Summer time: The livin’s easy & the clothes sleazy

It’s summertime, the days are longer, the weather is warmer and the clothing is scarce.   

Part of this can’t be avoided, when its 90 degrees outside it’s impossible to not be in anything beside shorts and a tank top.   Truth is, if you were walking around with a hat, scarf and gloves, people would think that you’re nuts.

So, there is a skimpiness to summer that is undeniably acceptable.  Hey, I will be the first person to trade in boots for flip-flops, a jacket for a tank top or pants for shorts … and it’s only a certain time of year, a small window of time, where you can wear a bikini and sheer cover up to a beach restaurant/bar and still be considered “dressed.”

So the clothing is minimal and for the most part, this notion is socially acceptable.

But, then there are the trends that push this acceptance.  The skirts that are “cheeky” or the tops that push you up, out, and cause you to spill over.  This sleazy-push appears to be coming from the “youngins” that are just below our 20something generation.

I had finals a few weeks ago for my Graduate classes and one of them lasted until after 9:00 PM on a Thursday night.  As I walked to my car I was momentarily confused about why the campus was still so busy and why the groups of girls were dressed as if they were going to a nightclub opening.  Then I remembered “ THIRSTY THURSDAY. ”  It really wasn’t that long ago that I myself was an undergrad getting dressed to the 9’s to play beer pong at an apartment party.  Granted I wasn’t dressed like that… but I’m trying to identify to the situation on some level.

Anyway, I think what bothered me most is that it WASN’T that long ago that I was in college, gearing up for Thursday and yet, I never considered leaving my dorm or apartment dressed like that!

I’m not sure what happened in the past few years, but it seems like a switch flipped. When did a skintight dress that showed the bottoms of your butt checks come into style?  I don’t think thats EVER in-style, but these sleazy get-ups are running rampant through the high school and younger, "less-than-20something"  generation.

Personally, I think it’s tasteless. Universally, I think it’s a disgrace to fashion.   

The crazy replaced the classy, the outlandish replaces the chic and it seems that shock value is held in higher regard than actual beauty.

So who’s to blame?  Is it the fact that you can send sexy/dirty pics to your new crush-du-jour in seconds on your cell phone?  Or maybe it’s because you know the picture snapped on the digital camera will be instantly updated to facebook before the night is even over? Maybe it’s because reality TV shows like Tila Tequila, Paris Hilton and The Jersey Shore have confirmed to the viewers that shock value gets attention?  (P.S. these shows, characters should not be emulated, at least by anyone with half a brain)

But maybe it’s not technologies fault. Maybe it’s… dare I say the taboo… the parents? If these kids weren’t so coddled, maybe their parents wouldn’t be afraid to tell them to step up their game and pull down their skirts? Pull up the pants?  Cover up the very excessive cleavage?

Hell, maybe none of these things are mutually exclusive.   Maybe they have just uniformly come together as a perfect storm, to wipe out any remnants of style, self-respect and class?

Either way, I wanted to walk over to these girls and ask them if they were serious with these looks?  I wanted to say that no one respectable would take them seriously if they could arguably be mistaken for a stripper or hooker.  I wanted to ask them if they would wear that outfit in front if their grandparents?  I wanted to ask them if they had ever heard the phrase “Dress for Success?”

But, I didn’t say any of this.   

Instead I just got in my car and headed home.  Hey, I’m not the fashion police.  And I may only feel this way because I am 20something.  For all I know, when I was a teenage, I may have dressed like that too? 

• Maybe… at the beach or hanging by a pool.   
• Maybe… in the summer when that window of opportunity was wide-open letting in all the hot air? 
• Maybe... just maybe I conceded to the heat wave and without realization, dressed as sleazy as the girls I was currently critiquing?   

Maybe… (but Probably not!) Nahhh … not with my parents. 

Anyhow, all wondering and reminiscing aside, this I know for sure…

Regardless of the summer window of sleazy opportunity, I did NOT dress risqué at school!  I never attended an event, graduation party, or family function in shorts that made Jessica Simpson’s Daisy Dukes look like long johns.

Truth is, the term “fashion statement” wasn’t coined without reason.  It was intentionally called that because fashion is just that… a statement!

But I’m not saying anything new here and the generation below us 20something’s knows that.  Hell, they are the ones responsible for inventing the term “EMO.”(Which I just recently found out stands for “EMO-tional,” meaning they dress according to their emotions.)  They wear black, or whatever dark color they chose, to express their true feelings.

Well you know what I say?  What the hell do these kids have to be EMO about?  The time before your 20something years is light-hearted and carefree.  No big plans, no bills, no insurance premiums, no student loans, no serious relationships and rarely any health problems.  Its’ the land of “what are you doing after school tomorrow” and “who are you taking to the Winter Formal?”

So are those the stresses that cause that generation to dress via their emotions?  If that is what’s making them EMO… they better buckle their seat belts; because they’re in for a tough ride.  One that fashion spiked hair, and black finger nail polish won’t help them cope with. 

Either way, this “younger-than-20something-generation” knows the importance of a statement through fashion.  Which I guess makes me question what kind of statement they intend on making with these sleazy get-ups?

Sadly I think that these girls are dressing this way for attention.  Yet, they are mixing together both good and bad attention.  They cannot forget the key points; that people are only staring for one of two reasons…

• 1. They are horny and appreciate the free peek.
• 2. They can’t look away because you look like a sloppy train wreck.

I don’t think either option sounds appealing.  So ladies…please, act like ladies.  Have some decency; some dignity and most importantly make those guys work for it. Everyone is so quick to complain that romance is gone and chivalry is dead… but do we ever think they are extinct because there is no pursuit?  I mean… they’re giving it all away for free!  Bottom Line; if a second look in the mirror makes you question the decency or appropriateness of your frock, err on the side of class and get it together.

Remember, rule of thumb… The adage less is more… refers to jewelry adorning an outfit… not the amount of clothing you wear.

 SHORT AND SWEET…AKA…MORAL OF THE BLOG

Attention is NOT good when it’s given because you look like a sleaze—Keep this in perspective.

Scrape up your dignity and buy an outfit that covers your goodies.  Oh and leave something to the imagination, there is so much truth to that.  Finally, “It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes” is only a song, not mantra!  If you are not a summer sleaze, but you know of one… do the lady a favor and pass the message along. 

xoxo

Lana

“A Girl should be two things… Classy and Fabulous” -Coco Chanel