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Men and old clothes

(17 Posts)
Rufus2 Mon 14-Sep-20 03:34:15

Another thought! This new phenomenon of "working from home" using video conferencing must cause some people heaps of mental anguish!
Does it have to be "top half formal, bottom half, anything goes'?
Remember to turn the camera off when getting up to do a toilet call! grin

Rufus2 Mon 14-Sep-20 03:23:14

sports jacket, trousers, always with turn ups
Good grief! What era are we talking about? shock
Harris Tweed jacket, corduroy trousers with turn-ups full of accumulated rubbish!?
This thread should be titled "Old Men and Clothes! grin
OoRoo

Georgesgran Mon 14-Sep-20 01:30:26

My DH puts clothes aside for ‘gardening’ or ‘decorating’ but he does neither!

Callistemon Sun 13-Sep-20 23:44:09

DH used to wear the same baggy jumper with a hole in the front to do the gardening. When I pointed out he had a pile of jumpers, some not good enough for going out in but suitable for the garden he said he liked that one.
He wore it for ages (it did get washed!).

So I put my fingers in the hole and pulled and ripped until the hole was huge.
It had to go in the bin then.

Spangler Sun 13-Sep-20 22:25:09

MawB2

How do you define “formal casual” Grandad. To me they are mutually exclusive.
I understand smart casual, and “dress down Friday” - chinos and a button down shirt and no tie, but business dress is just that - a suit, surely?

Formal, suited and booted. Casual, sports jacket, trousers, always with turn ups and shirt with either a cravat or colourful bow tie. Dress down, similar trousers but worn with an Aloha shirt, I love the Hawaiian floral patterns.
All the above are worn with two tone shoes and Fair Isle socks. And topped off with a fedora hat.

Dress down and call it comfortable? Others might but I never could.

Grandad1943 Sun 13-Sep-20 22:13:32

MawB2

How do you define “formal casual” Grandad. To me they are mutually exclusive.
I understand smart casual, and “dress down Friday” - chinos and a button down shirt and no tie, but business dress is just that - a suit, surely?

White or check button up front shirt with full length sleeves. Black or gray smart casual strides with black leather slip on shoes, dark socks, but no tie.

The above are my working clothes along with all males in our office.

MawB2 Sun 13-Sep-20 22:00:24

How do you define “formal casual” Grandad. To me they are mutually exclusive.
I understand smart casual, and “dress down Friday” - chinos and a button down shirt and no tie, but business dress is just that - a suit, surely?

Grandad1943 Sun 13-Sep-20 21:46:40

I wear formal clothing when working in our offices. I do not wear suits but formal casual clothing. When I arrive back home on an evening the first thing I always carry out is to throw off that clothing and put on something old and very comfortable.

For me and many others in our offices, it signifies the end of the working day and the entry into a period of relaxation. However, I always ensure that whatever I put on it is clean and not full of holes etc. My wife also carries it the same on arrival home from the office, but definitely not old but always something she finds very comfortable.

I can understand how once retired it would be easy to slop about in old comfortable clothes each and every day.

MissTree Sun 13-Sep-20 20:43:56

@flying
Sentimental yes. But torn and holey and covered in gravy ? I don’t think you do that ?

MissTree Sun 13-Sep-20 20:42:00

Mmmm .... might be a reaction to no longer having to wear a suit I suppose. What bugs me is that I get to see the scruffy stuff but when he goes out he scrubs up ok.
I used to think with my dad that it was a control issue. At least he could control what he wore.
Thanks Grumppa for telling me it’s not particularly a man thing.

flyinghandbagisback Sun 13-Sep-20 19:15:17

I can never understand why people wear scraggy old clothes under the pretence of being comfortable... by all means be comfortable but at least look half-decent.

I do wear one particular hoodie, but that's because I thought it was nice, not because I thought it looked comfortable. It is black with the company name in small, white, fancy writing, and does still look polished.

I also have clothes I've had for years, I keep and wear them if they still look respectable, and the ones that don't look good but hold sentimental value are kept but not worn, or are worn to bed. X

Greyduster Sun 13-Sep-20 19:10:12

DH has a drawer for his “work” clothes - things he won’t part with and I have been forbidden to throw away. Trouble is they are now creeping into his other drawers and he has had to have his hands slapped! He looks like a tramp in them, but he knows how to dress when he leaves the house and wears his clothes well. All you can ask, really.

Maggiemaybe Sun 13-Sep-20 18:58:17

As for why. I think it’s a misplaced sense of “waste not, want not”.

Maggiemaybe Sun 13-Sep-20 18:56:45

It doesn’t apply round here. DH likes his clothes and usually asks for specific branded jumpers etc, for Christmas and birthday. His old stuff’s just for gardening in. My dad always dressed well too.

I’m the one that hangs onto the old favourite bobbly jumpers and mismatched socks, even though I’ve got plenty of clothes.

grumppa Sun 13-Sep-20 17:55:05

Sorry, can’t help. Beyond my comprehension.

Oopsadaisy4 Sun 13-Sep-20 17:26:03

Because they’re comfortable, apparently.

I figured because DH wore suits at work for over 50 years it was his way of telling himself that he could relax and who am I to disagree?

But I draw the line at him going out through the gate in them.

MissTree Sun 13-Sep-20 17:21:28

Please tell me I am not alone.
In his later years my dad used to wear an old pair of jogging bottoms covered in gravy. He had other pairs but would not change out of these. My mum tried hiding them etc but he was wedded to them.
Now my SO has started to do the same kind of thing. His toes came through his favourite Skechers . We persuaded him to wear another pair . I threw them in the bin (knowing he’d see them) and he admitted they were removed and put in the garage for ‘gardening ‘ . His pjs have a split seam but he won’t get a new pair. He also wears socks with holes in .
My question is why do they do this ? Any psychologists out there ? Or men who can explain ?