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Am I dressing too nice at the office???

LGHT

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I’ve been working in the legal industry for over 20 years (not an Attorney) and in the past I worked at a snooty big firm that not only required but demand a suit and tie daily. As a result I have a good collection of suits. Well life changes caused me to put on a few lbs after taking a new job few years ago. Since then I manged to drop the weight gain and a few months ago started dressing in suits and ties daily.

Now I remember how much I really enjoyed dressing nice and have since really invested some money into both my business and street wardrobe. At first I would get a few good supporting comments on my new look. However now it seems some of the Attorney’s in the office seem to be alienated that I’m dressing better than them although I’m not an Attorney. I even got a few snide comments are you trying to be a male model now and why are you always dressed up and are you trying to make me look bad??

At first I would just laugh it off and not think anything about it, but I’ve noticed the invites to lunch gatherings has decreased and some of the guys I would hang out often with (sloppy dressers) don’t really come by my office much.

Not a big deal on the surface, but no one likes a “show off” or someone trying to make others look bad.

Has anyone had to deal with this at the office before?

I enjoy dressing up for work, but is there such a thing as dressing too nice?
 

IChen

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Ignore them jealous jerks! Nah but if your workplace demands a suit wear one :eek:
 

Yorker

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Dressing well can be done at different levels of formality. If you're feeling tension, its probably because your level of formality is too high. Dressing well while avoiding the "where are you going after this?" sorts of comments is the pursuit of many here.

Edit:

I would look into the way different fabrics / cuts / colors / jackets impact the perceived level of formality. Its a more nuanced subject than it appears.
 
Last edited:

palk

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The answer of course is that it depends.
 

LGHT

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Well that's just it, suits and ties are "encouraged", but not really required like other places. The problem is almost no one wear's a suit unless there is a big important meeting.
 

12345Michael54321

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You know the office in question better than we do.

You know the standards of dress there - explicit and implicit - better than we do.

You know the attorneys there better than we do. You know what they're saying, and how they're saying it, and how they're behaving toward you, better than we do.

In short, you are in a far better position to answer your questions, than we are.

Not meaning to be unhelpful, but that's just the reality of it.
 

greger

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Tell them the truth. You enjoy wearing these clothes and that it is a hobby and has nothing to do with other people at work. For some people this is simpler dressing. Suit is one selection- coat and pants. Then there is shirt and tie, socks and shoes.

There is also the other. "Birds of a feather flock together." They hang around people who wear similar clothes. Obviously, they are not very versatile.
 

pine tree

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Same here. I ignore them because in their mind it is easier to put your wardrobe down to their level than improve their wardrobe to match yours.
 

LGHT

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Dressing well can be done at different levels of formality. If you're feeling tension, its probably because your level of formality is too high. Dressing well while avoiding the "where are you going after this?" sorts of comments is the pursuit of many here.

Edit:

I would look into the way different fabrics / cuts / colors / jackets impact the perceived level of formality. Its a more nuanced subject than it appears.

Thanks, most of my suits are dark in color and a few with pin stripes. I however have recently picked up a few new jackets / suits that don't look as formal, but I try and match the suit with a tie, and occasionally a pocket square.
 

greger

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What is the guide? 3-5 plain as staple and then 2-3 or more towards the wild side. A light grey for summer and now and then to fight the winter blues. A charcoal or navy solid. And a charcoal or navy pinstripe. The wild side would be fun cloths and fun cuts. Clothing has a lot of psychology to it. The staples show stability up to a point. After that we need to show the lighter side. So to say, we got personality. You could say, science and art- a time for this and a time for that. In some environments wearing the staples to much can cause the others to feel like they are being bludgeoned, which they avoid. To much of the wild side can cause people to think the person is to goofy, unreliable, etc. Finding a balance for the environment your in is rather important.
 

LGHT

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You know the office in question better than we do.

You know the standards of dress there - explicit and implicit - better than we do.

You know the attorneys there better than we do. You know what they're saying, and how they're saying it, and how they're behaving toward you, better than we do.

In short, you are in a far better position to answer your questions, than we are.

Not meaning to be unhelpful, but that's just the reality of it.

Thanks for the response, but I think your missing the point of the post. The point isn't for you to advise me on what my office environment and experience is, but to share and advise me on your similar situations and experience and possible provide advice on how to handle it.

That's the questions asked in the initial post was:

Has anyone had to deal with this at the office before?
I enjoy dressing up for work, but is there such a thing as dressing too nice?
 

LGHT

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What is the guide? 3-5 plain as staple and then 2-3 or more towards the wild side. A light grey for summer and now and then to fight the winter blues. A charcoal or navy solid. And a charcoal or navy pinstripe. The wild side would be fun cloths and fun cuts. Clothing has a lot of psychology to it. The staples show stability up to a point. After that we need to show the lighter side. So to say, we got personality. You could say, science and art- a time for this and a time for that. In some environments wearing the staples to much can cause the others to feel like they are being bludgeoned, which they avoid. To much of the wild side can cause people to think the person is to goofy, unreliable, etc. Finding a balance for the environment your in is rather important.


Thanks for the tip I thinking about what I have been wearing I think you hit the nail on the head and my current wardrobe is probably too formal and stuffy for the current office. I don't have many light and fun work clothes as that was not really accepted in the past, but I think I need to mix it up a bit and wear more sweaters instead of jackets and less ties and maybe add in some lighter colored grey or brown suits. Plus it would be have more clothes I can wear outside of the office, but still look dressy so I might start off by picking up a few after work happy hour blazers.

Tell them the truth. You enjoy wearing these clothes and that it is a hobby and has nothing to do with other people at work. For some people this is simpler dressing. Suit is one selection- coat and pants. Then there is shirt and tie, socks and shoes.

There is also the other. "Birds of a feather flock together." They hang around people who wear similar clothes. Obviously, they are not very versatile.

Good point I think up until now I've just replied with thanks on the compliments, but I should just clear the air and just be honest. The only problem is only 1 other guy actually dresses nicely daily since it's a pretty small office.
 

GBR

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Do what you want, stop guessing what others might be thinking and get on with your life. You only have one and wasting it has little sense,
 

12345Michael54321

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Thanks for the response, but I think your missing the point of the post.

Maybe I am, but with regard to the question you raised in the very title of this thread, "Am I dressing too nice at the office???" I stand by my answer.
 

CriticBespok

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I have more than 150 workers and the way they dress shows me a lot about them.
I estimate more the good dressed workers because they give a better look to the company.
 

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