Is today's female clothing showing too much?

Some women are more comfortable with their (often young) bodies and show more skin. Personally, as long as they keep the goodies covered and decent, it is not my concern. I've shown shoulders and cleavage often but I don't like to reveal too much of my legs. I like the feel of sun on my skin.

Bra straps sometimes peak out but I hardly think they should be expose in a halter top. Support is important but dress appropriately.

However, I take offense at those that say when a woman dresses provocatively, she has invited comment or worse, sexual attack. Are men such animals that they can't control their urges?

My view is a bit different. My concern is the differing standards for men and women in most western societies. In warm weather, it is not unusual to see a man working in the yard or at the pool without a shirt on. If a woman did that, in many places she'd be arrested for indecent exposure. Both men and women have breasts, but only women are expected to keep them covered. That is very discriminatory. There is nothing indecent about our bodies. If men can go topless, women should be free to do likewise. If women aren't allowed to, men shouldn't either. It is basic equality plain and simple.

Beyond that, it all comes down to personal taste. The OP spoke of clothing leaving more to the imagination in decades past. In many ways, that's true. But by the late 1960s the operative philosophy was "If you've got it, flaunt it." Now, in the age of the selfie, a bra strap showing may not be a fashion faux pas, but a way of attracting attention. Like the old song "Turn Around, Look at Me."

Enough of my soap box. Ladies take it off, or men put it on.

I really do not see anything wrong with bra straps showing in a casual environment. I wouldn't dress that way, but many people, especially younger ones do and it's OK. A halter top with breasts supported is just fine. Not everyone is small enough or young enough to wear a halter top without a bra.

I don't see why anyone should care about a visible bra strap, either. It's a strip of fabric on someone's shoulder. Their shoulder. Get over it.

Anyway, that reminds me of the movie Slums of Beverly Hills, a great movie with some great actors/actresses. There was one scene where the girl wears a halter top or something and her father makes her put a bra on. She argues that bras are not supposed to be worn with tops that do not cover the straps, but she agrees to put the bra on anyway. A few minutes later, however, a guy tells her she is not supposed to wear a bra with a halter top. I guess you can't win either way, so just wear what you want to wear and if anyone has a problem with it, that's their problem.

I almost exclusively wear sports bras - so my straps show constantly. I could care less.

I wish I lived in a country where the climate made it possible for females to wear clothes that left their bra straps visible in the first place ... 😃

Because seriously, the main public debate in the media here at the moment regarding clothes, is about wearing headscarves or skirts that are too long. Are these instances of practicing religious freedom or are they nothing more than personal fashion choices? Things are really odd when schools start banning long, ankle length dresses for female students. Articles about schools banning long skirts have been in the papers some weeks now in Belgium, with all kinds of opinions voiced. And it's not about chadors or other traditional Islamic clothing, but plain even colored skirts that come down to the ankles. Along with of course upper garments that entirely cover arms.

Ostensibly the schools ban them because of safety reasons - no one wants the girls to trip in a stairwell or anywhere else for that matter - say in the metro or getting on public transport, because their feet get tangled up. But of course the main reason for the banning is ethnic/religious.

So now we have a sort of Moral Majority up in arms about skirts that cover too much of the female body. The same groups incidentally that were horrified by the short 60s and 70s fashions for females. I kid you not.

I guess there has got to some mythological Golden Mean on revealing the female body? No one's found it yet though it seems ...

Agracier, Your question:

I guess there has got to some mythological Golden Mean on revealing the female body? No one's found it yet though it seems ...

reminds me of a comic I saw the other day, called How Society Polices Women's Clothing (No Matter What We Wear):

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/04/policing-womens-clothing/

agracier, Your question: reminds me of a comic I saw the other day, called How Society Polices Women's Clothing (No Matter What We Wear):

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/04/policing-womens-clothing/

That's really good. It's funny, but maybe it shouldn't be cause I've heard so many of the remarks already over the years (or is it decades? ... ha ha)

One thing that struck me, still does actually, was the one about short hair making a woman look like a lesbian. Where in the world does that come from? I know all about the biblical utterances about long hair for women, but let's not pretend the males back then were into serious grooming ( except maybe Romans and Greeks), traditional biblical characters looked so yucky with their long beards and long hair.

