This has probably been asked before, but why did Ward wear such good-looking clothes when he probably shouldn't have? Like when he was working on something in the garage or just lounging at home, he'd always be wearing clothes that would be fashionable enough that you could wear them to the office nowadays. Was this for the show, or did people really dress that nice back then when doing possibly dirty and dusty things?

Originally posted by Sterling Holobyte
This has probably been asked before, but why did Ward wear such good-looking clothes when he probably shouldn't have? Like when he was working on something in the garage or just lounging at home, he'd always be wearing clothes that would be fashionable enough that you could wear them to the office nowadays. Was this for the show, or did people really dress that nice back then when doing possibly dirty and dusty things?

Well, it's hard for me to say why this is, considering the fact I'm only 19 years old, but my grandmother has told me that back then people just dressed different. Women would never be caught going out in anything but a dress, and men wouldn't go out without a suit. It just wasn't "proper". She told me she remembers a time going on a date with my grandpa to a baseball game, she wore a dress and hat, he wore a suit. It was just what people did back then. But unlike June Cleaver, she didn't wear a dress around the house all the time. When she was at home, she wore pants or what she calls "pedal pushers" or capris. So, according to my grandma, LITB is fairly accurate in the way the characters dress, but she said she doesn't know any woman who wore dresses ALL THE TIME like June did. And she didn't know any man that would dress that nice to work with power tools and stuff.

I agree, they are sometimes very formal. But like BBF I am too young to remember (16). Tony Dow writes in Jerry Mathers' autobio though that there was a certain formality to many families in the 50s. Still, I think society has gotten much less formal even in the last 10 years. When I was little I had to dress up (dress, nice shoes, frilly socks, etc.) for most of the birthday parties I went to (as did everyone else), but now it seems like that isn't really a part of birthday parties. So I guess everything is becoming more casual nowadays.:)

yeah, i noticed that they do dress formal alot. i never knew why.

I say dressing has changed. I work at a bed and breakfast inn at the front desk. The standard there are to look like a lady. We don't have uniforms. I worked for a short time at a hotel and the gal at the counter was dressed in cordoroy slacks, a wool sweater and a down vest. I thought she was heading up Mt Everest. Gosh I wouldn't wear that unless I was going up Mt everest.
I think you look smarter and brighter in nice clothes. I can see, to wash window June could be in a sweat shirts and slacks. I see Donna Reed in slacks around the house.

My mother amd father always got dressed up to go out when I was a kid. Even to a movie. My mother continued to do that even when she got older. Going out meant dressing up. It was just what was done. When my mom came home from work she changed into a housedress or "duster" a kind of shift dress that was meant for being around the house. Look at the way Ethel and Lucy dress around the house. And would Lucy ever go out not dressed up> It's just the way it was.

I think people dressed a lot better back then. Many people today have no sense of style. Walking into restaurants in tank tops and dirty clothes. They bring little kids and babies in stores and restaurants without shoes or socks and their hair not combed. when I leave the house, I don't get dressed up or anything but I at least try and look presentable.

There is no question that American society has completely lost its ideas about 'proper dress' since the 1960's, and it's true that Ward's 'casual' clothes for working around the house compare to "business casual" today. But this is one of many examples of how it was so important to make statements about certain values in the era of the Cold War and a rapidly changing world.

A statement, per se, affirming American middle class values involved manner of dress [semi-formal], supporting God and country [consider the addition of "..under God.." into the Pledge of Allegiance around that time], professional ambition, the husband and father's role as the provider, and respect for authority. All these qualities are evident in LITB, and anything which threatens these standards [like Beaver refusing to wear his suit to the football banquet] is considered a nonconformity out of proportion to the thing itself.