That totally sounds like something my dad would’ve said.

And I mean that as a compliment!
I’m not
that much older than you (but then, you’re not old enough to have children the age of my oldest, either . . . )
My reference was to the long dresses of the era. The belief - at least the front - that more created the mysterious.
Sounds like you’e one of those shameless hussies who wanders about flashing her * gasp *
ankles under a skirt too short to keep them covered.
A couple of years ago at a conference we went on a tour of an antebellum mansion in New Orleans. Our hostess, in character, sent the men up the stairwell first, as was proper, so as to not risk our glimpsing her ankles . . .
anyway, one of the few things that
hasn’t come up yet is the difference between male and female attraction.
Speaking broadly, male attraction tends to be to female physical, and particularly to signs of successful fertility (ability to feed, and to give birth) and health (hair). While females definitely appreciate the male form, attractions is driven (at least far more so than men) by signs of ability to protect and provide.
So, in today’s world, it’s quite possible that a man’s suit would be tantalizing to a female the same way that a low neckline on a woman would be to a man, and so forth.
So wear does that take things?
I’m not even sure how many suits are hanging in my closet right now. It used to be a dozen, but some have left service. However, there are several more from a spectacular sale waiting: I’m usually an off-the-rack 42L, needing only the cuffs put on and the suspender buttons installed (men’s suit pants come uncured, to fit a variety of leg lengths). As it turned out, when they arrived, inches had gotten smaller (yeah, that’s it; I hadn’t gotten larger) and they didn’t fit–badly so. A few more pounds though.
I’d never given thought to them as attracting women, or being attractive, or . . . they’re just what I need as work clothes as a lawyer–and a well cut suit of good material is a signaling device announcing that I’m good (whether for better or worse; it is).
Anyway, is dressing in a way that signals financial success and ability immodest if it has the same effect on women that a tight bodice does on men?
oh, and as for the Victorians . . . it wasn’t just piano legs–they also kept books by male and female authors on separate shelves . . .
hawk