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Very interesting article, Kate. I'm not that interested in fashion per se, but have always been interested in how it reflects the (forthcoming) economic climate.

I do, however, have a thing about dressing well in public, even if just casual wear. For example, when I worked as a teacher, plus in local govt, central gov and then independently, I always wore a suit and tie or jacket and tie. As a teacher it was to act as a role model to the students and to show them respect. in my other roles it was in order to gain respect. I get quite annoyed when I go to, say, an education conference/exhibition and am "served" by someone in jeans and a t-shirt. I just think, if I'm here to potentially spend several thousand pounds on your product, the least you might do is not look like you've just tipped out of bed. Sorry if that sounds snobbish.

I often dress according to the task I'm doing. I wrote about this in a jokey way here -- https://terryfreedman.substack.com/i/135231849/dressing-up but I do actually think it helps to get one into the right frame of mind.

Thanks for the link to the FT article. I missed that so I'm looking forward to digging in for a long read.

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Thanks for sharing your article! This is becoming a hyper doc of some other great texts.

I know what you mean re teaching and attending lectures (or when I used to hire teachers...). I think sometimes the casual choice is a conscious statement, against authority for example, however I think there is not so much a line but a language of clothing that one should be aware of. You make your choice accordingly. Personally, I just felt more professional and confident in that kind of clothing most days while teaching. I didn’t mind if I was heading off to coach or something like this and wore casual clothes for that reason. Then the students could see another side as well, but a minority of the time.

Point about economic climate also important!

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Agree with casual clothing that shows another side. Re last point: indeed. You know about the hemline index I presume?

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Are any ankles still visible in England? 😉

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Fewer and fewer 😉

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