What would it take to keep American clothing norms more modest?

It’s well-known that American clothing norms, especially in the summer and when swimming, are very lax. For example, skimpy bikinis, tight speedos, or even walking around town with your shirt unbuttoned or with a bare midriff.

My grandma told me that when she was young, this kind of dressing would be socially unacceptable.

What would need to change in the past for clothing norms to stay modest?

I have a couple of ideas

* no safety razor - this led to more body hair shaving, which led to more of the body visible in swimsuits.
* no hippies/free love movement - I’m sure this also played a role

Any more?
 
* no safety razor - this led to more body hair shaving, which led to more of the body visible in swimsuits.
* no hippies/free love movement - I’m sure this also played a role

Any more?
Don't forget the role of civil rights. After all, skin color was seen as a cruel "dress code" for segregation. Segregation is outlawed, the Beatles change men's hairstyle limits, and dress codes cascade out.
 
A few things...

-religious revival, of the fundamentalist flavor
-stronger rape culture and patriarchy (ignoring the fact that women in modest clothing are actually more likely to be violently raped), i.e. far more victim blaming and hypocrisy (you know, like how some of the most moral organizations and societies has some of the most fucked up secrets and horrors behinds the scenes)
-more stable economic performance, in other words it has to both better and worse than OTL... at the same time.
-more trust (or "trust") in government & society, so probably much tighter control of the media

In other words you want a mildly dystopic society (or as I would call it, a hypocritical moralist society), so fuck that noise.
 
The Summer of Love (1967) and the hippie movement included the emergence of an anti-war "religious Christian Left." They were anti-war, anti-draft and were liberal Christians who wanted to tell the world dress did not matter. Suddenly, after 1973, all of the protest issues of the late sixties had been settled and the term "Jesus freak" went away. Then, in 1978, Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority and out of it grew the Christian Right we know today. Dress codes were not their stress, abortion was. They did, though, shun the hippie-influenced dress of the late sixties. But society-wide, it did not seem to matter.

To keep more dress codes fashionable, you need a move towards formality, without a controlling dystopic element.
 
Here's something that'd get the OP's requests for women's fashion: Incel movements playing a similar role in the west that Islamicism has had in the muslim world in terms of shifting norms in a more conservative direction, perhaps. If wearing revealing clothing is a way to risk arrest, or see ah informal, off the books but obviously horrible things happening to you thanks to groups of random men wearing Joker cosplay, you won't see many women being willing to wear revealing clothes.
 
Beginning to wonder if I was the only one that remembered the expression, "bite your tongue", as an admonishment to stop saying certain things or advocating certain ideas. I always thought it was an exceptionally funny/stupid thing to say...makes you sound like a 106 year old spinster.
 
Sumptuary laws enacted and enforced by local or even the federal government would be tricky. Assuming they pass, there would be a public backlash even if their constitutionality was upheld. Imagine a police officer arresting an adult male in public for wearing jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt when the law dictates they must wear a three-piece suit. That would be a lot of fodder for editorial cartoons, stand-up comedians and late night talk show hosts.
 
You would need to derail the feminist movement.
One of the side effects of that was female empowerment and with that the rulebook for how to dress was thrown out the window.
 
My understanding is that much of the clothing changes came from practical reasons. Eg women got more social time at the turn of the century and started doing stuff. Riding, swimming etc. That is not easy in a dress so changes are made.
Hollywood is promoting this. California is a good outdoor environment. Actresses are out enjoying that environment. Actresses are influencers. Guess what happens next?

And the OP didn't specify women. Men's clothing has got skimpier. Again for much the same practical reasons.

Then there is the whole wealth thing. 150 years ago how many outfits did a person have? What you had had to be multipurpose, and so be able to handle a degree of formality. Heck. As children my grandparents used to stand barefoot in cow pats to keep their feet warm on cold mornings. Shoes were a sign of wealth. Clothing was a sign of wealth. Look at my shirt with actual colors!

You know looking back wealth is probably at the root of everything here. If you want to keep clothes more modest, have a few more Depressions.
 

Khanzeer

Banned
^ my heart breaks when I see pixturescof poor kids from 19th and early 20th century !
I wonder what is the sign of wealth now ? (When you can walk out of goodwill with decent outfit under 5 bucks ), facebook vacations ?
 
Also look at how much of the corporate world (with the notable exception of those in banking/finance, legal, real estate fields, etc) have moved towards more casual dress. Even those of us who still suit up might go without a tie, which would have been unthinkable in a business setting (even in Australia) up to around 20 years ago. The only time I seem to wear a tie these days is if I'm going to the races - the member's sections of the Melbourne racecourses are still quite formal, even to the point of putting together style guides.
 

trurle

Banned
It’s well-known that American clothing norms, especially in the summer and when swimming, are very lax. For example, skimpy bikinis, tight speedos, or even walking around town with your shirt unbuttoned or with a bare midriff.

My grandma told me that when she was young, this kind of dressing would be socially unacceptable.

What would need to change in the past for clothing norms to stay modest?

I have a couple of ideas

* no safety razor - this led to more body hair shaving, which led to more of the body visible in swimsuits.
* no hippies/free love movement - I’m sure this also played a role

Any more?
Hippies/free love was the inevitable consequence of the spread of hormonal contraceptives. The peak of lax dress codes has happened in early 198x, just after birth control pills become popular but before HIV pandemic become known. More HIV-like sexually-transmitted maladies appearing earlier would naturally result in stricter dress codes.
 
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I do hope the OP is aware that American culture is generally considered quite prudish in most other Western countries. With that said, how about sexual liberation remaining an important part of Soviet Communism after the early days? Would probably require a less harrowing start for the Soviet Union, but might turn American opinion more strongly against "Communist sinfulness".
 
It’s well-known that American clothing norms, especially in the summer and when swimming, are very lax. For example, skimpy bikinis, tight speedos, or even walking around town with your shirt unbuttoned or with a bare midriff.

My grandma told me that when she was young, this kind of dressing would be socially unacceptable.

What would need to change in the past for clothing norms to stay modest?

I have a couple of ideas

* no safety razor - this led to more body hair shaving, which led to more of the body visible in swimsuits.
* no hippies/free love movement - I’m sure this also played a role

Any more?
This thread is misplaced. The US is no worse than the rest of the Americas and has been accused of being prudish.
Speedoes are a European and South American thing.
Bikinis came from France. Have you seen the beaches in Argentina and Brazil?
 
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