Dress clothes

[wvjules]

I"m not sure what you consider professional, but these are jobs in an office.

I can't imagine a job interview where DBF would wear khakis and a polo shirt. Dressing like that after getting the job maybe, but for an interview for a professional job? No.

Actually where he works khakis and a polo would be on the occasional casual Friday.

 

[MIGrandma]

DH has a suit with a few shirts/ties that go with it, and dress shoes.

I have a few dresses, skirts/blouses, dressy pants outfits, etc. and dress shoes.

We rarely wear them though, except to the occasional funeral (and if it's in the winter I'll forego the dress and wear black slacks and a sweater instead) and wedding. Both of the nice restaurants (The Embers in Mt. Pleasant, and The Carriage House in Chesaning) closed so we don't have nice restaurants to dress up and go to.

Most of the time we dress casually. DH in khaki slacks and a polo type shirt, and I'll wear slacks and a nice top. Or jeans. Just depends on where we're going.

 

[KimR]

DH has plenty of dress clothes because he wears suits to work. I enjoy dressing up when we go out to dinner, so I have quite a few cocktail dresses; however my girls have no dress clothes. We rarely go anywhere that requires them to dress up so the clothes would just sit in the closet unworn. I think there have been 2 or 3 events in the last 10 years for which they've needed a dress. If something happens to come up, we'll go shopping then. They grow so fast that if I kept dress clothes on hand, more often than not they'd grow out of them before they ever got worn.

 

[Karalea]

Add me to the list of not owning a dress. The last dress I wore was to my sister's wedding 5 years ago. I had a bunch but unfortunately, I outgrew them so I took them to the Goodwill. I have several casual skirts I wear in the summer with sandals.

I do have tons of nice dress pants and blouses/shirts. When the occasion calls for it, I can clean up quite nice.

We are going on a cruise in November and I will be buying several nice dresses and skirts to take on it. I am looking forward to getting dressed up for dinner.

 

[Liberty Belle]

It kills me how some people seem to assume everyone's lifestyle is just like their's.

 

[charming23]

I have three nice dresses and two pairs of dress pants, one brown, one black, and various tops I can wear with either.

It shocks me what some people think is dressed up. At my old job we worked in a very casual office, jeans, tees, shorts in summer but when corporate came or we were hosting new clients we were all expected to dress nicely. The e-mails always said no jeans or shorts. Half of the people in our office always showed up in those items and then acted surprised when they were called in the office about it. We all got the e-mails plus they always put up signs in the breakroom, bathroom doors, and above the time clock a week n advance to let us know.

 

[wvjules]

It kills me how some people seem to assume everyone's lifestyle is just like their's.

I'm not sure what lifestyle has to do with anything? Regardless of lifestyle, I believe every adult man should own atleast once nice suit and adult woman should own a nice dress.

Oh, I agree with not having a lot of dress clothes for the kids. They grow so fast. My DD had her standy-by dress clothes but has since outgrown most of them them. I'll not buy any more until she stops growing (which I hope is soon) or we need them.

 

[si-am]

I own lots of nice dresses and skirts, even though I don't wear them very often.

My husband has a suit that I don't think fits him anymore, but he has several blazers, ties, and dress pants.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

DH's family still makes fun of me because when discussing wedding attire with my inlaws-to-be I made the assumption that DFIL owned his own tux and wouldn't have to rent one. It had seriously never occurred to me before that a grown man wouldn't own his own tux. I knew little boys who had their own tuxes. It's just the culture I was brought up in. Men and women went to several formal parties a year and couldn't spend the money to rent.

Personally, I have a number of dresses of varying formality. I don't wear them day-to-day (although I occasionally wear a skirt suit to work). I keep a handlful of formals around because I have to attend fancy client functions. DH does not own tux (I'm working on it, they're expensive!), but he does own a number of nice suits for his job and otherwise.

 

[FireDancer]

I own a suit but have worn it only once for a job interview. I have it if I need it but don't anticipate wearing it again until my next job interview and I wouldn't wear anything but a suit to a job interview. I wear a shirt and tie to weddings, sometimes wear a shirt and tie to a funeral though I wore a black turtle neck to a funeral mass this weekend, and I don't dress up for dinner anywhere beyond a button down shirt or polo shirt.

We switched from a shirt and tie office to logo apparel a couple of years ago so I wear either short sleeved or long sleeved polo shirts here year round thank God. I hate wearing a tie.

 

[sweet angel]

I have a couple of fancy dresses and gowns (think cruise formal), but nothing I could use for an interview or funeral. I pretty much live in jeans or capris or yoga pants -- and t-shirts. I'd have to look, but I'm pretty sure I don't even own a pair of heels.

If something comes up, I'll buy what I need.

DH has several suits from several decades...most of which should be tossed.

 

[sweet angel]

Regardless of lifestyle, I believe every adult man should own atleast once nice suit and adult woman should own a nice dress.

Why? Why "should" an adult man or woman spend money on something they may or may not ever need?

 

[scrapquitler]

I'm not sure what lifestyle has to do with anything? Regardless of lifestyle, I believe every adult man should own atleast once nice suit and adult woman should own a nice dress.

If you don't need it, why 'should' you own it? If I buy something just because I 'should' have it. By the time I need to wear it, it might not fit or it might be ridiculously out of style (think of that light blue tux with the ruffly shirt that I remember my uncle owning), so what would be the point of having had it and not using it? seems like a waste.

