LETTER: Making everything about comfort is regrettable
The Jan. 19 article, “Changing Fashions: Neckties are no longer ubiquitous accessories for men” is no surprise, but it saddens me.
I have no doubt that in many settings a necktie accompanied by a sportcoat or suit fosters professionalism and respect for the wearer and I experience that on a regular basis in my work.
Much of society has declared that decorum and respect for others is no longer in vogue, thus we not only see men in formal settings without neckties, but those who don white undershirts – which in some instances are not even clean – as outerwear and individuals out in public in pajama bottoms. To my knowledge, dress codes are found only in a small number of elite Downtown Pittsburgh steakhouses. Woe.
The sartorial sloppiness extends into our language, which has become increasingly filled with slop. Many are unable to utter a sentence without “you know”; declarative statements are replaced with things being “kind of” or “sort of.” A television morning meteorologist says that he will “kind of” show us the forecast and that a front is “kind of” coming in. Multiple newscasters punctuate statements with “right?”, and there is the senseless, “I’m, like,…”, which has become prevalent.
I do not expect men to wear suits and ties and women to wear dresses to baseball games as we saw in the past, but I believe that the descent into making everything about our comfort: both in attire and speech, is regrettable.
Oren Spiegler
Peters