I happened upon this thread, and Jules' comments about men's clothing, VPL, etc. It reminded me of an article in the SF Chronicle I saw yesterday about the Warriors' uniforms. What I noticed most was how the uniforms have gotten bigger and longer, the opposite of the trend in women's clothes. Also, notice they're actually playing in Converse shoes in the old picture!

Perhaps in some degree because exposing more skin is now associated as a more feminine look?

JAileen, here is another basketball photo from the 70's. Notice the woman in the background and her dress style vs. the mens uniforms?

Deb, I love her dress. I would wear it today.

Another very late to the thread person here. I also have nothing intelligent to add in terms of style, designers etc but I did want to say how much I've enjoyed the conversation here, VERY thought provoking. And most importantly, how much I love seeing your posts, and outfits. I love your style. And interestingly enough, the thought of how "flattering" your clothes may be to your body, never crossed my mind. I see style, art, a look, that seems to totally work. It flatters, without the dimensions/proportions etc of your actual BODY being relevant. Which is not always the case, and certainly not how I put together MY outfits.

Ok, so I prefer the new basketball shorts to the old ones, lol, but I don't want to see them on the street, lolol. Those tiny tiny little shorts make me laugh. I feel like they fun-house mirror people.

Also: Jules, I was struck by your comment about no one expecting men to remove body hair (I think I read this, could be my imagination). Struck because in my metro area, men ARE expected to do so. Men are featured in ads for hair removal products and everyone feels free to complain about hairy guys and how gross that is. People turn down dates if a guy has chest hair. There is so little hair on anybody, it's like everybody is pre-adolescent. It's striking. But this is an area that pushes hard to make the point about goose and gander.

One other thought: was driving today through the city's downtown and had a look at all the fashions. There really is a difference between oversized and just big. I think it shows up in rumpling. There are folds, there is crinkled fabric, and then there are wrinkles and crumples. But I can see easily how one might try to go for oversized and just get big pulling things off your standard rack...

Yes rachylou, you are right that there are now more expectations on (young?) men around removing body hair, a sad development IMHO. And women are totally capable of body shaming men. But I was thinking more about bathing suits and bikini lines, specifically - that the default design for women's suits often reveals hair considered to be private/obscene, whereas whatever hair men's trunks reveal is considered basically acceptable, if unattractive to some.

approprio; I just wanted to say I LOVE your style and WIWs -- so very interesting, unique, and YOU. I don't do and have never done bodycon, but I s'pose I can say the same thing about oversized and loose. Well, I'm too clumsy to favor that look. But I must say that at this stage of my life, age (almost) 63 with gray hair, if I wore something hectically oversized I would probably end up looking like a hobo. If I were 30 or 40 years younger, hugely oversized would probably appeal to me as a political statement if I wanted to be dramatic. Now, I prefer fun over dramatic.

Thanx Appropro, I see now !:-).

I honestly thought we'd exhausted this topic, but no, more ideas keep on coming!

JAileen, Deb, thanks for the sports shots. I've noticed similar trends in soccer. (I kind of like the tiny shorts, they make me feel nostalgic). It's a really interesting observation, particularly considering the way that translates to urban sportswear.

I'm intrigued by menswear=loose/long vs womenswear=short/tight, alongside the American feminist narrative around showing one's body. I did a quick and completely unscientific study of styles on lookbook.nu, and there does appear to be a trend among users on the West Coast towards more revealing and bodycon styles, which you're less likely to see in Europe.

Another thing: we were talking here in IRL about the idea that looser clothing might suggest that a woman had "let herself go" as it were, which goes against current ideas about body positivity and empowerment. This is also part of my own internal narrative, maybe a reason for my feeling a little sheepish about posting these looks here. They feel to me quite relaxed and effortless, but to another eye that might translate as just plain lazy.