Lol.

Yes. Let me clarify: the Sexton is, unfortunately, completely atypical of what people wear nowadays, I wish it were more the norm, and I can't fault it much. However it doesn't look quite right to me. Is the jacket too long? The trousers don't work either for me, and I strongly suspect that they do not come up much higher than what we can see (I can't verify that, to be fair). Maybe I just don't like British tailoring so am incapable of being impartial?

Also, are we comparing suits or images? If the latter: the wearer has a bit of a bumfluff tache, the gent behind has a suit I dislike, and I strongly suspect that most other people in the room have stupid tattoos, multiple piercings, beer bellies and all the other 21st century ugliness. (Not the tailor's fault of course, however if we compare the image rather than the suit it is relevant.)

Well, you are where you sit.  There's no going back; only forward.

It was better and worse in the past in equal measure. I like and respect those who draw inspiration from the past, it shows a respect for traditions. Personally, I am not a great holder to tradition or rituals, but that's me. I noticed a trail of arguments on Talk Ivy the other day with the general conclusion that everything has gone straight to hell since Kennedy got shot. Morals, style, everything, including grammar.

Of course, medical treatment is much better now, I'm old enough to remember the 80s and back then you seem to have ladies of certain ages with agrophobia who hadn't been out the house for years and those sad specimens who had never quite recovered from post-natal depression and wondered around in a valium haze. You don't see this anymore, ladies who get post-natal depression are back to normal in no time.

But on a number of fronts, if your bag is to be the corporate man, loyal to one firm throughout your career, with a steady job and extreme loyalty to the company, then it was undoubtedly better for you in the past.

And that of course, that goes without saying, certainly popular music is moribund and awful.

But still, here in my music room, it's forever cool horn-rimmed jazz with a one way ticket to Davebrubeckistan circa 1959!

^ So true. And weird.

The common remark that the older generation always wants to trash the new hopes to point out that it's a merely matter of perspective and conservatism, but it's not that simple. This argument is just as selective as the pick-and-mix history iGents.

The growth of personal freedom and autonomy, or rather the assumption that this condition trumps everything, really has eroded old systems of values and moralities; whether they be good or bad. Then there is the trend to informal dress. This existed previously, but people did make an effort to be smart when not lounging at home.

The cheapest clothes now are not always the most aesthetic either and because of the culture of relativism where not much is considered right or wrong in personal conduct (though secretly most people have personal ideas of what constitutes "standards") less criticism is levelled at people wearing scruffy clothes. Being 'smart' is now either something rarely seen or thought of as stuffy and not 'street' and cool, so most men eschew a tie and strive for a balance between smart and casual, which doesn't always turn out well.

Shared values and ideas around behaviour really have been eroded, with good and bad results. One aspect especially which has ben knocked is the older idea that the next man was roughly as good as you so you waited your turn or kept your manners; now a lot of people think they are special or have a sense of entitlement and it has eroded some manners that existed when there was more social cohesion.

Last edited by Rambling Sid Rumpo (2014-11-30 18:49:10)