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Tuesday 2 February 2016

Men and women

We visited our local branch of M&S recently. I’m sure the floor area devoted to men’s clothing has shrunk while women’s wear has expanded. Not an enormous change, but my visual estimate suggests the floor area ratio is at least two to one and possibly more.

I don't know if there's a connection but I've also noticed a pronounced difference in the way young parents dress in situations where casual is okay. At Granddaughter’s soft play area, fathers usually dress in what to me is casual verging on scruffy. It is a play area so casual is to be expected but mothers manage to dress casually without ever looking scruffy. 

The last time we were there a couple sat nearby and dad looked as if he'd salvaged his clothes from a skip. Mum seemed to be wearing brand new everything. It’s much the same in Grandson’s school playground. Scruffy dads, smarter mums.

5 comments:

Demetrius said...

Down here the females are just as scruffy of the males in the younger generations. In the last 10-20 years it seems to have been going that way. It might be pressure on incomes from other costs or it might be just a change in lifestyles. But when looks at archive film of the past it was the norm for people of all classes to be smart when away from their work or activity that was dirty. I can recall when I used to wear a tie.

Sam Vega said...

"Scruffy dads, smarter mums"

In the case of our family, guilty as charged.

Scrobs. said...

I can't fit into any of my old 'work' clothes these days, so it's MandS jeans and Cotton Traders rugby shirts for 'best', plus a fleece when it's cold, or one of those Slazenger jerseys from Sports direct!

And who really cares?

Mrs Scroblene is much more delicate, and doesn't like mix and match as I do... But then, she is a Queen amongst her subjects, and who am I to argue...

(You can call me Scrobs if you like)!

Anonymous said...

Ask the ornithologists, they have theories about this sort of thing. Went to a posh do recently and there were ladies in finery - with trainers on their feet. What is the world coming to.

A K Haart said...

Demetrius - I used to wear a tie too, but now it's only weddings and funerals. Mainly funerals.

Sam - that's retirement for you.

Scrobs - I can't fit into my old work clothes because I got rid of them asap. Too many reminders.

Roger - one lady in trainers would be a statement, but more than one is merely fashion. Perhaps they were Giuseppe Zanotti trainers.