Don't people dress up any more?

We have come a long way from the days when men wore suits almost every day - even factory workers cycled to work in a suit - with bicycle clips! Growing up in the 50s and 60s my Dad always wore a jacket and tie or a smart, ahem, cardigan at home. Mum always had neat hair and wore overalls to protect her dress. Very few women wore trousers then. We always had to look smart for church, days out or for visiting relatives for tea. We had 'best clothes'. There were definitely formalities to observe. I am glad we have loosened up over the ages.

I hate having to dress up but do smart casual. I live in jeans, jumpers and scarves. Going out (somewhere special) for me means making an effort with my hair, more make up than usual, more jewellery and choosing matching boots and bag. We rarely go to glittery or dressy dos, thankfully. Haven't worn a dress in decades.

I do have a dress.
I put it on recently to go out for a pre-Christmas meal.
Then changed before I went out.

I don't care what anyone else wears, if I feel like putting on something smart I do and if I feel like wearing jeans I do. Not because I want to do what I want but because I don't think anyone cares anymore. We sometimes go to a large regional theatre and occasionally see people wearing the full red carpet outfits and simply think that they look nice, despite being a little out of place. Why not?

You do not have to wear a dress to look smart. I will probably wear a trouser outfit to the funeral with my lovely very dark grey Jacques Vert coat over it, bought on ebay for a fraction of its original cost

Omg I would kill for a real Mulberry scarf notagran55

I have a rule - if I can't wear jeans then I don't go there .
I was thrown into a freenzy last year when my eldest son graduated from uni and I bought my first dress since getting married .
I have never worn anything sparkly and no intention of ever doing so. The closest I get to dressing up is wearing my Mulberry scarves and bags along with my Steve Madden boots .

Yikes! I don't own a dress or shoes. What happened to me? I used to have loads.

People don't dress up like they used to- remember your Sunday Best? Even on Christmas Day people wore jeans to church which would have been unheard of when I was young. Times have changed and people want to relax and dress for comfort. Except for weddings of course!

Dresses? Weddings and funerals. We don’t have a lot of occasion to dress up these days, but I can make an effort when required. I just hope not to be required very often ?! I do like to have the opportunity to wear a bit of good jewellery now and again.

I've got one or two really nice outfits (I think!) but never any occasion to wear them. Had Christmas lunch out with friends and I was the only one wearing a dress.

I can't remember when I last wore a skirt. I don't mind making a bit more effort with a top and necklace for a meal out, but stick to trousers and comfy shoes. Nobody will see them once we have sat down.

Littlest DGD likes dressing up but the older one, at 9, much prefers jeans.

We went to a friend's for a meal the other week; I made an effort with a nice top and black trousers but she had on an amazing dress - and cooked an amazing meal too.

My usual moan is 'Do I have to wear a skirt?' if we're going out for a special meal.

I can't stand dressing up. Its a good job the furthest place I go these days is out to the dustbin.

I think the youngest generation are dressers up (I do not mean dressing up). DGD is 10 and she and her friends cannot dress up too much or too often. We gave her a gold and blue party dress and glittery gold shoes for Christmas.. They were worn on Boxing Day, to the panto, to a friend's party and several events since.

I love dressing up for an event but rarely go to events where people make the effort, so I have got a bit lazy. The next event I need to dress smartly for is a funeral .

Yes you're right GillyB. I'm the same just to go shopping. You never know I might meet the man of my dreams in Aldi! My daughter lives in the South and when she comes here she always brings dressed up things in case we go out for a meal or she meets up with friends, as they don't dress up in London unless its a big dressy evening do.

I hate dressing up always have so I'm very happy to dress smart casual for most events, weddings or occasions that do require it are my dreaded nightmare.

dressing up is still big in the West of Scotland ,I have a wardrobe full of dressy stuff AND I wear it regularly,mind you I dont put the bin out without a full face of makeup and high heels ....and clothes of course .lol

In the North we tend to dress up for anything. I’m off on one of my walks in a minute and have spent ages deciding what to wear , full make up, jewellery etc. You never know who you might meet on the beach in the dark in January. My motto is “always make the effort darling”

I think that "smart casual" is the way to dress at present. At family Boxing day party everyone seemed to be in trousers with smart tops and jewellery. I wore black trousers with grey ankle boots and a grey sweater embellished with little pearls. I wore a pendant and matching earrings. All the other ladies were similarly attired.
We went out with friends to a restaurant and I made more of an effort wearing a sparkly top, but my friend wore a smart sweater and other ladies likewise. Nobody seemed to fussed. Most of the gentlemen were also wearing smart casual clothes, not one suit to be seen.

Amazing - a pic of my top has appeared next to this post - mine was navy.