For instance, just a short decade or two ago, a man was likely frowned on if he didn't show up in church wearing a coat and tie. In one church I frequented a few years back, concessions began to be made to loosening up in the attire department. Hot summer months were designated as just short-sleeved shirts and slacks time, a wonderful decree in the 90-percent humidity, 90-degree world of East Texas where stepping outside was like lunging into a sauna.
Where I now attend church, just about every man is in short sleeves and casual pants, except the ministers. Women opt for pant suits and lighter, less formal dresses.
These trends have extended to the business world as well. Or perhaps it started in business but it was more noticeable in church where appearing presentable in God's house has always been the rule. Now you see bankers in knit shirts and casual slacks and doctors in jeans and boots.
Just a few short years ago, a man in a business or professional situation wasn't very highly regarded if he didn't wear a coat and tie.
That's why it sort of shocked me to see a newspaper story recently that announced the Men's Dress Furnishings Association was shutting down, disbanding. Gasp!
Men's dress furnishings most commonly consist of a necktie. The story said a tie "serves no discernible utility, it's merely an accessory." It went on to point out that the high point for neckties was in the 1970s with 200-250 million sold per year. Now about 50 million neckties are sold annually.
Personally, I grew up as a jeans guy, first on a ranch, then in a small town. That first suit came for the junior-senior prom. College graduation brought a magazine job for an association that dictated suit, tie, hat and attach case. Ugh! The first 35-40 years of editing and publishing small town newspapers sort of required a coat and tie, being professional and all, you know.
Retirement allows jeans six days a week. Church allows slacks and sports shirts. But, I still hang onto a rack full of ties, a few of them with special memories. There are the square-ended knit ties, first popular in the 1950s and 60s. Then came the trendy ties like the Tabasco cravats. A special event tie or two linger on the rack. Then there's the Snoopy tie of Peanuts fame. It was a Father's Day gift from the two sons and has a special place of honor on the tie rack because they knew I'd proclaimed Snoopy as my Main Man.
Young people, actors and professional athletes have made some pretty dramatic changes in society as well. There's the few-days-old whisker-beard look among young men and the bare midriffs of young women. Both have a segment that favors body piercings and adornments attached thereto.
More common than that however are tattoos. Our dog groomer appears to have every inch of her body covered in tattoos except maybe those where there are piercings. Sawyer, the Famous River Wonder Dog, doesn't mind though. He smothers her with kisses when we drop him off and pick him up.
Maybe we should all adopt Dolly Parton's attitude on tattoos from Steel Magnolias. In relating to a friend that her son's fianc e had lots of tattoos, "but at least they're all spelled correctly."
There's another aspect of society today that's undergone a good bit of change, going from one extreme to another and requiring a certain amount of flexibility - coffee.
My introduction to coffee was as a 12-year-old attending a nighttime foxhunt with my dad. It was brewed in a big coffee pot on an open fire and had the grounds in the liquid. Yuck! But, I drank it although I added lots of cream and sugar.
"Migod, boy, you done sissyed up that coffee." From then on, I drank it black. That is, until recent years when, Ta-Da!, here came Starbuck's.
Think I'll put on my Snoopy tie, clip on one of my wife's earrings and go have a frap.
Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher with more than 50 years in the business. He can be reached by email at wwebb@wildblue.net.
