When Will Women Wear More Comfortable Clothes Again? (Clinton, independent, school)

[tijlover]

I just saw a photo of Kamala Harris featured outside her office at the White House looking extremely uncomfortable wearing a pants suit. I actually felt sympathy for her as she looked so uncomfortable.

I used to feel the same seeing Hillary Clinton packed into one of these business suits.

Haven't women reached a point now where they're not pressured into wearing "men's clothes" at business meetings or at work and wear a very comfortable dress instead?

When I was in India, as a man, I envied these women wearing these extremely comfortable, sheer Sari's in the summer time. How could it be any more comfortable! Even as a man, I would love to go around in the summertime in Tucson wearing a Sari. And no underwear? And, how about it, men being able to wear more comfortable women's clothes?

Perhaps one reason for this "enforced dress code" among women is if they wore comfortable dresses to a business meeting, it would be too much of a distraction?????

[elnina]

There is a pretty strict business attire code for women and men that needs to be followed. Not sure if you know much about it.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90393935...f-the-pantsuit
Most women in those profession would wear clothes that are appropriate AND compliment their silhouette. Pants are often chosen because they are more comfortable when taking steps or
entering/exiting vehicles.
Want to know more? Read this about image making and political statements some clothes make. In a visual age, that means not only words and action but also outfits matter.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/s...den-style.html

You don't know about comfort clothes until you wear them.
https://looksgud.com/blog/reasons-wh...ls-hate-saree/

I am pretty sure YOU could wear thawb any time you wish. Even without underwear. Give it a try. Maybe you will start a new trend
https://muslimamerican.com/mens-thob...e-middle-east/

[CrowGirl]

It sounds like you are actually asking why don't women wear more dresses and skirts, more traditional women's attire, rather than when will they wear more "comfortable" clothing. As a professional woman who had to dress for a professional setting for years before business casual became common, I can assure you a pant suit is more comfortable than a skirted suit. Yes, loose flowy dresses are comfortable. They are also no more appropriate in a conservative business setting than are cargo pants and polo shirts on men. At least that is the expectation in the more traditional professionals in the U.S. (which includes high political offices).

[sheerbliss]

Women in general, or high ranking officials and others who need to inspire confidence? I'd think the vice president could afford to buy good quality suits and have them tailored. If she was uncomfortable, it might not have been because of her clothing.

[rfomd129]

Fit is everything and is so often overlooked when people put their outfits together. The most expensive clothing looks awful when the tailoring and fit are not correct. I sew and I'm pretty good at it so I often tweak my clothing to get a better fit. Sometimes buying a larger size and taking it in in the right places makes all the difference in both comfort and overall appeal.

A good tailor or seamstress is often the best fashion accessory.

[DubbleT]

Suits are not "men's" clothing, they are business clothing.
Pantsuits on women are not "enforced". Women have the option of skirts or pants when wearing a suit, I think the fact that so many choose to wear pants rather than skirts may tell you that many women find pants as comfortable or more comfortable than skirts.

I'd love to see society do away with the idea that some types of clothing are for men and some are for women. I'm all for it if a guy wants to be able to wear a robe, a skirt, a frilly laced shirt, without fear of reprisal.

[Nattering Heights]

Formal clothes are expected for desk drivers. People who do physical work may dress more for comfort and function. Clothes for anything may change as driving becomes too expensive and more people bike, walk, or ride buses to work during more extreme and less predictable weather, and breaking supply chains reduce the materials available for clothing.

[tijlover]

When I saw Kamala in that outfit, it looked like she was poured into it, and the the buttons on her vest looked like they were ready to pop. She looked like she needed a hug.

Sometimes at Halloween, I'd put balloons for my breasts, and tried to come across as a woman. Can't imagine having the burden of having big breasts permanently and then wear a pants suit on top of it!

[GrandviewGloria]

Originally Posted by tijlover

When I saw Kamala in that outfit, it looked like she was poured into it, and the the buttons on her vest looked like they were ready to pop. She looked like she needed a hug.

What you've described, says a great deal about her - particularly her ability to set and reach goals, and her ability and willingness to acknowledge and incorporate changing realities.

Those pants, and their fit, were the origin (and the validation) of a certain obscene nickname for her, which was circulating for a while.

The fit is wrong, and the styling is wrong, for a woman of her age and weight. I know women far older than her, and far heavier than her, who look fine in pantsuits. But they spend what it takes, and they go to the right designers. And they don't try to accentuate "curves" they don't have, anymore. Too, I've never heard one of those women emit little girl giggles.

I don't wear pants, when I'm dressed for business. I wear Carhartts, when I'm gardening with the Grandes Dames of Portland, or when we're at our place in the mountains. I'm too short, and too compact, to look important, while wearing pants. Just as a double-breasted suit somehow works for the proportions of a man whose body is problematically-elongated, or problematically-compact, a skirt - be it fitted or billowing - somehow can help us transcend what could otherwise be awkward proportions.

In Southampton, I wear dresses. There, I need to look important. At a summery gathering, where hedgefunders' unwanted first wives (women whose Candela-designed Upper East Side co-ops are more genuinely exclusive than the silly swaying Central Park South monolith that is our Manhattan perch) cautiously converse among themselves, nervously holding themselves just-right, so that their Carefully Contrived Casual (and painstakingly-fitted) outfits won't ride-up or pooch-out (pants, frequently, paired with long-sleeved shirts - sleeves tenuously rolled-up, as if they were still girls at boarding school), I'm at the other end of the terrace, being schmoozed - wearing either an ultra-constructed-but skimpy dress (a knack I acquired long ago: https://www.city-data.com/forum/58793548-post1.html fourth paragraph), or in something long and loose - something which has a shape of its own. rfomd129 has it right. Her nips and tucks, are to give the garment a pleasing independent shape - independent of the wearer.

And that, I suppose, is the point at which all the above bits and trajectories should converge. When one's clothing has its own shape, which hovers outside the lines of one's body, the tortuous struggle to fit a garment onto oneself, is obviated.

[KCZ]

If you look at Kamala Harris's FB account and other images online, you will see that a lot of her clothes don't fit her. The jackets are either way too tight or so baggy they look like a sack, and the pants legs are too wide and too short, which is a bad look for anyone but particularly for someone who's 5'3". She needs a tailor. Comfort isn't even the issue here, except I can't believe she's comfortable in 4" stilettos during a long workday and will likely need a podiatrist too.



In general, women do wear a lot of uncomfortable clothes, mostly because that's what's available on the rack or from a belief it will make them more attractive to men. I don't see either of these things changing soon.