Does the new casual style mean people just care less?
What once seemed so refreshing is now in danger of becoming Not Caring, as people make less and less effort with their appearance
‘It’s yoga pants around the house. It’s curlers in your hair in Tesco. It’s never getting out of your trainers’
They do say be careful what you wish for. What we have all wished for at one time or another – with the possible exception of Jacob Rees-mogg and the Royal family (not including Prince Harry) – is some relaxation of dress codes. No tights in summer. Fewer ties in the evening. Fewer “hats and jackets required” occasions. And we’ve arrived at the summer of casual ground zero, which turns out to be more casual than we’re comfortable with. Here are some of the things we must row back on now, before it’s too late:
Tieless men
This one is uppermost in our minds since Lib Dem MP Tom Brake reversed the “ties required” rule in the Commons, and now there’s no brake on the Pestonification of men at work. Do we want Huw Edwards to read the news tieless? Certainly not, because he would look less prepared and less reliable. Would Justin Trudeau give the world as much pleasure without his ties and suits (when the ties go, you know chinos are not far behind)? He would not. Now Brake is calling for members to be referred to by their names rather than constituencies – all part of the New Casual push. Next he’ll be asking permission for the wearing of Birkenstocks and cycling gear or Boris-style running shorts. The tie was there for a reason – to hold back the floodgates of casual.
Giving in to the hot weather
I’m not talking about the Duke of Edinburgh being let off the full garter fandango. I’m talking about beachwear not at the beach. Not so long ago you wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing flip flops anywhere but on holiday. Now everyone is flip flopping (or Fit Flopping) in the office, on the tube, or even round at Nigella’s for carbonara. Feet flashing has become normal for both sexes. Men are even going sockless in leather shoes in the office, which is hopeless.
Unshavenness
Were you delayed on the tarmac for 48 hours or is that a beard? Who the hell knows. But the key is you can’t assume that if someone looks like Damian Lewis in Homeland immediately after his recapture that they are gasping for a shower and a razor. Anything goes, face-hair wise, with no obligation to kemptness.
Everyday athletic wear
Lycra leggings, slinky T-shirts and racing back tops: clothes you wear to work out have become clothes you get up in – in order to work out at some point – and then stay in. This used to be a habit restricted to models and yummy mummies, now we’re all at it. I can vouch that the shame you should feel (you are in the dentist’s waiting room wearing the equivalent of a body stocking) evaporates with practice. This is what I’m saying: New Casual is moving inexorably towards Not Caring. It’s yoga pants around the house. It’s curlers in your hair in Tesco. It’s never getting out of trainers, even at your dad’s 90th. It’s making less and less effort in the guise of being just casual enough to suit the times. These days you don’t say “sorry, I had to walk the dog/fix the roof/go to a Pilates class”, you just turn up as is. Anywhere.
Never properly dressing up
Go to a party, unless it’s being thrown by one of the Greek royal family (in which case you will be wearing body paint and wings) and the dress code is Pretty Casual Really. God knows when you’re going to wear the fairly understated dress you bought the other day, because if you did you’d look like you were going to a Middleton wedding. Remember when we used to have black-tie parties? For fun? Boy, does that seem like another lifetime.