Fashion is cringe and try hard. Intentionally slotting yourself into a wealth ranking based on some cloth and a watch isn't the flex you think it is. All it tells me is that you can't afford the next tier of clothing.

At least $18 sweatpants in an $800 hotel gives a bit of mystery.

Why would you dress up for a hotel?

When traveling "looking fancy" is the last thing I care about.

I don't have a problem with people resisting the societal pressure to wear expensive clothes, it's just another way to separate the rich from the poor, but buying those clothes from predatory corporations like The Gap isn't the proper solution. Thrift shops, Goodwill, Facebook Marketplace, etc.

I'm glad that pretending to be fancy is falling out of fashion. It's extremely uncomfortable (save me the speech about how I need a well fitting suit or whatever, no thanks) and it's expensive (very much in conflict with your claim below that it's cheap to dress up. I'm not sure how you could possibly believe that). As someone who routinely dresses comfortably af, nothing was lost when people stopped dressing up randomly such as on airplanes. Being comfortable is very important to some people, especially those on the spectrum. I've got nothing to prove to people by being uncomfortable. I'll keep wearing gym shorts on a plane and I literally feel for people wearing suits as I know how uncomfortable every aspect of it is.

They are guests of a hotel, not on some kind of event.

I used to occasionally go to nightclubs in LA with some older guys that insisted on wearing nice, fitted suits. They actually bought me one when I first moved out there. If I was in a nightclub in my 20's, it was usually cause I was working. So I don't really have much to compare the experience to. But I'd say they were attention-getting - not necessarily in a good way. One dude tried to start a fight with me. And a girl I texted afterward was surprised to discover that I was, in fact, quite poor. That was a while ago. I have plenty of suits now. I never wear them. I guess nobody dresses fancy anymore.

I do not like NYC “dress code”. I went to a cocktail bar and they asked me to keep my jacket on because I had a t shirt. The cocktails were only $15-17. Not even fancy! Is my money worth less that I’m wearing jeans or a tshirt?

This is why I love Seattle. Everywhere allows tshirts and jeans no matter how fancy. I’m comfy and spending money.

I was at a funeral recently where about 1 in 10 people were wearing cargo shorts or jeans, a graphic tee or a polo shirt, and sneakers.

Not that I think we should go back to dressing in powdered wigs and hose but I think there is room for clothing choices to mark an occasion

My personal theory is that it is a symptom of societal decay. People would dress nicely and look good when going out, so others would see and be impressed or attracted.

Now i have literally not worn anything else but different sweatpants for the last year or so, because i could not care less what other random passerbys perceive me as, since i am decidedly not interested in them either.

Nobody cares about real life impressions any more because the people that matter to them are in their phone. Friends and family are not necessarily in the same location as you, and romantic options are for the most part also in your phone now. Why brother looking good when potential partners are expected to judge you by your social media presence anyway and i'm just here for groceries.

It's apparently a local custom in Texas to go to a wedding dressed in blue jeans, a white shirt, your boots and whatever cowboy hat you wear. Meanwhile everyone else who doesn't know what fucking a cow feels like is wearing at least a tie.