... there is curiously no code about how much skin male prom-goers can show.
We know this how? Have any guys gotten into the prom wearing an outfit with spaghetti straps, or a bare back, or showing too much leg?
The fact that men's fashion does not bump up against the dress code does not mean that there is no corresponding dress code.
Unless you show me the actual, written dress code, or show a practice of men being allowed to attend prom in an outfit that would get a woman thrown out, then you got nothing.
Generally, rules and laws are passed in response to something that needs to be prohibited or regulated (in the eyes of those passing the laws). This is why a state may not have a law against incest not because everyone's so pro-incest there, but because incest was so rare that it wasn't seen as a problem that needed addressing.
So they don't have rules about how much skin the boys can show at proms. They probably also don't have rules against bringing your own chainsaw to the prom, either. Is this because of pro-chainsaw forces? Or could it be that Jessica Valenti is an overpaid idiot?
The ideal state of affairs for the left is that whatever is not explicitly allowed is forbidden. So it is natural that such a regulation would be needed, because, under the current state of affairs, boys are required to wear buras to the prom. No controlling authority yet authorizing the show of any skin whatsoever.
Generally, rules and laws are passed in response to something that needs to be prohibited or regulated
Male formal attire doesn't show skin. Female formalwear does. This has been true at least since Jane Austen days, really.
I think some of these rules are going a bit far, but I suspect some of the girls were going a bit far so I'm kind of in the middle. But to ban stuff that Grace Kelly would have worn (strapless) or jane austen or other ladies seems excessive.
And I suspect the people making some of these rules (spaghetti straps aren't allowed?) have never tried to shop for a dress that fits them.
Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening Benjamin: Yes, I am. Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
It's like there are cultural differences between men and women or some inexplicable, unpredictable thing like that that nobody could have possibly thought about before typing those words!
Wikipedia says: "Qiana is a silky nylon fiber developed in 1962 at the DuPont Experimental Station by Stanley Brooke Speck. The fiber was christened Qiana when introduced by DuPont in 1968."
So it's a fiber, but a particular fiber.
My father's father worked at the Experimental Station.
It still is. Its surprising where you can find synthetics of all kinds. There's also a big world out there. 7+ billion people all needing clothing and textile goods of all sorts, and getting more of it than they've ever had. In the meantime there aren't that many more sheep around, though cotton production has been expanding steadily.
And I suspect the people making some of these rules (spaghetti straps aren't allowed?) have never tried to shop for a dress that fits them.
Probably 90% of women do not look their best in strapless and spaghetti strap dresses. It is difficult to get a flattering or proper fit in those things. There's the "back fat," the armpit overhang, the chest-flattening effect, the uniboob effect, the weird thing that happens where from the side you can tell that the top of the bodice is awkwardly sticking out a couple of inches from the person's body, the "linebacker who just got out of the shower and popped on a towel" look if you happen to have square-shaped shoulders, the ones that look like they're going to fall off if the person doesn't move just perfectly, and the list goes on and on...
Strapless dresses usually look like they are wearing the person instead of the other way around.
So why is that all you see when you walk into a formal dress shop? Because strapless and spaghetti strap dresses are cheaper to manufacture than other styles.
But to ban stuff that Grace Kelly would have worn (strapless) or jane austen or other ladies seems excessive.
I think the schools would be overjoyed if these girls dressed like Grace Kelly, Marylin Monroe, or Sophia Loren. I also think everyone around here is not taking "strapless" or "backless" in there modern-day meaning, which is actually "assless".
I dunno. Anne-Sophie Mutter always wears strapless, and they look perfect to me. Then again, she can afford serious tailoring if need be.
Ann, I went to my prom, and once to an SF Symphony opening gala, and before that to a few Juilliard concerts where my mom endlessly coiffed and primped me. But I say stuff formal wear. You don't need to go as far as I do (T-shirt and jeans, most of the time) to think the whole concept is a mite silly.
I had a Qiana shirt in the early 80s. Girls I danced with in clubs would rub their hands, and sometimes other parts, across my chest, and say, "I love your shirt." I loved the attention. I wore that shirt out.
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३९ टिप्पण्या:
Why has prom lost its article? Today you hear "go to Prom" rather than "go to _the_ Prom."
Peter
... there is curiously no code about how much skin male prom-goers can show.
We know this how? Have any guys gotten into the prom wearing an outfit with spaghetti straps, or a bare back, or showing too much leg?
The fact that men's fashion does not bump up against the dress code does not mean that there is no corresponding dress code.
Unless you show me the actual, written dress code, or show a practice of men being allowed to attend prom in an outfit that would get a woman thrown out, then you got nothing.
Laslo banked on that.
Display doesn't work unless something is also concealed.
The prom is an outdated social passage. Schools should get rid of proms and require bland unisex uniforms for school.
I think the article disappeared mostly because you are reading a British paper.
Generally, rules and laws are passed in response to something that needs to be prohibited or regulated (in the eyes of those passing the laws). This is why a state may not have a law against incest not because everyone's so pro-incest there, but because incest was so rare that it wasn't seen as a problem that needed addressing.
So they don't have rules about how much skin the boys can show at proms. They probably also don't have rules against bringing your own chainsaw to the prom, either. Is this because of pro-chainsaw forces? Or could it be that Jessica Valenti is an overpaid idiot?
I couldn't afford to go to the Prom. I blame this lack of privilege for all the subsequent social failings I've suffered in the last 46 years.
