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1) I'm an engineer and I work as a building inspector so I'd get laughed off the job site if I showed up in a suit. Also, I dont think my steel toes and hard had would fashionably agree with the suit.
2) I live in the southwest USA in one of the hottest major metro areas in the world so I'll be damned if I'm going anywhere in a suit between the months of March and November.
3) They're to expensive and a waste of money.
4) They're to restrictive and uncomfortable.
5) Unless you're an attorney they are out of style in the western part of the US.
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Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer
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?
6) Only people who drive Escalades care about status and who needs them anyway.
7) Only middle eastern dictators care about power and as far as I'm concerned they all need to be euthanized.
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.
You mention wearing suits 'most of the time', then you cite circumstances which represent a very small minority of time of most professions. You might want to think about that.
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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.
You also might want to consider correlation as opposed to causation - unless you really think that a suit imbues the wearer the super-productivity (and if you do, seek help immediately).
The same goes for children - suits in schools are almost always found in private schools, which have on average more well-to-do parents as well as more actively engaged parenting - that's what is fostering the success of their children/students, not suit-magic.
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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?
I work in a technical, white-collar field. It would be quite a head-scratcher if I insisted on wearing a suit every day. Or even most days. Or even more often than never. It would also be uncomfortable and expensive.
On the other hand, you're bizarrely convinced that it would make me less likely to cop a feel in the workplace... [do you really find it so hard not to do that, that you need a magic don't-feel-up-the-coworkers garment?]
My DH wore suits for years, until rather suddenly the corp. started casual Fridays, and then also rather suddenly, it became casual every day. He never looked back. If your work requires it, they you will wear, but if your work does not, you probably won't.
A family member who is an attorney, wears a suit when in court, and casual when not.
The men I know, do not wear suits and ties if they can avoid it. They aren't really comfortable.
Hey, Albert Fish and H. H. Holmes were dressed formally in their mugshots.
Anyhow, like most people said, dressing up every day is more costly, sometimes impractical, and often uncomfortable. People do look nice when they are dressed up, but sometimes it can have its drawbacks. When I was in B2B sales, we were actually advised not to wear suits when we did cold calls because the look just screamed "salesperson!" Most of the decision-makers with whom I met were dressed in business-casual clothing, and I've found that it's easier to connect with people when I was dressed similarly.
As for what restaurant servers or retail personnel think of me, I think that most people who rely on tips or commissions are smart enough to know not to judge a book by its cover. I don't walk into places looking like a slob, but if someone gave me the side-eye just because I wasn't wearing a skirtsuit with a scarf, hose, and heels, I'd find somewhere else to spend my money.
Looking good is on a continuum, not all or nothing.
Let's face it, being well-dressed is on a continuum, not an all-or-nothing situation. As has been mentioned, unless a male is an attorney, and except for funerals and weddings, suits are no longer considered de rigueur in very many situations.
My "uniform" when meeting the public in an official capacity is one step down from a suit. It is dress slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie. I believe that "uniform" is professional looking and quite adequate for pretty much all but the situations I listed in my first paragraph.
I believe my dress-shirt-and-tie does give me a bit of extra credibility in most contexts. For example, if I am going to the bank in person (rare nowadays, of course) to handle something out of the ordinary, that is the way I like to dress. It's not that I wouldn't (in the end) get the same service, because it's the way I talk, how articulate I am, that drives the level of service I can demand much more than the way I am dressed. So I am being careful not to exaggerate the degree to which dressing professionally works in our favor as males, but it does work in our favor in a lot of situations.
To go out in a well made suit one gets better tables, more courtesy, and gets asked for directions or the time more often. Women perceive you as having a salaried job, your own place to live, maintaining basic body hygiene, and being straight.
Certain body flaws (i.e. narrow shoulders, short torso, big behind) can be much better camouflaged by a well tailored suit than jeans or shorts. A man appears taller, more important in a suit. A face that may appear creepy in casual wear, has 'character' in a well done suit ( think Christopher Walken, John Malkovich, 'Reservoir Dogs' ). It takes a lot of social energy to fight uphill when dressed too casual. It is much easier to talk yourself down to a casual level when dressed authoritative.
Good ( not cheap, ill fitting) suits mean easier sex. More power. Faster results. It doesn't guarantee it though.
There's still a difference between dressing well and NOT in a suit, vs. dressing like a slob. There are other factors too like grooming. Some men in suits can be dangerous if construed as mafia, FBI agents, or secret service folk.
As far as being heterosexual, suits aren't a factor since many homosexuals wear them too. In some areas, wearing a suit means you're unemployed and looking for work since those in tech and IT jobs wear business casual.
Let's face it, being well-dressed is on a continuum, not an all-or-nothing situation. As has been mentioned, unless a male is an attorney, and except for funerals and weddings, suits are no longer considered de rigueur in very many situations.
My "uniform" when meeting the public in an official capacity is one step down from a suit. It is dress slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie. I believe that "uniform" is professional looking and quite adequate for pretty much all but the situations I listed in my first paragraph.
I believe my dress-shirt-and-tie does give me a bit of extra credibility in most contexts. For example, if I am going to the bank in person (rare nowadays, of course) to handle something out of the ordinary, that is the way I like to dress. It's not that I wouldn't (in the end) get the same service, because it's the way I talk, how articulate I am, that drives the level of service I can demand much more than the way I am dressed. So I am being careful not to exaggerate the degree to which dressing professionally works in our favor as males, but it does work in our favor in a lot of situations.
An alternative at the same level is a sports coat or blazer worn without a tie.
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[do you really find it so hard not to do that, that you need a magic don't-feel-up-the-coworkers garment?]
Looking good is on a continuum, not all or nothing.
