In this recent article, the Washington Post wrote about a chess champion who dared to wear jeans to a major. tournament. There was a dress code.

I don’t follow the world of chess so I had no idea there was a code. But lots of spectator events have codes formal and informal.

The tennis world used to require white on the courts, but I believe that’s changed.

And I’ve always been amazed when female classical musicians would dress up for solo performances as if they were going to a dress ball. In an age where women are landing jets on carrier decks, we still see women with bare arms in a world where men wear tuxedos or at least nice suits. We are seeing some changes as some conductors defy the code.

I always admired the violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnengerg, who showed up to perform wearing a nice outfit with trousers. She didn’t seem to need evening gowns. (She;s now a resident guest artist at a university.)

In some basketball leagues, women were expected to wear short shorts while men wore knee-lengths (or any length). So I also admired Diana Taurasi, who used her clout and financial. resources to pay the fine and defy the code. Recently she revealed that she was also battling a skin condition--another reason to go long. She wears her shorts to mid-knee.

I’ve always shuddered to see female figure ice skaters wearing tiny, revealing skirts. Men get to demonstrate their form wearing long pants. Female gymnasts also wear revealing clothes.  Why are we turning the women into sex objects? Perhaps that’s why there’s so much abuse in these sports.

So I know I’m a voice in the wilderness, but maybe it’s past time to look at dress codes in general. I can remember a time when women were considered daring if they wore nice pantsuits to work. Now we have a female VP and two presidential candidates who wear them regularly.

I can also remember when women dressed up to go shopping in nice little dresses and sheer nylon stockings. I wrote about this in my book. I never expected to be wearing shorts — sometimes quite short shorts! — in public at an advanced age. In my book I also tell you what I say when someone says, “You’re too old.”

And it’s happening all over the world, at least in some major cities.

I believe we all have a standard of neatness that we can adhere to.  Hopefully, we have a sense of doing what’s right. I still wouldn’t wear shorts to the classroom if I were still teaching (although I might change into them immediately afterward).

Meanwhile, I’m glad they compromised with the jeans-wearing chess champion. He had enough clout to threaten a walkout and mean it. Neat jeans are now acceptable in the chess tournament.

And I can’t help wondering about all those articles advising women to “dress your age.” Are they setting up another ghetto? Is this another way to set us apart? Why can’t we wear what we want and what’s appropriate for our muscle tone?

Clothes can make a statement…and sometimes the statement is one that should not be made at all.