Back in the 60s, my brother always wore jeans to the hall and gave his talks in jeans. The other boys, what few there were in our congregation, wore jeans as well. Nobody had money to buy their kids suits then. I was disfellowshipped in 1975, and when I came back in 1983, all the boys from toddler age up wore suits. So I dressed my kids in suits, too. But as my sons got older, they rarely went to the hall as Daddy said they did not have to, and they went so rarely that I could not see spending money on suits for them, so they went in jeans and a nice shirt. Well, then they did not want to go to the hall even more because they were given dirty looks and comments on their apparel by adults and kids alike. I would have thought everyone would be glad just to have them come, but obviously not unless they were in the Watchtower uniform.
When I was first coming back in, I was pregnant with my third son. My husband and I did not have a lot of money and I had hand-me down maternity clothes, but also some nice maternity pants suits I wore to work. I did not have any dresses, so I wore the pantsuits to the hall. Well, one of the elders on local needs gave a talk stating that women were not to wear pants to the hall. At the time, I was trying to get reinstated and would do whatever was asked, not even questioning it or feeling they were wrong. But I could not afford to buy any maternity dresses right away, so I did not attend meetings for a whole month until I could afford to buy a couple of dresses just so I would be in compliance when I went. They may have thought I did not come because I was mad at what was said from the platform, but that was not the case. I felt at that time that they were right and that I would not go until I could be in compliance. Now I look back and think how crazy that was.