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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="thormagni" data-source="post: 2476810" data-attributes="member: 13637">Well, I think a person roofiing in a tux would be an idiot, but let's not dwell on that, eh <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />But again, the fanciest, "prettiest" clothing is also generally the most impractical from a physical standpoint. The idea of "prettiest" is entirely a societal construction. Much like the plumage on a peacock, maybe what we humans are saying when we "dress up" is that I have enough resources to expend those frivolously. Wearing a tux or a designer dress is in essence expressing that I have enough resources to choose to purchase and to wear something that has no practical value. A pair of dress pants do not protect us from the elements better than a pair of sweat pants, they do not cover our nether regions more thorougly than the sweatpants do, they do not have greater stain or tear resistance. A pair of designer jeans has no intrinsic, functional value greater than a pair of off-the-rack, Wal-mart jeans. (Ignoring for a second that some Wal-mart jeans are notoriously flimsy.)It reminds me of a story I read about the diamond trade. Diamonds have not always been as valuable and coveted as they are today. Especially not as engagement rings. It wasn't until the 20s and 30s that the "diamond engagement ring" tradition was created. And it was created by marketing gurus trying to jack up the prices of DeBeers diamonds. Now almost every Joe Schmo feels they have to fork over two months salary for an appropriate diamond. Back to Vince's original comment, I think to some extent, the old-time movies and TV shows were engaging in a deliberate distortion. They dressed people up to make them look glamorous and led an entire country of women to believe that they had to dress up in pearls and heels just to make breakfast in the morning and the men had to wear a tie to their job at the auto plant.</blockquote>

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