Steven Tyler used to wear pants like that back in his Aerosmith days and before he started de-Jeener-ating.
A tight qiana shirt, with four or five buttons unbuttoned, and a zodiac pendant over a hairy chest.
You should be daaan-cing, yeah.
Eric the Fruit Bat- I love you for remembering Qiana.
Wasn't Qiana just Dupont's new trademark after Nylon became generic?
Althouse- it was nylon, but it was silkier than just nylon.
It had its own ads!
The ideal state of affairs for the left is that whatever is not explicitly allowed is forbidden. So it is natural that such a regulation would be needed, because, under the current state of affairs, boys are required to wear buras to the prom. No controlling authority yet authorizing the show of any skin whatsoever.
Generally, rules and laws are passed in response to something that needs to be prohibited or regulated
Male formal attire doesn't show skin. Female formalwear does. This has been true at least since Jane Austen days, really.
I think some of these rules are going a bit far, but I suspect some of the girls were going a bit far so I'm kind of in the middle. But to ban stuff that Grace Kelly would have worn (strapless) or jane austen or other ladies seems excessive.
And I suspect the people making some of these rules (spaghetti straps aren't allowed?) have never tried to shop for a dress that fits them.
And I suspect the people making some of these rules (spaghetti straps aren't allowed?) have never tried to shop for a dress that fits them.
When my kids did Cotillion, those were the rules. 1" straps for girls, nylons always.
"Althouse- it was nylon, but it was silkier than just nylon."
It was high-quality nylon.
"It had its own ads!"
Yes, that was Dupont doing rebranding.
My father worked for Dupont, by the way. So did his father.
"Better Living Through Chemistry."
That felt like a great idea back then.
The synthetic fabrics were referred to as "miracle fabrics."
Then the whole natural fibers thing came along and it became low class to wear anything synthetic.
Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
Curiously there's no need for such a code!
It's like there are cultural differences between men and women or some inexplicable, unpredictable thing like that that nobody could have possibly thought about before typing those words!
(Ignorance got it right, I think.)
I always had the impression that nylon was the thread, but qiana was the fabric. You know, qiana is to nylon as denim is to cotton.
Then the whole natural fibers thing came along and it became low class to wear anything synthetic
Yes!
And now we are back to performance fabrics and microfiber.
Taffeta prom dresses look good and aren't as hard to access as they would seem
"And now we are back to performance fabrics and microfiber."
Microfiber = polyester, rebranded.
Polyester was the generic name for the Dupont brand that didn't become generic: Dacron.
Wikipedia says: "Qiana is a silky nylon fiber developed in 1962 at the DuPont Experimental Station by Stanley Brooke Speck. The fiber was christened Qiana when introduced by DuPont in 1968."
So it's a fiber, but a particular fiber.
My father's father worked at the Experimental Station.
"That felt like a great idea back then. "
It still is.
Its surprising where you can find synthetics of all kinds.
There's also a big world out there. 7+ billion people all needing clothing and textile goods of all sorts, and getting more of it than they've ever had.
In the meantime there aren't that many more sheep around, though cotton production has been expanding steadily.
I remember there used to be a home permanent product named "Prom".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB2pS2xfuhg
Man is Jessica Valenti predictable.
no "men in shorts" tag???
I feel like a woman named Qiana would name her daughter Quinoa.
Oh Althouse, I hope you had a Qiana prom dress.
And I suspect the people making some of these rules (spaghetti straps aren't allowed?) have never tried to shop for a dress that fits them.
Probably 90% of women do not look their best in strapless and spaghetti strap dresses. It is difficult to get a flattering or proper fit in those things. There's the "back fat," the armpit overhang, the chest-flattening effect, the uniboob effect, the weird thing that happens where from the side you can tell that the top of the bodice is awkwardly sticking out a couple of inches from the person's body, the "linebacker who just got out of the shower and popped on a towel" look if you happen to have square-shaped shoulders, the ones that look like they're going to fall off if the person doesn't move just perfectly, and the list goes on and on...
Strapless dresses usually look like they are wearing the person instead of the other way around.
So why is that all you see when you walk into a formal dress shop? Because strapless and spaghetti strap dresses are cheaper to manufacture than other styles.
Shanna said...
But to ban stuff that Grace Kelly would have worn (strapless) or jane austen or other ladies seems excessive.
I think the schools would be overjoyed if these girls dressed like Grace Kelly, Marylin Monroe, or Sophia Loren. I also think everyone around here is not taking "strapless" or "backless" in there modern-day meaning, which is actually "assless".
(Except Lazlo, of course)
I did not go to the prom. It was a hippie thing to do.
In fact, I've never been to any event where formalwear was worn.
Not a hiipie thing to do, I mean.
Mom2Es,
I dunno. Anne-Sophie Mutter always wears strapless, and they look perfect to me. Then again, she can afford serious tailoring if need be.
Ann, I went to my prom, and once to an SF Symphony opening gala, and before that to a few Juilliard concerts where my mom endlessly coiffed and primped me. But I say stuff formal wear. You don't need to go as far as I do (T-shirt and jeans, most of the time) to think the whole concept is a mite silly.
Young women compete for the attention of young men by showing skin. The opposite is not true.
Terry said...
Young women compete for the attention of young men by showing skin. The opposite is not true.
The equivalent is flashing a wad of money.
I had a Qiana shirt in the early 80s. Girls I danced with in clubs would rub their hands, and sometimes other parts, across my chest, and say, "I love your shirt." I loved the attention. I wore that shirt out.
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