. 

I was just about ready to post the following observation in another thread when it was locked (justifiably) by the moderators. 

It was to be an attempt at interjecting a little humor into a fairly tense thread and I think it might be a fun, non-controversial, non-political topic of discussion. 

So here goes... 

Does anyone else think the painfully suffocating corsets and comically large, powdered wigs of high societies past were just plain silly? 

I think today's glamorous array of multiple body piercings, eyecatching day-glo hair color of the week and elegant full-body tattoos are soooooooooo much more tasteful. 

All kidding aside, has civilization really progressed in the fashion department over the last couple of centuries or are people still just as shallow, vain and silly as ever?

Cheers, Terry 

we're all sheep in the eyes of the fashion industry, like Miranda Priestley explains in The devil wears prada:

Miranda Priestly: [Miranda and some assistants are deciding between two similar belts for an outfit. Andy sniggers because she thinks they look exactly the same] Something funny? 
Andy Sachs: No. No, no. Nothing's... You know, it's just that both those belts look exactly the same to me. You know, I'm still learning about all this stuff and, uh... 
Miranda Priestly: 'This... stuff'? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select... I don't know... that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent... wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff. 

*** Terry Penrod  ******

I was just about ready to post the following observation in another thread when it was locked (justifiably) by the moderators. 

 "

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

since you've brought the above up  ..........

.......... I had just made "Feignlights" with Traveller - and since tjhe thread got locked, I have no idea if she reciprocates !

Hehehehehe 

P.S.

If you don't know what "Feignlights" means, unsurprisingly, look at the post before last of the "Downton Abbey" tjhread !

Mens's fashions can also change :-

For the first 14 years after the creation of the State of Israel I taught (physics (ln High School & College) wearing khaki shorts and an open necked shirt - Israel's first Prime Minister, Ben Gurion, wore the same spartan dress - after all, it's very hot here for over 1/2 the year.

N.B. After that I worked for 4 years for UNESCO in Liberia and Nigeria  (West Africa) which are even hotter - and much more humid !

Now most functionaries wear business suits ^ ties - fashions altered !!

Thankfully no black or white tie or top hat & tails !!

*** Markornikovb ***

" we're all sheep in the eyes of the fashion industry, like Miranda Priestley explains in The devil wears prada: "

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marvellous actress Meryl Streep in one of her many brilliant roles.

Originally Posted By Terry Penrod (22 APR 2012 4:36pm)

 

I was just about ready to post the following observation in another thread when it was locked (justifiably) by the moderators. 

 

Do you honestly think it was justified, Terry?  At a point when everybody, even Len, was playing 'nice' and nobody really disagreed on anything?  It wasn't as if we were discussing party politics or anything.  These events we were discussing, are global events and as common knowledge with as much influence  on our daily lives as "fashion" has.

Eventually, where does one draw the line? Everything is influenced by 'politcs' even adventure games, if you want to take such a wide approach as 'managment' seems to be taking. (Certainly not the old ownership, btw.  As you know, Randy supported freedom of speech and expression, and the site used to have a totally different atmosphere before it was taken over.)

I had written a longer post, but it got swallowed into the grey wastes of cyberspace.  Or perhaps "managment" is now pre-filtering my posts.

Whatever, I hope you all enjoy trying to make conversation in such a restricted environment.

Cheers.

. 

Based on the majority of comments that had already been posted and the overall tone of the thread, the moderators were justified in locking it, Trav. The joint decision was probably made before that last short, rapid series of more congenial member replies was made (I missed half if them just while writing the above "fashion" comment that never got posted).    

Also, for the record, the old Politics & Religion forum was eliminated and the rules were tightened by Randy long before he sold JustAdventure.com, and the administrators have issued numerous warnings in similar threads since. So there are precedents. 

Whether I agree 100% in this case is of no consequence. We were testing the limits of what is allowed and now we know. 

Otherwise, I stopped engaging in political / religious topics here when Randy made his original decision to close the old forum and simply went to other message boards that allow reasonably heated debate about those subjects. 

Cheers, Terry

Perhaps, Terry.  But now one can't even joke around, let alone that you have to tiptoe a LOT more around what only starts approaching religion/politics without it even really being religion and politics.  It's simply just not enjoyable to visit anymore.

