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We just spent a week in London and I was surprised at how many men were wearing business suits - I saw them every day on the tube and just out partying.
By the same token, the women were better dressed as well.
I do think all that dressing up works better in a cooler climate. I can't imagine walking around my city in 80/90 degree weather in a suit OR in heels and hose.
Numerous studies have shown that people are looked up to more and taken more seriously when they wear formal attire. This goes for both men and women.
Dressing formally makes a huge impression in job interviews, client meetings, dates, promotions and other situations. It can make it or break it for people in many instances.
In workplaces, people are more productive and there are less reports of sexual harrassment when they wear formal attire. Even in school, children are better behaved and perform better academically when they wear school uniforms.
So, the question is - Shouldn't people dress up much more often if they are perceived to be more powerful and have a higher status by do so? Who wouldn't want this advantage most of the time?
Good question. As a lawyer, there are certainly times that I have to wear a suit and I do.
However, I try to avoid wearing a suit when I do not have to because:
1. I find sitting around in a suit uncomfortable.
2. They are hard to do real work in such as keyboarding or legal research.
3. I have many young clients and most of them could care less whether I wear a suit.
4. They get dirty quickly and must be dry cleaned at a relatively expensive cost.
I do agree though that too many people "dress down" and do not understand the importance of proper attire. Proper attire does convey to many that you are "top-notch" and appearance does count for something in this world.
So, I compromise: Suit and tie for court appearances, depositions, and important client meetings; dress pants and dress shirt (without tie) for most of my routine work at the office when I don't expect an important meeting; casual clothes generally on Fridays.
Men have the uncanny ability to make any sort of clothing look bad, even a suit. If anything is "off" with more formal clothing the whole outfit looks bad. There is a lot more leeway with nice casual wear.
Most of use frankly need a suit to be custom tailored in order to have it look really good on us, and that runs into the bucks. It's not just how it looks in the dressing room, but also how it moves with you, and particularly how it fits when you sit down.
Especially for more slender men, buying a suit off the rack and having it "taken in"almost never looks good.
Most of use frankly need a suit to be custom tailored in order to have it look really good on us, and that runs into the bucks. It's not just how it looks in the dressing room, but also how it moves with you, and particularly how it fits when you sit down.
Especially for more slender men, buying a suit off the rack and having it "taken in"almost never looks good.
Suits these days at the more fashion-oriented shops (not Sears) are tailored slim, especially and depressingly in the arms (I guess young men these days shy away from the arm exercises).
Just how important and authoritative is a person who flips burgers or works at Wal-Mart? Why would a person who has little to no money want to make people think that they do? Wouldnt that put them into an awkward situation at times? Wouldnt they have better things to spend their money on such as food and a roof over their heads?
Just how important and authoritative is a person who flips burgers or works at Wal-Mart?
Who said he had to?
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Why would a person who has little to no money want to make people think that they do?
Why would he necessarily want to always look penniless? Clearly if he had no money to buy a suit, he wouldn't be able to buy a suit. But if he wants to find something at Goodwill or Salvation Army to look a little better now and then, why shouldn't he?
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Wouldnt that put them into an awkward situation at times?
Nope.
Quote:
Wouldnt they have better things to spend their money on such as food and a roof over their heads?
If he has a job flipping burgers or working at Wal-Mart, but still wants to look better now and then, why can't he budget money for a suit from Goodwill or Salvation Army?
Why do you seem to have this classist attitude that a person of low income should always dress like a person of low income so nobody else gets confused?
Why would he necessarily want to always look penniless? Clearly if he had no money to buy a suit, he wouldn't be able to buy a suit. But if he wants to find something at Goodwill or Salvation Army to look a little better now and then, why shouldn't he?
Nope.
If he has a job flipping burgers or working at Wal-Mart, but still wants to look better now and then, why can't he budget money for a suit from Goodwill or Salvation Army?
Why do you seem to have this classist attitude that a person of low income should always dress like a person of low income so nobody else gets confused?
Because threads like these always imply that people should always wear suits in order to make themselves feel and look more impressive than they really are. That it doesnt matter what bills these people have or that they can barely afford to feed themselves. Oh no, spend all your money on a suit nevermind the fact you wont be able to afford the maintenance on it.
And lets say you do manage to buy a nice suit. Now what? What dates do you hope to get? None, because you spent all your money on the suit. You think the date is going to pick up the check? "Oh sorry, i spent all my money on this suit. Do you mind?" (awkward).
Now if threads like these are written by and geared towards people in middle to upper class then fine. But to insinuate that everyone even low class should be spending the tiny bit of money they have on a suit and its care ignoring their own basic needs to survive is beyond me.
The full suit is on the decline anyway. Most places I've worked as of late have even dropped the tie requirement if wearing even just a dress shirt. I'm glad for this. Wearing a suit is hot, uncomfortable, and anytime I have to wear one I can't wait to rip it off when I get home.
Location: NYC based - Used to Live in Philly - Transplant from Miami
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Like what somebody said wearing suits do not automatically make you look authoritative.
It is also how you wear it and present it.
Some people who wear suits who don't fit and look cheap - a no no.
Some people who only wear nice fitted back-tapered button down and look a million dollars - a yes yes.
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