Zuckerberg's Hoodie and what your clothing says about what you think of those around you

Apparently a kerfuffle has developed over this:

http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-hoodie.php?ref=fpnewsfeed

"The Hoody Stare"

Well most people shrugged at him at first and Facebook before and never realized their real potential. Now everybody wants to cash in. Money talks that's all there is.

I was just reading a rather typical AAAC thread about this, which inevitably is dominated by people suggesting that Z'berg's choice of clothes was a deliberate attempt to show disrespect to the suits, or profile himself as a maverick or whatever.

It strikes me that it is just as likely that he cares very little about clothes and has been wearing the same sort of clothes since he stopped wearing nappies and therefore spent precisely zero seconds wondering what to wear and just put on whatever happened to be in his wardrobe, or even in a pile on his presumably expensive floor. The fact is, he dresses now as a billionaire just like he did when he was a student and when he was starting out pitching FB to venture capital.

We can lament that people do have this attitude to clothes, but about 80+% of people do. It doesn't mean they are making a statement. Or even tthat they are Bad People (as this board has often established, genocidal maniac dictators are often more interested in clothes than non-psychotic leaders: compare Colonel Qadhafi (dec'd) with Jimmy Carter).

I found myself a couple of days ago talking to someone (a perfectly reasonable person in all respects) who was utterly dumbfounded at the idea that I might wear a shirt at weekends. You know, a shirt with a collar and buttons all the way down the front. Not a t-shirt. I don't think he'dd have been more astounded if I'd said that the world was secretly run by budgerigars.

People like that are not members of an organised insurgency against style or good taste, who are plotting a massive DDOS attack on this forum. They are just ordinary people.

I agree with the general principle that what you choose to wear to a meeting is a reflection of how you feel about the meeting and its participants. I read Zuckerberg's choice as a statement that he is a Business Tycoon in the same league as Steve Jobs, and can dress the way he wants, just like the other BTs. That may or may not be the right message to send to a meeting with investors, who may expect some level of humility when asked for their money.

In his position it is no longer a matter of just wearing what you feel like wearing - thousands of jobs and billions in assets hang on him getting things right, and I would hope that he would feel some of that responsibility and want to show his seriousness.

It says that he is immature. Even Jobs, a hippie, donned suits in times past.

Some of his old classmates wear coat and tie.

This thread is useless until mensimageconsultant weighs in.

Yeah, and Bill Bellichick is a lousy coach because of his short-sleeved hoodie as well.

I hate this concept that the CEO of a company has to also be some pitchman who goes out and sells his product by the way he dresses. Zuckerberg came up with a better widget, that's all that really matters. I could care less what he wears. I wonder about the investment chops of any potential investor or analyst who would worry more about what the CEO is wearing rather than the product itself and the actual financial statements.



Bradford said:

Yeah, and Bill Bellichick is a lousy coach because of his short-sleeved hoodie as well.
I hate this concept that the CEO of a company has to also be some pitchman who goes out and sells his product by the way he dresses. Zuckerberg came up with a better widget, that's all that really matters. I could care less what he wears. I wonder about the investment chops of any potential investor or analyst who would worry more about what the CEO is wearing rather than the product itself and the actual financial statements.

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So you do somewhat care.

I would have rocked a wife-beater!!!

I think he thought he was showing up for a Trayvon Martin rally. He had skittles in his pockets too.

Hoodiegate!!..... moving on...

Personally, I think he is an immature twat who has the single most punchable face in Silicon Valley. He won the lottery and to say that he's on the same level as Jobs, regardless of potential net worth is outlandish. He started something that took on a life of its own while Jobs was always involved and carefully steering the company exactly as he saw fit.

Now, on to MZ's choice of outfits: I don't necessarily think a Silicon Valley CEO needs to show up in a suit, as it is a bit out of character and not necessarily the right image. But jeans/sport coat/button front shirt would have demonstrated that he's still every bit the tech (as much as I grit my teeth every time someone refers to FB as a "tech" company) mogul but understands that this is a situation in which one should put some thought into his appearance. I don't always dress formally, even for important meetings, but I always convey that I've put thought into my appearance and that everything is done with purpose.



cwh812 said:

I think he thought he was showing up for a Trayvon Martin rally. He had skittles in his pockets too.

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Which makes me wonder where George Zimmerman is to defend himself...