But if I look at females on the streets, and you bet I do, I can't help but remark on how many ladies wear their hair short here in Belgium and in France too. I'm not talking about crew cut short, but still short enough to be compared to a longish men's hairstyle. My wife for instance has since long worn her hair cut about as short as my own and I've known many a couple with the wives having similar short hair. In rural areas here, I've noticed many a female working in some kind of agricultural capacity, or even in factories, will also sport short hair - out of practicality most likely. No time for lengthy visits to a hair salon if you have a farm to run. And I seriously doubt all of these ladies with short hair are lesbian.

Ever since the 1920s, ladies have been cutting their hair shorter and shorter. Surely that's enough time for people to figure out that short hair on a lady does not automatically equate lesbianism?

For the record, I like short hair on females, which gives a sort of androgynous look, something unisex or gender unspecific. I'd go for a sort of unisex style for everyone anyway. You might also say it's more egalitarian as well.

(Which sort of reminds me of Starship Troopers - the novel, not the awful movie - Robert Heinlein had the female starship pilots all bald. Which would be cool too. It got to me when I read it as a teenager)

I know it is generalizing, but when I see two women with short(ish) walking down the street they are inevitably holding hands, perhaps by having short hair they are trying to look like men.

I would think from the dawn of time women have always liked to show more flesh than society would like, just look at the bosoms on display 200 years ago, but they were not allowed to show their legs. In fact even the legs of furniture was covered up.

If the bra is say black or red and the top white, the contrasting colors can look good, but showing your bra straps because you could not be bothered to put a thinner one on is wrong in my opinion.

The bizarre thing is that as I get older I think I am turning into a prude. When I was a young teen I used to flaunt it, and I would wear a long cotton skirt out of the house and as soon as I was out of sight it came off and I had a mini skirt on underneath and I still wear them, but I was out yesterday and saw a teen wearing the same clothes as I did and I turned to my hubbie and said "she is too young to be wearing that". My hubbie had hysterics.

I know it is generalizing, but when I see two women with short(ish) walking down the street they are inevitably holding hands, perhaps having short hair they are trying to look like men. .

So, same logic, back in the late 60s, in the days of Love and Peace and the Summers of Love and all that, that meant all those long haired dudes were trying to look like women? ... ha ha ha.

Sorry, couldn't help pulling that old one from out of the bag. 😃 😃 😃

So, same logic, back in the late 60s, in the days of Love and Peace and the Summers of Love and all that, that meant all those long haired dudes were trying to look like women? ... ha ha ha.

They might have done lol, or they could have been rebelling over a society that for at least 2 centuries made all men wear short hair and often an hat.

Even my wife calls me a dirty old man. I sure do enjoy a down shirt or up skirt view of things and today's fashions seem to help in that regard. But the mind, specifically the imagination, is a powerful thing and I can look at an attractive woman even in well fitting ski clothes and get turned on because I can only imagine what she has underneath. I don't object to current fashions although some might be just too weird for my own taste.

Wanted to add an update / addendum to my previous post. I work in a semi-conservative office environment in a big industrial office park and lately I've noticed that it isn't the youngest members of our work team that dress the trashiest, but the late 20's and 30-somethings gals. Saw a gal the other day with pretty short skirt (say, no more than 3" below the crotch) and 4-5" heels who I would put at about 31. Not quite mutton masquerading as lamb, but getting there. Most of the gals now are going business casual, or very conservative pant suits. Skirts and dresses are becoming rare. Not visually arousing but not overly distracting either...

Suds,

It's none of my business, but you say that this woman was dressed in a way that was inappropriate for a woman of her age to dress, correct? And that, specifically, the article in question was a skirt that shows a few more inches of her leg than you, Suds, would personally deem appropriate for a woman of her age?

So, if she is wearing something relatively revealing, how can that be "masquerading," as you put it?

It sounds like the opposite of masquerading, to me. To me, it sounds like she has not allowed a society afflicted with your mentality to shame her out of being comfortable with her body as soon as she no longer appears to be in high school. You can't blame her for that. I think it is highly appropriate for a woman in her thirties to still have at least enough confidence in her body to be comfortable with wearing a short skirt.

Anyway, I don't mean to attack you on this. Obviously there are things that actually matter happening in the world, and what people wear is not one of them. I just thought I should look at your anecdote from a different angle.

