Originally Posted by
tfar
Excellent post by EOS!
That said, I don't see why a big difference should apply between what one would/should wear in coach or in F. However, in most cases there is an obvious difference in elegance, taste and quality of clothing displayed in Coach or F. The only times when people are seriously inappropriately dressed in F, they are usually Americans. I've seen US Americans in F with shorts and sandals or in jogging suits. So by inappropriate I mean first of all things that either show too much flesh or don't cover up unsightly feet enough (not to mention the stinky part), and, second, I mean clothes that one should simply not wear outside of the confines of one's own home because they are strictly leisure wear.
This goes along with the perceived notions of lesser class distinctions in the US (compared to Europe and possibly Asian countries), the almost cemented notion of Americans having bad taste and a certain rebel feeling by the inappropriately dressed. This rebel feeling is like an inverse, reactionary snobism. Where the European mocks the American, saying that they might have tons of money but that sure doesn't make them more cultivated or tasteful, the American seemingly strikes back by wearing horrendous outfits and not caring for social norms, saying that he/she doesn't need to conform to those norms because they have money and define their position mostly by money. This in turn just confirms what the European was thinking anyway. In other words, this thing goes full circle and is almost inevitable.
The reason this is more striking in F than in coach is that those Europeans that do fly F will mostly dress better than those that don't, at least if I can generalize a bit. Lower class Europeans often have quite bad taste, too, not unlike Americans. So the differences are not as readily visible. When you dress badly in F, you set yourself apart from the others. The pure fact that the question even comes up and is discussed for nine pages, shows that there are standards and that this is an issue.
Till
HI TILL-
You are right that the Cole Haan anoraks are stylish and practical--though they are pretty sporty looking, not dressy. But they are light for travel. The black ones and the fold-up raincoat, are practical.
'REBEL'--yes, that 'I'll wear what I like' and 'You can't tell me what to wear' and 'dressing well is so 19th century' is a rather trite refrain in this thread. All the faux rebels!
Fine, OK, who cares if they are turned away from a bar or wedding or restaurant or club because they aren't dressed appropriately. Someone wearing inappropriate clothes in any cabin of a plane (the list of inappropriate clothes seen lately is very long)--looks clueless, out-of-it, slobby, and antisocial. Nothing will change the stance--faux rebel--and the impression that they never grew up.
Social comportment: being well-groomed, discreet, well put-together, respectful of others, etc, are all part of a civilized society. Some people don't want to do that, they reject the concept, or simply don't have a clue how to dress or any sense of style.