I used to get my laugh a day when people like Mark, yourself, I, Caroline, Inland and so forth used to just kid around and be silly...  ..and we did have long semipolitical discussions - do you remember the "Barbie" discussion?  It turned out quite political, actually.

There were a bunch of others as well.

Originally Posted By Terry Penrod (23 APR 2012 9:53am)

The joint decision was probably made before that last short, rapid series of more congenial member replies was made (I missed half if them just while writing the above "fashion" comment that never got posted).    

I added the final post and to be honest did not read the thread other than that last page. From what little I saw nothing imflamatory or offensive was said - certainly nothing most people I know haven't basically accepted as just another bitter pill we must swallow in this adventure called of life lol...

I'm also new to message boards and I'm just beginning to get a feel of how people converse through the keyboard - the nature and extent, or lack,  of rules governing conversation between people not across from each other.  Interesting to say the least!

On topic - the most peristent and incomprehensible fashion 'innovation' I can identify has been the "pants falling down" look. It's lasted for years and years and virtually every guy under 30 seems to adopt it to one extreme or another. Whatever happened to the alarm clock hung around the neck? Now that was cool!

. 

Originally Posted By Traveller (23 APR 2012 12:04pm)

Perhaps, Terry.  But now one can't even joke around, let alone that you have to tiptoe a LOT more around what only starts approaching religion/politics without it even really being religion and politics.  It's simply just not enjoyable to visit anymore.

 

I used to get my laugh a day when people like Mark, yourself, I, Caroline, Inland and so forth used to just kid around and be silly...  ..and we did have long semipolitical discussions - do you remember the "Barbie" discussion?  It turned out quite political, actually.

 

There were a bunch of others as well.

Heya Trav - 

We have no way of knowing whether the moderators closed the thread due to political implications or the rather heated tone it took (prior to the last short set of friendlier exchanges) or both. 

But it felt pretty tense for a while there and I suppose they just wanted to diffuse the situation before it got ugly. 

Before you joined, there was a very long and very nasty stretch of bitter political and religious arguments on the forum where endless insults were thrown and many feelings got hurt. I participated in many of those confrontations and openly admit to getting downright abusive several times. But then so did many other members including Len and Caroline at various times when they were baited by certain antagonsists that knew which buttons to push. 

When Randy finally closed the forum for good after countless warnings, we lost a bunch of members including a number of longtime participants. Some never even bothered to say goodbye. Those of us who stuck around learned to refrain from pushing the limits of political / religious discussion and there have been very few incidents since Randy changed the rules. 

In this case, things did start to become heated and the political / religious boundary was probably a secondary consideration. But again, I am only speculating. 

Either way, I hope you decide to stick around. 

Cheers, Terry 

Opinions about the state of the world and what we should do about it are inherently political and controversial.  Making a statement of a political nature preceded by the disclaimer "this is NOT political" doesn't change the fact that it is.  The thread in question could have focused on the characters, actors, stories, and even the historical period without becoming a full-blown political discussion, but the posters decided to take it in that direction even after some nudges from Karla and myself.  And so the thread was locked.

I will say to those of you who have never moderated a forum that these kinds of decisions are difficult and never taken lightly.  I was a moderator here when the P & R forum was active, and despite good intentions by many of the members, the environment often became very hostile.  The combination of misunderstandings, strong differences of opinion, the need of some people to always have the last word, and intentional trolling led to the elimination of that forum and the formation of the current guidelines against those kinds of discussions. 

Please remember that this is a privately owned site for gamers, and the people behind the scenes are working their tails off to make it a good place to visit.  With the multitude of other topics to discuss, please refrain from pushing the P & R envelope.

I had written a longer post, but it got swallowed into the grey wastes of cyberspace.  Or perhaps "managment" is now pre-filtering my posts.

And just to clear the record, this is something we don't do here.  If you post something that shows a blatant disregard for the stated rules, your post may be deleted, but you will also receive a PM telling you why.  We do not pre-screen your posts. 

. 

Thank you for the clarification and please know we appreciate all your hard work in running the JA forums. 

