You know, I think it's more of a society wide issue that has bled into Disneyland. People don't dress up like they used too.
I agree. And I'm not opposed to it. In another thread we were talking about cruise lines. I'm a big fan of Viking Cruise Lines. They have a strict dress code; "Smart Casual" which basically means slacks and a sport coat for dinner for gentlemen. The ladies usually wear sparkly pantsuits or chic dresses with a little jacket. There is no "Formal Night" on Viking, with the forced theatricality of rental tuxedos and bejeweled gowns. It's always just "Smart Casual", with sport jackets and no ties the norm for dinner. I love that casualness and reality!
But everyone on a Viking cruise
looks good. And smart. There's no athletic wear or torn jeans or tube tops over blobby torso allowed.
I grew up going to church- but always wore off the rack suits and dress clothes that did not fit properly. I haven't been in years- but now have a job that requires dress clothing. My first set of work dress clothes were $20 Amazon dress shirts and $30 Amazon chinos and a polyester tie. Not exactly peak fashion.
When I lived in OC, I lived up the hill from a big Lutheran church. Over the past 20 years I marveled at the change from "Sunday Best" to grown men wearing shorts and untucked shirts. In Church!
I always asked myself...
"So did God change the dress code, or did Man change the dress code?" (I know the answer, by the way.)
Then, I got Brooks Brothers dress shirts which replaced the Amazon junk and replaced my polyester ties with Brooks Brothers. About six months ago I needed a proper suit for a wedding, and I didn't want polyester. I found a BB suit that was a little large for $160 shipped on Amazon (used, like new). Had it dry cleaned than took it to a local tailor who made it fit like a glove.
In the months since I've spent about $2,000 on eBay buying BB trousers and sport coats (
This is my favorite acquisition) then having them tailored to fit perfectly. Not to mention the hours I've spent reading up on how clothing is
supposed to fit. It's almost an addiction- and I have a phenomenal relationship with a local tailor now because of it.
Brooks Brothers is wonderful! It costs a bit more, but with regular dry cleaning and laundering it will last many years longer than the average Target or Penney's item of the same identity. And all you have to do is take an off-the-rack suit or separates to a little local tailor, and he'll hem and adjust the piece so it fits you beautifully for 20 bucks. And then you'll wear it for years and look fabulous without hardly any effort!
It's so darn easy to look good. I laugh hysterically at kids who say
"I don't want to spend 30 minutes getting dressed!" when it only takes the same amount of time to put on a tailored outfit that it does to put on a WalMart polyester leg-n-torso tube and an XL ponchoodie.
My long winded point is- I didn't know what a 'break' was for pants until a few months ago. I didn't know that you should be able to see some shirt cuff in the sleeves when wearing a sport coat, or that traditional style dictates that the coat should cover your rear.
You are a young man becoming a fully adult man. It's a journey for all of us. It's hit or miss at times. It's funny you mention shirt cuffs because that Opera House Host I showed above desperately needed a shirt sleeve length that was an inch longer. His shirt sleeves were unseen and thus unknown. They need to show a half inch at the cuff, or else why bother?
Why does Disneyland still have some CM uniforms that are formal and highly themed and, dare I say it, glamorous??? Not every CM needs to be in a tuxedo, and selling churros and flipping burgers is inherently dirty work so they need a functional uniform designed for their primary tasks.
But this new Toontown outfit is just another step down in a series of downward steps they've been taking over the last few years. Why?
And I'd guess that 95% of Disneyland's park management below the executive level doesn't know how to properly fit clothing. And that 99% of Disneyland's hourly workers don't know. So unless Disney is willing to pay someone in costuming to fit each of the hourly cast, how can we expect them to even know how to fit their costumes properly?
I would guess you're right. But that's why they have an allegedly "world-class!" training department called the Disney University. Or at least they used to. I doubt it exists any longer.
But any corporate training team exists to suck up money and only be there to set standards and expectations for employee behavior and appearance and working standards. It's clearly obvious from any time in the park the last few years that function no longer exists with the Disney University.
They are not up to that basic task of training company standards. If they even still exist any more?