The Continued Slobification of American Culture

I would like to give a shoutout to Tim Gunn of Project Runway for that apt term “slobification”. I remember a few years ago Gunn discussing how poorly Americans dress. The situation has gotten progressively worse. Whether it is black women wearing bonnets in public, or everyone else leaving the house in pajamas. Or wearing Lululemon, or other forms athleisure as a standard uniform. It’s never ending parade of a lack of respect and decorum.

At the start of the school year there was something called “Teacher Bae”, which highlights teachers on social media dressing as if they were going out on a date. What I saw were teachers wearing skin tight clothing, stiletto heels, and cleavage revealing tops. I have noticed over the years, with blinding horror, how badly men and women dress. Just look at the “Office Siren” trope.

I came across a book called The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Made America Stylish by Linda Przybyszewski. I have been reading this book off and on for over a year. It gives a fascinating look at how a cadre of women created the field of Home Economics under the auspices of the USDA(United States Department of Agriculture). Dubbed the “Dress Doctors”, these women set out to cultivate all matter of dressing for women and girls. That there are principles in dress and styling. Just look in your parents, grandparents, and grandparents photo albums to see how stylish they were. They were ordinary middle and working class individuals, yet they knew how to present themselves in public.

The original or OG of Dress Doctors was a woman named Mary Brooks Picken. Przybyszewski relays a story about a woman physician who felt she wasn’t being taken seriously from her patients and colleagues. Unfortunately the physician hadn’t a clue how to dress professionally. Picken’s came to the rescue to guide her in dressing. Imagine what it took for that physician to gain a medical degree in the early 1900s, when women were not seen as competent in the field of medicine. After giving the doctor a much needed makeover, everything changed for her. The physician was no longer ignored, and gained credibility which meant more patients!

I thoroughly enjoyed this history book on American style. Przybyszewski concluded that the 1960s began the slow decline of the Dress Doctors influence. That decade created a lot of change, some positive, and some absolutely horrendous.

I encourage everyone to read this book. It is a starting point on how to go out into the world with confidence and self assuredness, no matter the budget.

Bookish Babe

Edit: Deleted and added sentences.

Tags: American Style, Dress Doctors, Linda Przybyszewski, Mary Brooks Picken, Project Runway, slobification, Stylish, Tim Gunn | Posted in Current Events/Popular Culture, Economics/Business, History