Cheers, Terry 

Although comfort is my main fashion statement nowadays, I did wear some strange stuff in my younger days.  I remember sweating to death in a faux leather (read vinyl) mini skirt and vest and having an interesting pattern on my feet after wearing my navy blue fishnet stockings.  I also wore granny shoes, platform heels, hot pants, tie-dyed shirts, and ugly psychedelic colors. 

Originally Posted By tincup2 (23 APR 2012 1:30pm)

 

 

On topic - the most peristent and incomprehensible fashion 'innovation' I can identify has been the "pants falling down" look. It's lasted for years and years and virtually every guy under 30 seems to adopt it to one extreme or another. Whatever happened to the alarm clock hung around the neck? Now that was cool!

 

 

I've just got to say that there has never been such an unattractive fashion on men (for me) as the waistband of trousers falling below the top of the underpants (whatever designer label is tagged at the top!) and/or the crotch level of said pants being far below where crotch is! It doesn't matter how attractive the man is it's just a no no! 

fashion is indeed odd....i remmber some changes in my own lifetime which is now over half a century and some were cool and some were dorky.

I myself wore Edwardian clothes when at Oxford, including shirts with button on collars, cuff links, flannels and a straw boater in summer and enjoyed it. At another time, when at university at Berkeley i went thru a "Caledonian" period and wore just kilts and played the pipes. Since i became an artist, i wear mostly jsut a blue denim work shirt and jeans.... in fact i have five such shirts in the closet.

High fashion has indeed been strange over the past 200 years...and will continue to be ..current fashion is sadly created in a small clique of bizare and strange people in Hollywood and New York and clothes are designed that make people mostly ugly. Sadly due to world wide media, such fashions have spread world wide, snuffing out some lovely local variations. But i think the individual cultural differnces will return, people get tired of all lookng the same.

re the forum the mods do a great job here, i am one myself elsewhere and have the greatest respect for their tolerance and touch, lets give them support and keep things happy and nice here, we all need friends and shared fellowship, not controversy and darkness. Lets stay on the Path of the Light Side

Thanks for your support, Terry and Cris.  It means a lot to Karla and me.

Originally Posted By loobiloo (23 APR 2012 4:10pm)

Originally Posted By tincup2 (23 APR 2012 1:30pm)

 

On topic - the most peristent and incomprehensible fashion 'innovation' I can identify has been the "pants falling down" look. It's lasted for years and years and virtually every guy under 30 seems to adopt it to one extreme or another. Whatever happened to the alarm clock hung around the neck? Now that was cool!

 

I've just got to say that there has never been such an unattractive fashion on men (for me) as the waistband of trousers falling below the top of the underpants (whatever designer label is tagged at the top!) and/or the crotch level of said pants being far below where crotch is! It doesn't matter how attractive the man is it's just a no no! 

 

I agree. I just don't understand it.

. 

Originally Posted By Lady Kestrel (23 APR 2012 3:59pm)

Although comfort is my main fashion statement nowadays, I did wear some strange stuff in my younger days.  I remember sweating to death in a faux leather (read vinyl) mini skirt and vest and having an interesting pattern on my feet after wearing my navy blue fishnet stockings.  I also wore granny shoes, platform heels, hot pants, tie-dyed shirts, and ugly psychedelic colors. 

Isn't it odd how people go through so many fashion phases, especially when they are young - trying to fit in or trying to declare their individuality, trying to be cool or trying to be sexy. Then later in life they keep changing fashions for mostly the same reasons while also conforming to prevailing professional standards. 

Like many sensible working men, I simply bought a well-tailored, dark-blue blazer and a classic camel's hair blazer plus a good selection of neutral dress and casual slacks to rotate with a large collection of dress shirts and ties to create hundreds of office-ready outfits without breaking the bank or overcrowding my closet.  Add some decent blue jeans with Izod's and a pair of boat shoes, and you have dozens more outfits for casual and semi-casual occasions. 

The classic blue blazer is a man's best fashion friend. 

Cheers, Terry 

Apropos fashions, drss, etc.

The other day I saw a clip on our TV News of a women's basketball match.  I didn't catch what teams or even what country.

*** They were wearing bikinis !! ***

It was a bit disconcerting actually since I didn't know whether to concentrate on the ball, the score, or the players' excellent figures  !

Speaking of conformity, I belong to the Red Hat Society.  We are readily identifiable by our red hats, purple outfits, and the loud laughter coming from our corner of the room.  I now have more purple in my wardrobe than any other color.

