Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My personal experience with retirees who dress shabbily is that they are depressed and by virtue of their clothing are expressing their dissatisfaction with their new lives. They're in many cases people who were workaholics and had no real interests outside of their job. Once the job is gone so is their sense of personal worth and the need to conform to any particular dress code.
My personal experience with retirees who dress shabbily is that they are depressed and by virtue of their clothing are expressing their dissatisfaction with their new lives. They're in many cases people who were workaholics and had no real interests outside of their job. Once the job is gone so is their sense of personal worth and the need to conform to any particular dress code.
Or maybe they're just looking to be comfortable after a lifetime of dressing up. I wouldn't read a whole lot into it.
I own no fewer than 65 - 75 long sleeve shirts (every designer represented), 35 - 40 pants, 15 jackets, 15 sweaters, 22 pairs of shoes, 8 suits, 35 neckties, 10 pairs of cufflinks, 8 hats ... you get the picture.
You have to understand, I am a gay man ... style is important to me.
What's your point? And how does it relate to the OP?
Women never seem to admit to being clothes horses, obsessed with fashion, or involved in excessive behaviors related to appearance.
I have no idea who is telling the truth and who is fooling themselves. I can see that the LLBean catalog has switched from sporting goods primarily for men to primarily clothing for women. Visit any mall. The story is the same. Most stores will have 5x the amount of women's clothing. Then there are the undergarments, the jewelry, the cosmetics and perfumes. Check out the drug store. It is the same with tons of women's cosmetics, eye shadow, razors, stinkum, nail polish, etc. Someone is buying all that stuff.
Someone buys that stuff but it isn't me.
For starters:
No jewelry
No cosmetics
No perfumes
No nail polish or manicures (ordinary nail clippers do just fine)
No dressy clothes whatsoever
Basic underwear, not that tawdry stuff that MEN are fascinated by
No fancy or high-maintenance hair styles
No special brushes or combs, just a plain black Ace pocket comb and a decent bristle brush
I do like to break up the Ivory Soap routine with some naturally-scented handmade soap bars or shampoos, the kind sold in small indie stores. They smell wonderful yet subtle, to me. And because I live in a dry climate, I apply basic skin lotion (ordinary supermarket stuff) every other day, and sometimes colorless lip balm.
Clothes are chosen for both function and (secondarily) appearance, but if they lack function, I don't buy them at ALL.
I totally relate to the OP's husband even though I am female and not an engineer. Practicality, versatility, and comfort win, hands down.
Please, please women. Stay out of the men's stores. I for one do not want to see them turn into places I cannot shop. While we are at it, please stay out of the sporting goods stores. Pretty soon they turn into clothing stores, mostly women's clothing, and the sporting goods and outdoors clothing vanishes.
Sorry, but I do buy actual sporting goods. I don't like the stores' increasing emphasis on clothes, either, but funny how they sure do stock a lot of MEN'S clothes in them. Men must be obsessed with buying lots of clothes.
Maybe Perryinva's viewpoint is skewed by regional differences. In some parts of the US, more women wear makeup etc than in others. But even in those places, it isn't all women who do.
I would rather spend the time being physically active than in shopping.
I sure understand how the OP feels. My DH wears a huge key ring and I actually don't mind that. I do mind that he never gets out of his work clothes, the shorts and white t-shirts, white sox and velcro sneakers. If it's cooler he'll wear old jeans instead of the shorts, but everything, though clean, is stained with his work materials that do not come out in the laundry.
He's so used to wearing this stuff. And most every day he'll need to run into a supply house and pick up materials and of course he's in work clothes; and he'll stop in the supermarket on the way home to pick up stuff for next day's lunch. So he's used to going in places dressed like this.
The other day we had to go into a lawyer's office. I came out in a nice pair of slacks and a nice top, decent flat shoes, hair groomed etc. Not fancy, but neat and respectable. I asked if he was planning to change. No, but he did put on a flannel shirt, unbuttoned because it was chilly. Everybody in the office was in dresses, suits.
I think he's so wrapped up in his occupation that he just doesn't see himself any other way. I think he feels conspicuous in anything but his work attire. I think this is how he "tells" the world this is what he is and what he does.
I know I've read threads in here from men complaining about wives letting themselves go. How come there's a double standard?
We have 2 teenage girls (adopted) at home still and he often is out with them and I'm embarrassed for them. Again I have to say nobody in this family is a slave to fashion. All of us dress for comfort and we are very relaxed.
I'd like to repost in a different direction now that I've seen this. My wife would kill me!!!!!!!!!!! That's rude and disrespectful to humiliate and dishonor your family and your family's reputation!!!!!!!! Now I'm not judging the man, but if he looks as bad as your making it seem, then you need to just explode one day and yell and scream at him!!!!!!! There's absolutely no reason he should be embarrassing you and the girls like that.. Lol !!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'd like to repost in a different direction now that I've seen this. My wife would kill me!!!!!!!!!!! That's rude and disrespectful to humiliate and dishonor your family and your family's reputation!!!!!!!! Now I'm not judging the man, but if he looks as bad as your making it seem, then you need to just explode one day and yell and scream at him!!!!!!! There's absolutely no reason he should be embarrassing you and the girls like that.. Lol !! 
