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It went downhill with hippie fashion in the late 60s and never recovered. Starting around the mid 70s, everything started to look and seem disheveled and gritty. Every passing decade since the late 60s, fashion has been baggy, sloppy and unkempt. In the last 15 years we've got so many people covering up their whole arms or body parts with large tattoos. It's like people collectively gave up, stopped caring and now try to intentionally make themselves look butchered up, disfigured, and messy. It gives off a desolate and nihilistic vibe about society at large and where we're all going in the future.
Simple answer - Its not the late 60s anymore. Do we not have the freedom of choice anymore, and must conform to what society says is correct - not me! Ill wear what I want,when I want and I dont give a damn who likes it or who doesnt. (Now, see how easy that was to figure out?) I dont conform to the norm, so to speak, but I wear whats comfortable, and what I like.
The 60's gave us mini-skirts and the invention of pantyhose, which pushed hemlines even higher. The 70's were the dawn of the disco era with polyester everything and "leisure" suits. At least the 80's had designer jeans, neon colors and spandex. The 90's was the beginning of grunge with seemingly everyone wearing torn flannel shirts and ripped jeans. As for the past 20 years, obesity is everywhere, courtesy of "Body positivety" and it seems few, if any care how they look. At least that's how I remember things.
Take a look at what defined fashion in the 1950's :
Basically uniforms with little variation in cut or color. Fashion has evolved as society has through individuality. Don't like it? Don't wear it...pretty simple solution.
I don't know, I think each era had some attractive fashions. Like anything else, it comes down to the taste and class (class as a character trait, not an economic class) of the person choosing their apparel.
For instance, I love the boho floaty, lacy feminine styles of women's tops from the 1960's and 1970's, brought back for a while in the 1990's. I also loved the maxi dresses, the tall laced up grannie boots, and, believe it or not, the men's vested three piece suits from the 1970's. There was something sexy about those! Also, there was not a thing wrong with panty hose. I know that's an old woman's thing these days. But I think they made great legs look even better. They weren't so bad. Pop a hole? Just dab a little nail polish on that thing and keep moving.
The 1980's were a little difficult to navigate fashion wise. I cut many a laughably large shoulder pad out of a sweater or blouse or two. Fortunately, I was thin enough then to wear the super tight jeans, acid washed and all. There were no "casual" days at work. Not in office jobs. The guys wore shirts and ties, women dressed in business suits and "career" pantsuits. I liked dressing up for work. It helped me to separate my "work life" from my "home life" where I would relax in softer casuals like sweat suits and Gitano sneakers.
Truly, my favorite era of fashion is the 1920's. I look back at my grandmother in her twenties dressed to the nines in 1920's attire with her cloche hat pulled smugly down over one eye and I think she looks cool beyond belief. They dressed up just to meet for lunch at the local drug store.
But yeah, these days, we have just about given up on fashion and style. People with pajama pants and flip flops slopping around, people who are way to heavy or way too old wearing stuff that is way too tight, green and bue hair, tacky tattoos, guests in jeans and t-shirts at weddings and funerals, all just a part of the decline of class, grace, and manners. And effort. Dressing well takes not money, but effort. I know people think it doesn't matter. But I think, psychologically, it does have an effect in a fairly significant way.
It went downhill with hippie fashion in the late 60s and never recovered. Starting around the mid 70s, everything started to look and seem disheveled and gritty. Every passing decade since the late 60s, fashion has been baggy, sloppy and unkempt. In the last 15 years we've got so many people covering up their whole arms or body parts with large tattoos. It's like people collectively gave up, stopped caring and now try to intentionally make themselves look butchered up, disfigured, and messy. It gives off a desolate and nihilistic vibe about society at large and where we're all going in the future.
You make some good points- especially your last couple sentences which ring quite true.
However, I don't remember people looking bad in the '60s. They were all peace, love, dove "free spirits" who tried to imitate American Indians and natural ethnic looks.
I'd date the worst looks starting with the punk rock nihilistic stuff. The black clothes, black lips, and chains. That was also around the time of imitating the worst segments of society including the droopy pants of the incarcerated inviting sex and the b&d sicko crowds who started the body mutilations to inflict pain on themselves. Another example is the hideous ear lobe enlargements once confined to savage tribes.
It is incredible to me to think that mainstream Americans would want to imitate the lowest of the low! If I see one more beautiful young girl who thinks imitating a cow or a bull with a ring in its nose improves her appearance...
They just don't seem to understand the history and origins behind the images they are projecting.
When I wore suits to the office, my favorite fashion role models were Carey Grant (1950s/60s) and Sean Connery's James Bond character. Their clothing appeared flawless, conservative (timeless) and comfortable. Fortunately, I graduated from college in the mid-80s, when men's fashion cycled back to the pre-Vietnam War era.
Yes just like i specified in the title, late 1960s. Learn how to read.
Boomers and onwards, maybe late silents if you want to be specific.
I said what I preferred, not you. YOU learn how to read. You are fighting culture wars, not couture. The whole set up was obvious from the beginning.
I'm not sure how the next sentence applies to me, since I fall into that age group, as a later boomer. Knowlege of 1950s fashion, does not imply that I ever wore it.
I always liked fashions. I remember looking through teen magazines such as Mademoiselle and looking at all of the gorgeous fashions. I don't have any occasions to dress up but if I did, I would love dressing up. I worked in a nice office building in the suburbs for awhile and our dress code was business casual and I always wore nice sweaters, dress pants and heeled leather boots or nice leather shoes. I just didn't understand the fat, slobby women who worked in the same office and wore their slobby disgusting leggings and Ugg boots and baggy long sweaters covering a tight, cleavage-busting top to work. They had trendy hair cuts and perfect nails but yet looked grungy and skanky.
I always liked fashions. I remember looking through teen magazines such as Mademoiselle and looking at all of the gorgeous fashions. I don't have any occasions to dress up but if I did, I would love dressing up. I worked in a nice office building in the suburbs for awhile and our dress code was business casual and I always wore nice sweaters, dress pants and heeled leather boots or nice leather shoes. I just didn't understand the fat, slobby women who worked in the same office and wore their slobby disgusting leggings and Ugg boots and baggy long sweaters covering a tight, cleavage-busting top to work. They had trendy hair cuts and perfect nails but yet looked grungy and skanky.
That's really referring to the way some anecdotal women dressed in an office you went to. In general, there are still plenty of people who dress nicely, regularly.
As a side note, I have noticed that many of your posts involve referring to women as skanky, hookers, sleazy, etc. (direct quotes). Perhaps there are ways to discuss what you do or don't like about a woman's fashion choices without immediately sex-shaming them?
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The 70's were the dawn of the disco era with polyester everything and "leisure" suits. At least the 80's had designer jeans, neon colors and spandex. The 90's was the beginning of grunge with seemingly everyone wearing torn flannel shirts and ripped jeans. As for the past 20 years, obesity is everywhere, courtesy of "Body positivety" and it seems few, if any care how they look. At least that's how I remember things. 
