Re: Men's Hour Books

In message <ddfr-A65A95.16591404092006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, David Friedman <ddfr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
In article <QrgYIARONL$EFwDv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Julia Jones <julia.jones@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In message <ddfr-437D85.11580604092006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, David
Friedman <ddfr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
>In article <J52znF.31x@xxxxxxxxxxx>,
> djheydt@xxxxxxxxxxx (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
>
>> Mostly, it's that the clothes that are traditionally
>> considered "men's clothes" are practical and comfortable (with a
>> few exceptions like tight collars and ties), whereas "women's
>> clothes" are impractical, chiefly decorated, and are designed to
>> make their wearer likewise decorative and impractical to the
>> extent that she can't get any work done in them.
>
>The most obvious difference, and the one that I think defines the two
>classes in the eyes of a modern observer, is pants vs dresses. But dress
>like garments have been the norm for men in lots of past societies. Are
>you arguing that that those also were designed to keep their wearers
>from getting any work done in them?
>
It's not the concept "dress", but the style of the particular dress
considered appropriate for women. The properly feminine dress is much
more restrictive to free movement than is a robe, and requires a great
deal more care to stop it being damaged, dirtied or mussed.

I'm sure there are such dresses, but are you suggesting that that was
true of all acceptable dresses for women in the nineteenth century?

Of course not. The specific context of this sub-thread was a chiffon dress - which is one of the classic examples of a dress designed to make it impossible for the wearer to do anything but be decorative.

There is a reason I said "properly feminine dress" up there. I've had rather more experience on the trousers side, but there is a fairly common attitude that a woman is not properly feminine unless the item of clothing, be it trousers or skirt, is designed to be restrictive in some fashion.
--
Julia Jones
"We are English of Borg. Your language will be assimilated."
.

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