The Death Of The Frock

HeeHoo and I were at the airport last week, when HeeHoo, who is not usually known to comment on female apparel, said 'You know you are the only person in this whole airport wearing a dress!'
Looking around and I was amazed as he was quite correct. Jeans, slax, gym gear, ski pants, trousers, call it what you will were the order of the day on every single man and woman in that airport. Not a frock to be seen anywhere......

What is a frock Well it could be called a dress, a pinny, a girtle or a hundred other things -my staple 'go to' as a young girl.

My Mom used to make all my dresses and they were always beautiful; those were the days when we had nipped waists and full skirts! There was a tailor at Sanders who made immaculately tailored belts and covered buttons covered in the same fabric as the 'frock'!

Sigh - those were the days of elegance and grace, but now sadly no more the long opera gloves, no more hats to weddings and funerals, nobody wears wasp-waist wool dresses or beautiful evening gowns unless it's a very special occasion. Profound cultural changes have emerged into the twentieth century and casual is the only way to dress these days.

Buyers in clothing stores now concentrate on ski pants, leggings, athletic apparel, fitness gear, plus any design of workout top. Most flattering and sneaky as one can go anywhere in workout gear, the shops, the school play, and it looks like you have spent the morning in the gym, only no sweatage!!
I personally own over a dozen pairs of sweatpants, cool, stretchy, in an assortment of colours and I am horrified to see the wide leg trousers making a comeback!!

The same applies to shoes! It might just be my age but the elegant heeled shoes, the Louis heels, platforms, stilettos, dress shoes are all a thing of the past. Nowadays one prefers sneakers, track shoes, takkies! Call it what you will the gym shoes section of any shoe store far outweighs the fancy shoe selection. HeeHoo's absolute favourites have gone from his formal black or brown lace up brogues, to his favourite Skechers, which come in an array of amazing colours and most importantly, one can just slip ones foot into them without the back of the shoe collapsing, and no laces required!!
Ideal for the Bulawayo airport where archaically, one still has to remove one's shoes to pass through the x ray machine!!