What Happened to Dressing Up?

A trend I’ve noticed recently is a decline in people putting in effort to look nice before leaving their house. I don’t mean when people are going on a quick run to the drugstore or gas station, but when they have a full day of errands and dates set up, why don’t people want to get dressed? When did it become socially acceptable to show up to a nice coffee shop wearing a baggy sweatshirt and old sweatpants? 

Now, I understand the need to stay warm during cold Canadian winters, but this is a year-round problem. Take a look at any university campus. Everywhere you look, it’s overwhelmed with people wearing pajamas and sweatsuits. Never before has it been the trend to look like you’ve just rolled out of bed; there’s always been an appreciation for effort. I feel like it’s just not that hard to throw on some leggings with a baggy sweater to dress it up a bit. With the rise of this trend, it also puts a weird social expectation on others to dress down and there is an air of judgment when you don’t. When you wear a nice top and jeans to your lecture, it shouldn’t look like you’re dressing up; it should be the norm.

The same applies to other social situations. Wanna hit up the gym in the clothes you spent hundreds on at Lululemon? Weird stares. Wanna wear a cute dress to a fancy restaurant on a date? You’re the only one. Even wearing heels to nice social events shouldn’t be out of the norm. Nice banquets shouldn’t be littered with people wearing Nike Air Forces with their dresses and suits. It’s not for a lack of money that they do this, though, since the shoes they wear are far more expensive than the ones they avoid. I can’t understand why so many people find it embarrassing to put effort into their appearance, especially when the situation calls for it. 

An odd inconsistency in this trend is that, despite putting on the first comfortable thing they can find, many still do a full face of makeup and spend hours styling their hair. What’s the point of dolling up the rest if you won’t complete the look with a cute outfit? So effort in hair and makeup is okay, but it’s embarrassing if you care about your clothes? Alright. I wish people would get back into dressing up and putting in a bit of effort.