20 replies to this topic

[Giannina]

Quote

Originally posted by Leigh Witchel:


(You can tell two knitters when they meet - she had her shawl on her arm and I exclaimed, "Vogue, Summer, 1984!"  I recognized the pattern!)[/qb]

Not only was it amazing that Leigh recognized the pattern's source then but he still remembers it today!  

Still flaggergasted,
Giannina

[ 07-18-2001: Message edited by: Giannina Mooney ]

[pnbdc]

I also feel that one should 'dress up' for the theater - ballet, opera, symphony, etc.   It shows respect for the arts, and is also a social occasion for which one should look one's best (like you, Mel, am also old fashioned in this manner).   Here in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle), things can be a little too casual, but have noticed that most people wear nice clothing to the ballet, symphony and opera.   I also feel that proper dress is a matter of education - and for that reason, my piano students must wear dressy clothes when they perform in recitals, here at my home, or elsewhere.   No jeans, running shoes, are appropriate, and they all accept that.   By the way, I love reading everyone's comments on various subjects - most interesting.   Thanks.

[~A.C~]

I seem to be the only one here who thinks that insisting upon formal attire is...wrong? Personaly, I think that you show your education of the arts by the way you act, and not by what you wear. I go to the ballet wearing slacks (usualy of a khaki style) and a sweater (usualy close-knead velvet black.) and dress shoes. I cannot stand ties or a jacket. I respect the arts like every other patron, but I do not think that what I wear should be any indication of my stature. We go to the ballet to be entertained by a grand art - not to show off our latest tuxedo or dress, and you might as well be comfortable while you are watching.

Does anyone else feel this way, or dissagree entirely?

[Mel Johnson]

Who insists?  The only person I can insist for is myself, and I can be as comfortable wearing a dinner jacket as I can in a rugby shirt, jeans and running shoes - which, by the way, I think just fine for Family Circle audiences these days.  The rest is all opinion, which with 75¢ will get you a cup of coffee some places.

[LMCtech]

My brother tends to wear jeans and rugby shirts, because that's what he went to work in. Then he looks at the ushers faces when they see he has a comp ticket. ("Of course this slob has a comp...") I try to always wear a skirt to the ballet, but have been known to show-up in jeans for a modern dance performance. Depends on the venue for me. And I only wear formals for galas.

[felursus]

Back in the dark ages (again) of the Old Met Emily Post wrote a column for Opera News.  It happed to come out on a day when we standees had waited for hours in ankle-deep slush in freezing temperatures.  The column was about proper dress for the opera and contained a photo of one of the regular standees, who happened to be wearing thick tights and a Norwegian sweater.  The caption read: "Ski sweaters and tights are for the upper slopes."  This made us standees see red, and we wrote Dear Emily a stinging retort - pointing out that she came from her nice, warm apartment in a nice, warm limo into the nice, warm opera house, while we had to stand out in the cold for hours and didn't even have a chance to get some supper. (Rudolf Bing loathed the standees, and the worse the weather the more likely it was that the tickets would be sold just in time for us to file into our unreserved spots.)