[JBierly]

I feel fairly confident that entry level wages in many industries are higher than they have been. At least in my market it seems to be around 12.50 to 13.50 an hour. I do think that dumbing down clothing standards in the work place also has the advantage of limiting an employee's money spent on clothing and helps keep wage inflation down (i.e - you don't have to pay your employees more just so they can dress better). Therefore, it is to the employers' advantage to relax dress standards.

Brick and Mortar is definitely dead as well as the large mall in America. Free standing big box stores like Costco and WalMart can continue to rule but the days of a Sears/JC Penney/Macys/etc. as an anchor store is limited. The one exception is where it can be a destination mall but even those may face problems in the future.

At the high end I think there will always be a market. But hasn't that always been the case?

 

[JBierly]

Can recall a similar scenario some years ago before I retired. Invited to a club by a member for lunch along with a colleague . The club having a dress code would at times allow non members to dine. As we sat, two gentlemen walked in to dine very casually dressed, jacket less, tee shirts and casual trousers. Our host immediately called over the Maitre De and directed him to refuse seating the pair. It wasn't so long ago that at many fine restaurants had a dress code, alas such may not be the case any longer.
I know of only one within driving distance from home and I book early.
No snob am I, very far from it but I will not succumb to what some millennials wish to dictate to pass for decent dress.

I think this speaks to the larger question of what are exactly one's values regarding social decorum. I for one would find it distasteful if I am dining at a high end restaurant wearing very nice clothing and find myself seated next to someone in sandals, a swimsuit, a sleeveless undershirt, and a baseball cap. Or next to a the homeless man with filthy clothing. It's not that they aren't entitled to wear what they want. But I should have the right to dine in an establishment that has a code that requires a certain level of decorum. Now where exactly that line is drawn certainly is debatable and up to individual tastes. In this story, t-shirts led to moral indignation on the part of the host. For me, probably someone with obvious bed bugs on their clothing would require me to say something. But the greater point is most of us have some threshold.

I think the era of the jacket required restaurant is just about gone - an anachronistic vestige of the past. There are only a few restaurants where I find the need to get dressed up. And when people eventually stop going completely to those restaurants - in effect, when the dress code starts to hurt their business then there will be another nail in the coffin.

 

[JBierly]

Of course, if you think fully canvassed bespoke suits, bespoke shirts, and yohei fukada shoes are required to "dress well", then sure, it's not affordable for most.

I admit I am that person - oh well, it's a cheaper hobby than boats, planes, and wives.