On Getting Dolled Up

[howeird]

Over on renovationsf, there is a debate raging being politely engaged in about what one should wear to the Hugo Awards ceremony. The elephant in the room is that it is way easy for women to toss an evening gown into their carry-on than for a man to pack a three-piece suit. Or even a suit jacket. I'm posting this here because over there it's bound to draw major league shrapnel from the otherwise progressive women's rights-ist folk.

I don't know what I'll be wearing, or if I will even be going. I do know I will not be bringing a suit jacket to the con.

I am not invested at all in the Hugo awards, such things being 100% subjective with no qualifications to vote other than buying a membership in a WorldCon. This does not mean the nominees and winners do not deserve the prize, it just means that each year it's a crap shoot.

For example, if you walk into the Fanzine Lounge, you will see hundreds of issues of dozens of zines. There is no way, short of doctoral-level research, that anyone can read all the ones which come out each year, analyze them for quality, and rank them or their individual contents. And any twelve people who attempted it would come up with different rankings.

But enough of "do the math".

I was brought up in the suburbs of NYC, and whenever we went out to eat or to the movies, I was made to wear a suit and tie. All the men there were dressed similarly. Live theater might require adding a vest. Opera needed tux (women wore furs).

When we moved to Seattle, our first trip to a movie in a downtown theater we dressed like that. We were the only people in the theater who were. My sister and I were regulars at the Seattle Rep - students could snag last-minute seats for $2. There were some people wearing suits, but mostly not. From then on in, the only time we wore dressy clothes was to the opera.

I don't see the Hugos as equal to a night at the opera.

Comments

[yourbob.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I'm sorry I ever got started in that. Dropped it pretty quickly - didn't know it was still raging. Ain't interested. I refuse to judge someones respect of fandom by what they wear to the Hugos.

[howeird]

Yeah, it may never end. :-(

[lemmozine.livejournal.com]

I stand by what I said there. Speaking of standby, I think our airline system's overall irrational campaign against people with luggage has more to say about it than anyone. My opinion of "dressing up" - I gave my work clothes to the ARC when I retired. That included just about any shirt that would work with a tie. I do have one shirt I wear with a tie - one of those embroidered western things, with cactus. Unfortunately, that one's in the bag for the dry cleaners, which is not going to happen before I leave Tuesday. In Hawaii, Hawaiian shirts are considered business attire. For me, a fan with a clean t- shirt is well dressed, and the only jewelry required, if any, is maybe a button that says something like Welcome to Barsoom.

Where this all becomes a field day for (derogatory remark censored because I support the rights of those with mental disabilities) is when those with OCD about "dressing up" start getting all hoity-toity about how superior they are to everyone else who doesn't subscribe. Personally, if I wasn't doing a concert opposite the Hugos, I just might show up in swim trunks and flip flops, holding up a sign saying something rude about formality.

[howeird]

swim trunks and flip flops
Am visualizing a mask and snorkel with that outfit.

One of the more amusing things to me is the person over there who is entering the longest pontifications showed up drunk for her panelist gig at Match Game SF at Westercon, and continued to drink and get stupider and stupider throughout the show.

[lemmozine.livejournal.com]

Bwahahahaha. Her comments over there are kind of snobbish and hateful. Skip the hugos and come to my concert! Sure, you've heard me before, but the guy before me looks like he might be good.

[howeird]

Am definitely planning to be at your concert, and may wander over to the Hugos afterward, if only to see what Omar The Tentmaker whipped up for Ms. Manners. And which Hawaiian shirt Jay Lake is wearing.