HC, I think the difference could be like a roughly treated piano with some of the ivories flicked off the keys in a rough dance hall and the comparison with a nicely polished well tuned piano in a private home. regards, irrigator333

No, they are not showing enough.

Well Dewitt, the way you describe the old days, we're all getting deceived with tissues in the bras. I mean, i think i'd like to see what i can, and like to see what's actually there and not be fooled. As i was at the water park today, i was thinking though i'm not really a fan of summer, i get to see these ladies in their bikinis, showing off a lot of skin i wouldn't normally see in another environment. I was thankful i could see a little ass hanging out, though still small nice & round. i could see better outlines of the breasts with the bikini tops.

That said, i think a lot of the ladies outfits back in the day were very sexy. The dresses were tight & shapely, although again, more women cheated with girdles. The bras made a lot of the breasts really pointy & other provocative shapes.

Today's clothing can occasionally be showing off too much if it looks slutty, or the body is not flattering to its exposure.

One of the things that i think helps turn me on to mature women is that they dress "normal". Like a modern casual where they feel comfortable, & i can gather enough of their shape in a modest display to be truly turned on,

And if i'm surrounded by enough middle aged and mature women, who cares how everyone else is dressed ? 😉

Todays society often makes many women have low esteem your to fat to thin etc etc for me I say if they have the confidence to wear the revealing items then good on them , I do understand how many feel especially the older generation and appreciate the difference of opinions to live and let live 😃 have a great day x

I say that as long as the lady is willing to accept the extra attention that she will receive, let her wear what she wants. To expect others to not notice her appearance is not realistic.

This whole string made me smile. I do remember middle school and stuffing Kleenex in my bra. As for showing too much, I guess I'm of the old school that says that the imagination is a very powerful thing. For that reason, I think sexy lingerie gets men's attention much more than skin does. I have a couple lacy demi cup bras that drive my husband more crazy than if I were to be totally topless. Besides, dressing that way gives me a much sexier feeling than being naked. All of that said, I have to admit that I don't have a very large chest to begin with and sometimes going braless with a tee shirt is a lot of fun. Technically, most would call me an old lady, but it can be fun teasing the younger guys.

First I am a dirty old man . I have been told many times by my late wife , and others . So what I enjoy looking .

My late wife told me one time she and a girl friend were bored they would take the correct color panties off and put on black or some other dark and watch men follow them around .

No bra straps as she hardly ever wore one .

Yes dress has gone to hell in the hand basket and not improving .

WC

Lordy! 4 years since I started this thread. Thank God for Princess Kate wearing full skirt dresses! BTW she wears string panties in case you have not seen any photos during windy times! She has to love showing off her ass sets! Or maybe her Prince likes to see all the men kneeling in prayer everywhere they go.

I guess it used to be like a sport to catch a peek. One time in the college library and guy was peeking. A maintenance came up to him and said "You need to turn around!

Good hunting for all you old geezers out there.

Emom. Coming back from a school trip in grade school the two girls in front tilted their bus seat back to reveal their Kleenex supplies stashed in their bras. I bumped into one of them in the school turning a corner one day and dented her bra. I'm sure she went straight to the bathroom to fluff up the Kleenex which had become compacted!

Man I wish I knew then what I know now! I could have had FUN!!!!

Talked to my mom and grandma about this question and they both agreed that many of today's fashions are a bit much and leave nothing to the imagination, which was one of the great teases of their era. But grandma went even a step further ... she said when she went to HS in the 70's, girls would go into a frenzy is just a bit of their slip was showing or their bra strap slipped off their shoulder of a sleeveless blouse. Going without basic foundation (her words) was unthinkable. My how times have changed.

JTMac formerly Healthy44

those were bullet bras and torpedo bras. Reminds me when a new bimbo came to our 7th grade class. Old bimbo tried to rip off the bra of new bimbo at a birthday party of a chaste young girl. She was going to prove once and for all they were fake. We also had a Loni Anderson in class. 50th reunion she was still a Loni. Rumors had it that a girl ran off with a carnival worker and got married. 10 years later guess who walks into the store where I worked. Yep. Told ask me why but a 14 year old can get married in Mo. with the parent's permission. We do have hill folk in southern Mo. Guess where Rush Limbaugh is from!

