Fashion

[etherial]

A near-death-experience on Monday reminded me of something I've always found strange. People find clothes uncomfortable. Now, I'm not just talking about women, for whom the fashion industry is one of their most visible enemies, constantly creating clothes that fit absolutely no one, and expectations of size and scale that are inhumanly cruel, but the consensus at the time was that a significant majority of people, everyday, wear clothes that they find uncomfortable.

This I don't get. My closet is full - overfull, in fact - with clothes that I find comfortable. Clothes that I don't exactly find joyous to wear, but am perfectly happy wearing day-in, day-out, everything in my wardrobe is something I'd feel perfectly fine wearing around the house just 'cause, even the stuff that I don't because it really needs to be dry-cleaned.

I mean, I do have some shirts that don't fit quite right, but they look really nice, and the tiny discomfort of wearing a shirt that doesn't fit quite right is outweighed by the fact that these shirts look really good. So tell me, people of the world, what clothes do you wear - rarely or regularly - that you find uncomfortable? What do you do as an alternative when you're lounging around the house? How and why do you put up with this crap?

Comments

[7threality.livejournal.com]

the consensus at the time was that a significant majority of people, everyday, wear clothes that they find uncomfortable.

I maintain that people are stupid.

I find that uncomfortable clothing is generally associated with appearance rather than substance. It's part of a fad that people buy into, or a tradition that they don't question. Then there's the matter of habit. If you wear the uncomfortable long enough, then it ceases to be uncomfortable. And finally, the subjective, which is that what I find uncomfortable (or useless) others don't.

People also judge by appearance, which factors in when you put too much weight on the opinions of others rather than your own. I fall for the appearance thing a bit, but I'm conscious of it when I'm doing it and try to get away from it.

what clothes do you wear - rarely or regularly - that you find uncomfortable?

For weddings/funerals/job interviews, I have a suit.

For the rest of the time, I wear what I find comfortable. It's worth it to me to not have a job that requires shirt and tie, or even slacks (as opposed to jeans). It would require a large monetary incentive for me to wear something like that on a regular basis.

However, I also don't find pants in general all that comfortable, and I'd prefer to not have to deal with socks/shoes. Unfortunately, I choose to bed to the will of society on this point. The pants I wear (jeans) are as comfortable as I can manage, and the shoes likewise. The shoes tend to be a black sneaker, so they at least pass at a casual glance as non-sneaker (no swooshes or multicolor brightness).

What do you do as an alternative when you're lounging around the house?

Baggy sweatshorts and a shirt (either one of my work polo's or a t-shirt).

If I were a) in better shape so I wouldn't care about seeing myself and b) wouldn't disturb my roommates so badly, I'd probably skip the shirt, and probably the shorts.

How and why do you put up with this crap?
If I drive barefoot, I can be ticketed.
I can't go into stores and buy stuff while barefoot.
People have no real care about the state of things, hence litter, general stickiness and broken glass etc.

I can get by with a pair of sandals though.