Another pointless trivia question about fashion....

[PurpleChez]

I have lived in north Georgia for ten years. It's "the South", but it still gets cold. It's cold right now. But I grew up in Pennsylvania, where it gets much colder. And I started college in Pittsburgh, where it gets colder still. This was the mid-80's, and it is my recollection that when the weather turned cold my fellow students responded by donning cold weather gear. It wasn't until I transferred to tiny Lebanon Valley College (from which I graduated in 1989) that I first took notice of the phenomenon by which folks generally dressed "appropriately" for Fall, but when Actual Winter came around they reverted to Summer wear. (Many made at least one concession to the temperature by wearing those honking yellow leather boots you can get at Sears.) At the time I attributed it to macho posturing by goony frat boys, but there is also that neo-Dead Head element that seems to think that Jerry's spirit will be displeased unless they're always barefoot and dressed for a summer show at the Meadowlands. Now, of course, this practice is commonplace. I teach at a middle school and many students will wear shorts, etc., all year. They'll complain about being cold (just as the hip-hop kids will complain about heat when they're wearing parkas in May), but they won't change clothes. As I said, I never saw a hint of this style until the late 80s, and it seemed to come out of nowhere--I've never seen old B&W pictures of students in New England trudging through snow drifts in khaki shorts and flip-flops. Anybody have any insights they'd like to share?

[northzax]

1. i went to college in new england

in the mid-90s (technically Maine) and I often wore shorts. but only on days I had exams.

[aikoaiko]

2. ahhhh, barefoot and dressed for a summer show at the Meadowlands.

now you've brought me back.

But back to your point. I think it has to do with how hot we keep our buildings now. It used to be the case that buildings were cool in the winter (of course still much warmer than outside). Now you have to just deal with the cold of traveling so you are ok inside your building.

But now I live in southeast GA and I'm still wearing short-sleeves. :)

[pansypoo53219]

3. i'm a hardcore barefooter, but

in single didgits. gotta put on clogs and mittens today.

otherwise, i didn't pay attention to other people. i get too damn cold.

[PurpleChez]

5. interesting point!

I've been places where the heat came on on X date and the AC on Y, and they stayed on, regardless of the weather. I also knew of a building at Piedmont college in Demorest where the HVAC was controlled from an office in ATLANTA, and an adjustment required a phone call and a $50 fee.

I'm glad you didn't take offence at the Meadowlands imagery. I never had a lot of time for extreme dead-headism but it was such a great vibe. I really appreciated the fact that long after so much of the rest of the music world seemed to give into the idea that anything that wasn't morose and nihilistic must be worthlessly simpleminded, the Dead still kept on making music that was fun and happy. Even when it was sad.

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. Being the mom of a high schooler...it's just a fad they're going through. My son refuses to wear a

coat or gloves. He wears a light weight sweatshirt everyday. It was so funny yesterday.....it's his job to scoop the snow in our courtyard and sidewalk. Yesterday morning we woke up to 5 inches of snow. It was COLD and windy and the snow was whipping all around. He put on his sweatshirt and slippers (which kids here wear to school!) and proceeded to go out and scoop the snow! I told him it was a mini blizzard out there and he may want to wear his coat, hat and gloves. He refuses. I waited about 5 minutes and opened the door..."Would you like your coat?"....uhhhhhh...."yeah, I thinks so." I hand him his coat and ask him..."would you like some gloves?"....uhhhhhh...."Yeah, I do." I hand him the gloves and ask him "would you like your hat?" uhhhhh."yeah, I guess so.":rofl::rofl:

Funny! Funny! Funny! I had to laugh.:) I hope it's just a long fad. This has been going on for the past 2 winters! None of the older kids wear coats here. It's quite strange. It's 12 degrees here today.

[PurpleChez]

6. But 25 years ago

he wouldn't have done it at all. He'd have been dressed like Ralphie's little brother Randy in Christmas Story. If he'd have gone out to shovel snow dressed for the beach his friends would have thought he was nuts. It just interests me where the idea of summer clothes in winter came from in the first place, and how it became almost the status quo in some parts.

[in_cog_ni_to]

8. I have no clue where or why the fad started. Someone "cool" must have not worn a coat

in the winter, so everyone followed suit?

I was talking to my sister yesterday. She lives in Virginia. She told me they had been hit with a bitter cold day. That day they needed to go into town and she said she and her husband were bundled up in coats, scarves, gloves and hats. She said they pulled up to the store and saw a boy, about 10 years old, walking with his mom, dressed in a sleeveless muscle shirt, no hat and no gloves....nothing. So, it's going on in Virginia too! It's one of the strangest fads I've seen in a long, long time. You couldn't pay me to go without my coat in the winter. I hate being cold...and hot. I'll ask my son if he knows why it's suppose to be cool to freeze in the winter. I bet he has no clue either.;)

[Solly Mack]

7. I grew up in Georgia and wore shorts year round

I'm in my mid-40's now.

My siblings and I preferred shorts year round. If we could get away without the heavy clothing, we did.

I guess some think it's cool - but it was more a preference thing than anything with us.

It was warm most of the year while growing up, and those few weeks of cold just didn't seem worth the effort. Even with the ice storms.

Now? Having lived all over the place, I have several winter coats - and wear them.

Still wear shorts in the winter though. Primarily around the house. :)

[PurpleChez]

9. I live in Georgia now, and I wear shorts whenever I can

and I remember a few years ago hanging christmas lights in shorts and bare feet because it was so warm.

I guess some women have always subjected themselves to discomfort in the name of fashion: corsets, high heels, etc.. But the truely funny thing about the "summer clothes in winter" thing is how open some of the "kids" can be about how uncomfortable they are. I've heard tales of kids essentially stuck inside college classrooms because 4" of snow fell during class and they were dressed for a pool party, and I personally have been on the streets of Athens GA listening to sorostitutes bitching about how cold they were in halter tops in January.

[trof]

10. It helps us spot the snowbirds.

Low 60s in coastal Alabama yesterday.
I had some errands to run and put on a light jacket.
Saw an older guy in the Winn-Dixie parking lot in T-shirt, shorts, and sandals.
Guess the snowbirds have begun the winter migration.
;-)