When I got married we were on our way to Lake of the Ozarks. Wife got hungry and insisted I stop at the first diner. I opened the door and the elegant smell of BO attacked me. I went back to the car and drove on. Next restaurant seems ok except for the all the rusty red pickups with loaded gun racks. We went inside and ordered. Wife went to the rest room, came back and stated..........................WE ARE LEAVING...........NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

47 YEARS later, she still won't tell me what she saw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I now choose the locale to eat.....

Oh yeah Tantara resort. The original designer was a genius at taking a worthless cliff and making it a place of awe. Indoor waterfall along a long passage to the different restaurants. Restaurants were closed because of the time. I managed to get a meal cooked at the table by a chef on call. You don't want to know the price! Guess who lost her appetite after the meal was cooked?! Lovesick REALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lordy! 4 years since I started this thread. Thank God for Princess Kate wearing full skirt dresses! BTW she wears string panties in case you have not seen any photos during windy times!

It is a great thread, so it's not surprising that it is still going after 4 years. And, yes, @dewitt , I did see the "wind-swept" skirt picture, and it was a beautiful sight to behold.

Lots of differing opinions and no real conclusions, and like many things in life, there may be no definitive answer. Like the OP, I'm in my 70s, so I have seen many styles come and go. I can say that I've enjoyed them all, (from living in London in the swinging 60s, to living in Montreal where the French-Canadian girls have that je ne sais quoi, to living in San Francisco, where the girls all look they belong in a Beach Boys song). Now I live in the southern US, and find that older women here know more about how to dress with style and flair.

I feel rather sorry for younger women who are bombarded with sexualized images 24/7. How can they possibly know what is appropriate? They live in a world where unreal people (celebrities) live in an unreal world, ( the world of "entertainment news"). I despair for my 10 year old granddaughter, and thank God for the commonsense approach of my daughter, who is not at all impressed with such frivolity.

I have to close with a few lines from a song which seem apropos

"In olden days a glimpse of stocking, Was looked on as something shocking, Now heaven knows, anything goes. "

Not to me they're not! I am so glad that the women of today are sexually liberated and feel secure enough in their looks and body image to wear today's more revealing outfits. I find it amazing that in this day and age so many people are so disturbed by a woman that wears a halter top or skin tight jeans or a mini skirt, as if we still live in Puritan times. Of course not all women look good in such attire. But some men are just as guilty. For example, the guy with the big beer belly wearing a t-shirt so small and tight that he probably borrowed it from his 10 year old son's closet!

With that said, where that revealing clothing is worn matters, such as it shouldn't be worn to the office, but going out with friends or running errands no problem.

I do love to also see women who dress professionally for the office. Knee length pencil skirts, fitted blouses and blazers, knee length sheath dresses, or well tailored and figure hugging dress pants are my favorites. Add in sheer hosiery and heels and I'm in heaven! I am so glad my wife wears those outfits to work. It is a hot look for sure. It gets me fired up as much as when she wears tight leggings or tight skinny jeans with a snug fitting camisole top or halter top.

I know that it seems like women's clothing has become more revealing over time, but here's some history:

Up until the late 1800s, it was actually quite fashionable to show off your cleavage. Stylish and sophisticated women, including Agnès Sorel in the 1400s and Queen Mary II in the 1600s, wore low-cut dresses that often showed their breasts.

And, if you go way, way back, fig leaves were in fashion. Then came clothes. So maybe fashion isn't progressive but regressive.

If ten years ago a woman was asked to wear a pair of thick tights, shoes and a t-shirt to go out shopping the answer would have been NO, but that is exactly what is being worn as normal in this day and age. Just how much more can a woman show without being totally naked. Men have begged and pleaded over the centuries for women to expose themselves and their wishes are being granted, slowly but surely!

What's interesting about this thread is that it was started in 2012. The question could be asked at any point in time. What women ware for everyday fashion changes constantly. When I was in college in the 70's women commonly did not ware bras and you could see everything through tight fitting T-shirts or button down shirts that were unbuttoned to the mid chest.

I think the bottom line for women and men for that matter you should ware what you feel comfortable in and ware it confidently- own it. If you want to be provocative then do so and if people look then that's fine too.