The Mansion on Turtle Creek, part IV

The last on this subject and the shortest.

While discussing this with a friend yesterday, she lamented that the rescinding of the dress code for The Mansion is just another step in the "dumbing down" of our society. Media implications aside, where do you go to dress up?

We no longer dress for church. In less than a generation, I dare say the population of my church won't have a clue what "Sunday best" or "church clothes" are, unless it's the jeans without a hole and trust me, I've seen that at church. (Mainline denomination in a small town.) IT'S CHURCH, PEOPLE! I know that churches think that by declaring "no dress code" everyone will feel more welcome. Fine. Wear your best, no matter what it is. Wearing your best clothes to church is, to me, a symbol of respect for God and place. I just find it hard to believe that jeans with a hole in the seat is the best someone with a job can do.

So, just as we no longer wear church clothes to church (I do--but then you're not surprised by that), we no longer dress for funerals. To a certain extent, I've seen some mighty casual clothes at weddings, although that would appear to be the last hold out. Charity balls/events would seem to cry for something other than shorts and jeans but we don't have a great many of those here.

And now, we can go semi-casual to restaurants where a meal for 6 cost more than my first paycheck as a teacher. And it was for a month.

In concluding this tirade, who is buying all the dressy clothes at Neiman's and Nordstrom's and the boutiques? And then, please tell me, where are they wearing them?