Posted on 03/09/2005 9:47:25 AM PST by qam1
NEW YORK – They've been part of the American "uniform" for years, worn to casual restaurants, house parties, and some workplaces.
But as jeans become more expensive, they are also becoming more ubiquitous, showing up everywhere from Midwestern churches to Broadway shows. Nothing is off limits, it seems. Or is it? Among those who buy high-priced, designer denim or who simply don jeans frequently - there's debate about where it's appropriate to wear them.
The tug of war over jeans etiquette is particularly prevalent in New York City. Here, people tend to be more creative about their appearance, and are often more demanding about how fashion-conscious people should look, says Dannielle Romano, editor at large for DailyCandy.com, a fashion and trends website.
Many 20- and 30-somethings here have theater backgrounds, for example, and often say it's inappropriate to wear jeans to theater and other cultural performances out of respect for the performers and the surroundings (even though the venues themselves have no official dress codes).
"I am all in favor of the current denim revolution that we are having, but I do feel that there are times when jeans should be left at home," says Lisa Kerson, a jewelry designer in her early 30s, whose parents insisted that she look nice when going to a play or traveling on a plane. "I still get bothered when I see people wearing jeans to the theater, ballet, opera, etc.," she says in an e-mail.
Melissa Popiel also prefers not to see denim at the theater, or at an engagement party. To her, jeans are OK for a house party or a casual dinner, but not for traditionally dressy places. "I don't like going to cocktail parties and seeing people in jeans," says the advertising executive, who's in her late 20s.
Ms. Popiel estimates she owns about 15 to 20 pairs, including premium brands, and has paid as much as $200 for a pair.
Many others are also paying big bucks for their jeans - from $150 to $1,000 or more per pair. Celebrities, in particular, are making jeans their garb of choice for appearances on talk shows and at some red-carpet events.
That, say fashion experts, sets the tone for the masses, who are encouraged by features like one in the Jan. 24 edition of Us magazine, "Hollywood's 10 Hottest Jeans," complete with suggestions for buying "premium" denim ($140 or more).
The concept of designer jeans is not new, however. They were also hot in the 1970s and 80s.
Are these jeans made for parties?
Etiquette experts offer few hard and fast rules about jeans, but among them are the obvious: Leave them in the closet when you're attending a wedding, or if your workplace bans them.
"A lot of it has to do with the appropriateness of the kind of jean you're wearing," says Peter Post, grandson of manners maven Emily Post and author of the book "Essential Manners for Men."
It comes down to determining if the jeans are for fashion or work. A pair that you do yard work in, for example, are "probably not appropriate to be wearing to a restaurant that night," he explains.
Mr. Post has seen men show up in quality restaurants wearing denim, which doesn't bother him as much as how sloppy their appearance sometimes is.He recalls seeing a man dressed in a T-shirt and old rumpled jeans. "He hadn't taken any care to step it up just a notch, to say to the woman he was with, 'You know, you're really important to me. I want to look good. I want you to look at me and be proud of me,' " he says.
Dark denim is making it easier for men to comfortably wear jeans in the evenings, especially since black jeans are no longer "in." But no matter how hip a certain style may be, some places are still off-limits.
"I probably won't wear them to a funeral," says Robert Smith, a 30- something businessman in Rockton, Ill. But in the past few years he's started wearing them everywhere else - to church and to most work-related functions.
Not the fabric but how it's used
The good news for jeans devotees is that standards for judging people on their appearance are loosening a bit - at least among women under 40. A recent study by Cotton Incorporated indicates that Generation X-age women (26 to 39) are less concerned about first impressions when it comes to dressing than they were 10 years ago, and more often are taking the approach that "you can't judge a book by its cover." The reverse was true for women boomer-age and older.
Alice Harris, author of the book "The Blue Jean," attributes the rise of jeans to casual Fridays in workplaces, which shifted the way people viewed dressing.
"We've actually gone back to a much simpler way of looking at it," suggests Post of the changing attitudes. It's not that certain materials, like denim, are bad. "It's what you've done with that material."
Lol, if such a thing really exists, I don't know about it. To the best of my knowledge, I made it up. I do own lots of do-rags and 1 good leather do rag though. It's warm, that's its true function.
I'm glad that you enjoyed it! :-)
Well, I have a chrome do-rag and billet chaps.
No, only philistines heat up chinese delivery food. Part of the fine dining experience is that it should reflect the weather as well as the tme of day that you call -- for instance, pork will always taste vaguely of fish late in the evening because of the number of times the wok has been used...
Your post is so suggestive of THE HONEY MOONERS's episode,where Norton sets his watch by which Chinese food dish's smell reaches his apartment.
...laugh if you must, but ordering Chinese food after 9 p.m., you're taking your taste buds in your hands. Except, of course, from Wo Hop...but you actually have to go there to pick up orders.
I'm gone -- must get to work.
Hedy..............maybe you can tell me if the old N.Y.C. Cantonese Chinese restaurant exists ANYWHERE any more. The last one we found and loved (it was a couple of blocks south and west of Bloomies) closed and we never could find another one to suit.
Bye bye,my dear.......
There are still a couple dozen very Cantonese joints down in chinatown. As for neighborhoods on upper west/east, I don't have a clue.
Je suis desole!
If you want authentic -- and I mean authentic -- you should try 777. I believe it's under the Williamsburg Bridge...haven't been there in a decade. The place doubles as a catering hall for Chinatown weddings.
But what I really,really,REALLY want is the old fashioned N.Y.C. Cantonese Chinese restaurant food;which nolonmger exists.:-(
I want beef in oyster sauce,as it was made in Joyce's Macao;for instance.
Like everyone else in the city, I have the one place I order from and have stuck with it for years.
My problem is that every single one I ever ate at/ordered from is now long gone.
In truth, there is really only one chinese restaurant -- or should I say kitchen -- located deep beneath the streets of Manhattan. We you call in an order, the food is prepared in this massive kitchen measuring some twenty square blocks and then transported via a sophisticated network of pneumatic tubes to the restaurant in your neighborhood. This has been going on for years and the system continues to function perfectly.
But of course! I thought that everyone knew about this and that it's no "secret" at all.
It ranks up there with the blue acropolis-themed coffee cup conspiracy surrounding greek diners. And the mystery of what came first, Ray's Pizza, Original Rays, or the New Original Rays...when it comes to NYC food conspiracies, we're through the looking glass here people. James Beard got to close to the truth and was silenced...
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I have the secret deli recipe for N.Y. deli coleslaw. :-)
I wish I had a time machine,so I could have lunch at Shraft's one more time.
You know, I just blanked on the name of the restaurant that served as a model for Mindy's in the Runyon stories. I must be getting old...
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