I know it’s politically incorrect to comment negatively on how someone else chooses to dress, but have you visited a mall or a restaurant lately? Have you seen what people are wearing in public? Sports bras with biker shorts and bedroom slippers are just too much for this old boomer to let pass without comment. Please forgive me but I am going to express a point of view that is ageist, anti-feminist, and clearly from the “you have no right” side of the fence.

Let me be clear. I love people expressing their personal sartorial preferences, regardless of how different and outrageous they may be. I adored the excess of Iris Apfel and admire the originality of Tilda Swinton, particularly her hair. Diane Keaton is one of my fashion heroines, although, coincidently, she rarely even exposes her neck. Though not of my generation, Billie Eilish is clearly her own boss in terms of dressing to suit herself and not conforming to what others expect a pop star to wear. More power to each of them.

This level of tolerance does not prevent me from being judgmental, however, about those who wear pyjamas in public. I’m so old I still remember when people dressed up to fly on an airplane—although in those days airlines treated us with respect, like human beings, not livestock.

Even going shopping once required a certain level of decorum (how’s that for an old-fashioned mindset?) that discouraged being half-naked in public. Yes. I realize I’m no longer a modern gal but in my opinion, leggings are not pants. They are only acceptable if the bum is covered by a long top or jacket. I do not want to see anyone’s cellulite dimples or camel toe clearly on display. So, stone me.

When I was employed at the telephone company in the late sixties Bell relaxed their dress code to allow female employees to wear pantsuits to work which was quite a step forward from when all Bell girls were expected to wear gloves on their way to and from the office. Pants had formerly been forbidden and when I was the first in my office to turn up in a two-piece matching pantsuit I experienced many a side-eye for my boldness.  We really had “come a long way, baby”.

Lulelemon has a lot to answer for. Much as I enjoy wearing their athleisure wear around the house, it was created for yoga and exercise classes. The fact that their fashions are also the most comfortable thing to wear on an airplane does not mean we should put all of our body parts on display for the entire world to view. Layering can mitigate the exposure and ensure a modicum of decency.

Wedding dresses today are also vastly different from the styles we boomers wore all those decades ago. Gone are wrist-length lace sleeves and restrained modesty. Today it’s all strapless, backless, and as much cleavage on display as two-way tape will allow. I’ve never worn a strapless dress in my entire life and now they’re commonly seen on little pre-teen girls at their elementary school graduations.

If I were sixty years younger, I wonder how I would respond to the fashion freedom young people enjoy today. Somehow, I can’t imagine putting my teenaged flat little chest out there on display in a tight-cropped tee but then my parents would have never allowed me out the door unless I was properly dressed. I suppose I would probably go to the mall in leggings but I would like to think I at least covered up my lady parts with a long sweatshirt.

Apart from the now-dead decency aspect of what we wear, does no one want to “look presentable”? We are still judged rightly or wrongly by what we wear and if wearing hoodies, pyjamas and slippers to the office is your thing, more power to you. Just don’t expect me to assume you possess good judgement and don’t expect me to promote you.

Boomers came of age in the pre-millennium Dress For Success era. When we were dressed for success we projected success. When we were turned out in a power suit we felt powerful and confident, exuding a positive and professional vibe. Our mantra was to dress for the position you aspire to which can also mean dress like a grownup. Does anyone in business today still adhere to that principle?

Boomers invented the mini and micro-mini-skirt which were scandalous back in the day. I’m mortified now when I think back on how I ever managed to negotiate going up the subway stairs or bending over to retrieve a file from the bottom drawer at work without exposing myself. Should you take serious fashion advice from someone who once wore white lipstick and “hot pants”? I’ve made my share of fashion blunders. Remember those 80s shoulder pads that made us look like linebackers? We had to turn sideways to enter and exit the subway train.

Women more than men are subjected to unfair judgement on what we wear and I understand that I should be more tolerant and forgiving when I see someone on the street wearing practically nothing. But men are not without fault. When I see sloppy pants barely hanging off a guy’s buttocks exposing his jockeys, it’s all I can do to refrain from walking over and yanking them up into a nuclear wedgie, or pulling them down to their ankles. Seeing boys and men wearing baseball hats indoors also pisses me off. Where’s the pride in personal appearance and everyday manners?

I am all in favour of celebrating a young, fit, and beautiful body when you are you are still young and fit. Celebrate being hot while you still are. It’s fleeting, believe me. As we age our bodies change. I once read that we should dress like we might run into an ex. That’s a pretty fair benchmark. Make him regret what he lost.

Being young means being a bit rebellious and challenging the rules. I get that. I get opting for comfort over conformity. I also confess to sometimes picking up my mail on my front porch in my nightgown—but my front porch is at the end of the street where no one can see me. I’ll never be a candidate for best-dressed old boomer, but I do try to dress presentably when I go out in public. I guess I just have to accept that decency is no longer part of the fashion vocabulary. My old-fashioned values tell me that is a shame, while my feminist side is telling me to shut up and move on. Which side should I be on?