Rantsuit
I hate the word "pantsuit."
I don't know why, I just know that it makes me angry to hear it. Men and women both wear suits. Why do we need a special word for suits that are cut for women? I get that the term differentiates women's-suits-with-pants from women's-suits-with-skirts, but I'd really rather just call them all "suits" and stop worrying about whether or not they incorporate bifurcated leg sheaths.
Todd argues that there are differences between suits (by which he means men's suits) and pantsuits. Suits, he explained to me, have loosely-cut jackets and are worn with ties and button-down shirts, whereas pantsuits have shorter jackets and are worn with blouses and not ties. I argued that women's suits are often also worn with button-down shirts, and that the only real difference is that they are cut to flatter different body shapes. I also think that it is very sensible of women not to wear ties, but I did not voice this opinion - he hates ties more than I do, since he has the misfortune of being occasionally obligated to wear them.
Momentarily I thought this sounded like good evidence of a faint line separating women's suits from men's suits, but then Todd lost me completely by arguing that, similarly, kilts are different from skirts. Great-kilts are certainly different from skirts, since they drape around the shoulders, but the pre-pleated kind, in my opinion, is simply one variety of skirt. Todd argued that you can't find women's skirts that are as heavy as a kilt, but a) I'm sure that's not true at all, and b) that's why I said "variety" - in essence they are still skirts. Skirts come in a lot of flavors. Why can't "sort of heavy and usually plaid" be a flavor? There is no reason.
I placed a cherry on top of this argument by pointing out that I was not wearing "pantjeans," even though men's jeans and women's jeans are cut differently and tend to come in different styles. I win!
Then Todd suggested that I blog about this and title the blog post "Rantsuit." Todd wins too! Because he is awesome.
I don't know why, I just know that it makes me angry to hear it. Men and women both wear suits. Why do we need a special word for suits that are cut for women? I get that the term differentiates women's-suits-with-pants from women's-suits-with-skirts, but I'd really rather just call them all "suits" and stop worrying about whether or not they incorporate bifurcated leg sheaths.
Todd argues that there are differences between suits (by which he means men's suits) and pantsuits. Suits, he explained to me, have loosely-cut jackets and are worn with ties and button-down shirts, whereas pantsuits have shorter jackets and are worn with blouses and not ties. I argued that women's suits are often also worn with button-down shirts, and that the only real difference is that they are cut to flatter different body shapes. I also think that it is very sensible of women not to wear ties, but I did not voice this opinion - he hates ties more than I do, since he has the misfortune of being occasionally obligated to wear them.
Momentarily I thought this sounded like good evidence of a faint line separating women's suits from men's suits, but then Todd lost me completely by arguing that, similarly, kilts are different from skirts. Great-kilts are certainly different from skirts, since they drape around the shoulders, but the pre-pleated kind, in my opinion, is simply one variety of skirt. Todd argued that you can't find women's skirts that are as heavy as a kilt, but a) I'm sure that's not true at all, and b) that's why I said "variety" - in essence they are still skirts. Skirts come in a lot of flavors. Why can't "sort of heavy and usually plaid" be a flavor? There is no reason.
I placed a cherry on top of this argument by pointing out that I was not wearing "pantjeans," even though men's jeans and women's jeans are cut differently and tend to come in different styles. I win!
Then Todd suggested that I blog about this and title the blog post "Rantsuit." Todd wins too! Because he is awesome.