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What is Your “Comfort Level” When it Comes to CASUAL CLOTHING?
January 16, 2021

I bet retailers are having quite a time classifying women’s clothing these days. Consider these categories: loungewear, activewear, athleisure wear, sleepwear, joggers, leggings. There’s even something called “fleggings” (fleeced-lined leggings.)

Here is the vocabulary list:

Loungewear – casual, comfortable clothing suitable for wearing at home. (Not so fast…see below.*)

Activewear – clothing designed to be worn for sports, exercise, and outdoor activities.

Sportswear – clothing that has been designed especially for sports purposes.

Athleisure – (a combination of athletic and leisure) includes clothes designed for workouts and other athletic activities, but are not limited to being worn at the gym or while exercising.

Sleepwear – pajamas or other clothing suitable for wearing in bed.

Can you classify these casual outfits?

Which outfit(s) would you wear OUT of the house?

The Doorbell Test

Jenny Glassburg’s article on “Decoding Comfort” gives us some suggestions on when to wear loungewear as opposed to PJ’s:

“*Loungewear used to be taboo if you were thinking about leaving the house, but now you don’t have to think twice about going out in it…When deciding between sleepwear or loungewear, try “the doorbell test.” If you were hanging around at home and the doorbell rang, would you feel comfortable opening the door in what you were wearing?

When you’re chilling in the house, that’s really the one time you’re getting dressed 100 percent for you, in whatever makes you happy.”

There really are no right answers when it comes to casual wear. It all depends on your “comfort” level–and I don’t mean how stretchy the elastic is in your pants. If you feel comfortable wearing PJ’s out of the house–go ahead.

But, don’t be surprised if you get a few sideways glances.

Gone are the days of stringent style rules on leisure wear.

But, we might be happy some leisure wear is gone forever.

Men’s leisure suits from the 1970’s.

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Line and Design  / Personal Style  / street stye

Sharon White

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6 Comments


Donna
January 17, 2021 at 10:15 am
Reply

Oh my, leisure suits…a blast from the past! Love the “doorbell test”. I draw the line at wearing pajamas to the store, however. ha! There are so many comfortable but well-made garments that can go from home to the market. Gone are the days of pantyhose and heels for day wear.



    Sharon White
    January 17, 2021 at 4:00 pm
    Reply

    Donna,
    Wow…panty hose and heels…that also seems like a blast from the past!
    The problem with leisure wear is that sometimes it is so casual, it looks a lot like pajamas.
    Thanks for writing!

Terry
January 17, 2021 at 10:21 am
Reply

I would wear the first two outfits out of the house. My doorbell test is do I have a bra on!



    Sharon White
    January 17, 2021 at 3:56 pm
    Reply

    Terry,
    Your comment made me laugh out loud…and I mean LOUD!
    Thank you for sharing.

Sharon Bell
January 17, 2021 at 10:41 am
Reply

Your blog made me smile this morning. During this “mostly – at – time“ time, I do often shake my head about how “casual” I have become. Still can’t leave the house without a tiny bit of makeup, but that is usually only moisturizer and lipstick…yes, even with a mask. I did wear very comfy leggings and a long tip to H‑E‑B one day, but the whole time I was there, I couldn’t stop thinking “what would my wonderfully sweet and proper mother say if she saw me like this?“



    Sharon White
    January 17, 2021 at 3:55 pm
    Reply

    Yes, Sharon,
    What WOULD our mothers think? They might be appalled OR they might just wish they could be as comfortable and casual as we are!
    Thanks for writing.

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