 

[wvjules]

Why? Why "should" an adult man or woman spend money on something they may or may not ever need?

If you don't need it, why 'should' you own it? If I buy something just because I 'should' have it. By the time I need to wear it, it might not fit or it might be ridiculously out of style (think of that light blue tux with the ruffly shirt that I remember my uncle owning), so what would be the point of having had it and not using it? seems like a waste.

Ya got me there. I don't know why any adult man would EVER need a suit. My mistake. Jeans and khakis for all occasions. Carry on!

 

[sweet angel]

Ya got me there. I don't know why any adult man would EVER need a suit. My mistake. Jeans and khakis for all occasions. Carry on!

I'm not saying that at all. But why should they just HAVE one until they NEED one? My DH doesn't wear suits to work. The last wedding we went to was OURS...and there haven't been any funerals yet.

So why spend a nice chunk of change --- especially when styles change -- for something that isn't needed right away?

I'm not saying jeans and khakis for all occasions.

 

[bookgirl]

LOL

Seperates are your friends.

I try to have one black all purpose skirt at all times (just replaced mine last September)

Then a variety of shirts.

That way I'm good.

Now if it was a truely formal event I would have to go buy something, but even then I've made due in the past.

I also believe tha any adult should have one wedding/funeral outfit even it's just a pair of dress slacks or skirt in a classic style.

 

[FireDancer]

The most surprising thing in the thread is there are so many people that don't go to weddings or funerals. I've been to at least one of each every year for the last 10 years.

 

[msjprincess]

The most surprising thing in the thread is there are so many people that don't go to weddings or funerals. I've been to at least one of each every year for the last 10 years.

I think it depends on how old you are. For a number of years DH went to a several weddings a year. Now that we're in our late 30's/mid 40's all of our friends are married. I just went to a wedding last week but before that the last one we went to was over 5 years ago.

I guess I go to a funeral every other year or so. I don't dress the same for a funeral as a wedding, but DH wears a suit for both

 

[tlbwriter]

I'm not sure what lifestyle has to do with anything? Regardless of lifestyle, I believe every adult man should own atleast once nice suit and adult woman should own a nice dress.

It's about lifestyle because some people's lifestyles do not require a nice suit or a nice dress. If you live in an area or move in circles where khakis and a nice buttoned shirt are appropriate for anything you'll ever attend, including weddings and funerals, why would you need to own a suit?

The most surprising thing in the thread is there are so many people that don't go to weddings or funerals. I've been to at least one of each every year for the last 10 years.

I'm guessing you're younger than me. You get to a point where weddings are less frequent and funerals are not frequent yet. I haven't been to either in a couple of years.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

We only need 'dress clothes' once or twice a year AT MOST (and usually not even that often). So we don't necessarily have something to wear when we do have to go to a dressy occasion. Sure, I could buy a dress that I'm going to wear to a Saturday afternoon wedding this July, but that doesn't mean that it would possibly work for a funeral in January given the different type of event and the vast differences in the weather here at different times of the year. And we won't mention the fact that something I bought to wear to that July wedding last year might not fit my ever changing body size by next June when I might need it again .

I do have some slacks that I could wear for a dressier occasion, but for me the bigger issue for dressing up is shoes. I usually wear sneakers, and for dress up occasions, the shoes are the main monkey wrench in the plans. One can't really wear dress up shoes in snow/ice in the winter here (unless you wear your boots and change when you get inside the venue, but who wants to be carrying their big boots around at a wedding?). Likewise, the coat. I wear a Parka in the winter, and it looks pretty bad to be wearing that when you enter a wedding. But I'm not going to go out and buy a new coat to match my dress.

So yeah, for people who don't get dressed up often it IS a big complicated problem.

Ditto this...we truely dress up 1-3 times a year. When my husband's mother died last year we had to run out and get him a suit..because the funeral was in Arizona and that is the norm... Here in Montana if you showed up in a suit you would be the only one besides employees of the funeral home. Most people will wear office casual type clothing to a funeral. The only really dressed up things are weddings and still sometimes you see guys in "new" nicer looking jeans and a sportcoat and it is fine. Now I admit to having "dress" snowboots for wintertime for actually the problem you describe they are patent leather and would never hold up to daily wear but work great for church and occasions. My coat is huge and warm & camoflage and can hang in the coatroom and yes it looks silly with a dress.

I'm not sure what lifestyle has to do with anything? Regardless of lifestyle, I believe every adult man should own atleast once nice suit and adult woman should own a nice dress.

Lifestyle has everything to do with it. When we lived in Arizona & California we dressed for work, we dressed for events, we dressed to go out to dinner. Now because of the funeral in Arizona my husband owns a suit (the ones he had prev didn't fit) but prior to that since we moved to Montana he has gotten along fine with slacks & a sportcoat for everything here because lifestyle is different. I have wardrobes in the basement with formal wear and office wear in them that I brought from California but I only open them when I need something for a specific event and I generally have to alter for style or size. They certainly don't need to be taking up closet space and we certainly don't need new ones!

On the other hand our son age 6 owns a tux because he thinks it makes him look like James Bond and I found it on Amazon for $19.95 complete with shiny shoes.. he wears it to church and for his Santa pics he wore the jacket, vest, tie & shirt with nice jeans & a fedora...he will be wearing it in his sisters wedding in October which is why we bought it but he loves it!