Originally Posted By CB (23 APR 2012 5:21pm)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, there goes the current leading theory on why people wear those pants. You can actually see his legs.

While I wasn't around then, the 70's bellbottoms, disco .....eh, what were they thinking?

Though myself, when I was in my "rebel" days as a teenager I did the whole punk thing, complete with bright-blue dyed hair color and leather jacket...., this was of course well after the whole punk scene  of the late 70's/early 80's (late 90's).

Glade I never went through the emo/hipster era we have now.

Though I always hold out hope that one day capes/cloaks will make a come back, always looks cool. Though in this modern age I'd see many people getting them shut in car doors/automatic doors and other things.

When I became a poor, hippie student I wore what an university psychologist deemed as "a sort of uniform." That is to say, I wore jeans non-stop and a crisply heavy-starched buttoned semi-dress shirt with ankle-high hippie leather boots laced up with leather strings. My uniform for all occasions. Sort of a Nerd/Hip/Liberal/Conservative look. Basically horrid.

For performances in stuffy concert halls: Standard tuxedo (black mostly, rarely white, and rarely tails) with satin collar and a tie-on black (or white) bow tie and either a black or white cummerbund. Possibly a vest. You know, the penguin look.

Coat and tie for most functions. Coat 'n' necktie is my least favorite mode of playing dress-up. A tux is so much easier to get together because one doesn't have to make any color decisions - what goes with what, etc. Throw it on; you're formal. Pfffft.

I like to wear rugged hiking shorts with lots of pockets, steel-toed climbing boots (they are made by Redwing) and expensive as heck but very comfortable. I fall down a lot so they are some help there.

Insurance rules on certain corporate gigs made the musicians (even!) of certain theaters and outdoor venues wear steel-toed boots during rehearsals and sound checks because there are many falling things when the staging companies are assembling these dangerous towers of lights and giant speakers. Sometimes it's like working in a very dangerous automobile repair shop.

Anyway, not being a slave to fashion, I wear the rattiest old mules and threadbare jeans that I can get away with and not get arrested for vagrancy. A nice shirt I'll splurge on - say, a Reyn Spooner or a Daniel Cremieux - but that's very rare.

In fact, I'm really a slob, and prefer it that way. But if I have to do it to go along with the job, I'll wear the most god-awful things (re: "costumes").

Bobo has taken most of my clothes and re-tailored them for himself. He looks better in them than I do, frankly. He told me it was for a "Glamour Gig". That thief.

I can't post Mr. Mumbles here anymore. I'm saddened by that, and have tried everything except Photobucket. No. No Photobucket. I pay for server space and I feel like I should be able to directly link from my squeaky-clean list of small pictures and little animations. However, I've tried minus.com and it worked fine for awhile but now I'm having problems with doing that and get the dreaded red "X". Sigh.

I'm doing a microphone sound check here now: Testing... testing... POOP! Testing... testing... One, two three... POOP!

Seems to be working just fine.

Bobo said you threw those clothes out when you put on all that weight, you know, when you had to have a specially reinforced bed and sofa made.....  He's not impressed that you're now accusing him of stealing them. 

And they really were for a fancy schmancy dress-up party.  And no.... you weren't invited because you always dress like a hobo.

Originally Posted By Caroline (25 APR 2012 2:56am)

Bobo said you threw those clothes out when you put on all that weight, you know, when you had to have a specially reinforced bed and sofa made...

Bobo tells stories. You can't trust him.

Originally Posted By Caroline (25 APR 2012 2:56am)
He's not impressed that you're now accusing him of stealing them.

Bobo has never been impressed by anything I've ever done. Just like my human family. 

Originally Posted By Caroline (25 APR 2012 2:56am)
And they really were for a fancy schmancy dress-up party.

For what? Bobo wore them to a cast party for the remaining members of the cast of the original Planet of the Apes. And even though most cast members were of geriatric age, Bobo still couldn't score for the evening. In my fabulous duds.

Originally Posted By Caroline (25 APR 2012 2:56am)
And no.... you weren't invited because you always dress like a hobo.

And you weren't invited because they didn't want anyone looking like a stale apple-pan dowdy from Tottenham... luv.