Are you confused about what to wear? No wonder!

Black pants get my vote as the most versatile garment to wear anytime, anywhere.

Sew them or buy them, but please make sure they fit!

Here we are at the airport on our way to my husband's 50th High School Reunion in PA. We are looking forward to seeing many of our "old friends."

As I sit here, people watching, I can't help but notice how people dress.

There was a time, I remember, that we went to the airport to see travelers all dressed up in their suits and fancy clothes. In fact, I got a lot of my design ideas from watching well-dressed travelers.

I copied an awesome snake skin raincoat once! I loved it! Of course, my coat was made of a vinyl snake skin, but it really looked great. I wore it for years!

Now, you rarely see anyone well-dressed. It seems that everyone looks the same no matter what their age or size, toddler to grandma. They are all extremely casual. In some cases, I would even say the dress is downright sloppy.

Most folks are in shirts and pants, but do they have to look like they wore them to bed?

What happened? Doesn't anyone care how they look anymore? I know everyone is into being comfortable, but do they ever look in a mirror? Good grief!

I believe you can dress casual and still look really nice and even be very comfortable.

The #1 basic garment for everyone on my list would be a well-fitted pair of black pants. notice, I said, "well-fitted." The majority of pants I see simply do not fit. But, that's another story!

You can do so much with black pants. A change of tops and shoes can take you from business to pleasure, from play to church and anything in between anytime of year, any place in the world.

It's time to board. . .more on the plane.

Here we are, up in the air and I'm on my computer writing this. I'm still so amazed by all this technology. It sure beats handwriting notes and retyping. This is awesome!

In the magazine in the seat pocket in front of me is a listing of restaurants in a major city. I can see why people are so confused about what to wear.

The restaurants are rated from 1-4 $ signs and also indicate the appropriate attire required. These are the words used to describe what to wear at each of the restaurants listed:

Casual,

FunkyCasual,

Funky/Dressy Casual,

Dressed Up/Smart Casual,

Casual to Dressy,

Dressy/Smart Casual,

Dressy/Funky Casual,

Dressed Up,

Dressy Casual,

Dressy Casual/Dressy,

Dressy,

Smart Casual,

Dressy Casual/Dressy,

and then, my favorite: Anything Goes.

But wait, what is this? Anything Goes/Dressy Casual.

Does anyone really understand this and know what to wear?

Maybe that's why they look like they do! They have simply given up trying to figure it out.

Just what does "casual" mean today? What is the difference between Funky Casual, Dressy Casual, Smart Casual and just plain Casual?

And I wonder what people wear to the "Anything Goes/Dressy Casual" place? That should be interesting!

Now, does Dressy and Dressed Up mean the same as "Informal" or is that "Formal?" I am really confused.

I think this would be a great topic for Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes.

As for me, I think I'll wear my "Black Pants!"

It just makes sense!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

2005 Marian Lewis - All Rights Reserved - 1st Step To Sewing Success