trick along with tunics, vests and jackets, but sad to say there seems always the mental picture of wanting to be the magazine picture perfect model.

Reality is reality and the mirror tells all.

And am I one gal with too many mirrors?

Elaine W. Kniskern is a 79-year-old resident of Schenevus and a grandmother of five. She can reached at elaine-kniskern@stny.rr.com. 'Senior Scene' columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/seniorscene.