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Are you the best dressed person at your job?

monkey66

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To the original question, yes.

I think the reality is most of us who have gone down this rabbit hole will probably be the best dressed in most environments

This week I had the pleasure of attending a new parents evening for my Sons new school. Due to Covid restrictions the even was held outdoors in the beautiful quad. Probably 200 guests. I was dissapointed to note I was probably the best dressed man there. I was wearing my usual SF sports coat type ensemble. I saw so many bad shoes, skinny trousers, no thought jacket and shirt combinations.

PSX_20210708_101504.jpg


I would say I saw maybe 3-4 ok looking outfits and no good ones. One might of expected better in such an environment.

Tonight I am at a private members club (as a guest) in St James for birthday celebrations with some of my cigar friends. I expect the dress standards to be good.

Appoligies if this all sounds a bit snobby, this is not my usual week.
 

monkey66

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To the original question, yes.

I think the reality is most of us who have gone down this rabbit hole will probably be the best dressed in most environments

This week I had the pleasure of attending a new parents evening for my Sons new school. Due to Covid restrictions the even was held outdoors in the beautiful quad. Probably 200 guests. I was dissapointed to note I was probably the best dressed man there. I was wearing my usual SF sports coat type ensemble. I saw so many bad shoes, skinny trousers, no thought jacket and shirt combinations.

View attachment 1635930

I would say I saw maybe 3-4 ok looking outfits and no good ones. One might of expected better in such an environment.

Tonight I am at a private members club (as a guest) in St James for birthday celebrations with some of my cigar friends. I expect the dress standards to be good.

Appoligies if this all sounds a bit snobby, this is not my usual week.
I can report the dress standards on Brook St are very acceptable.
 

Old Red

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The last time I was on a payroll I was a figure model at a local university so I was not only not the best dressed . .

The little picture to the left is from those days. Prior to that I was a prison guard and wore the same uniform as my coworkers and no I was not the best dressed. When I first started I ironed my shirts, had my pants dry-cleaned and pressed and polished my shoes. At the end I kept my black shoes polished but my uniform came out of the dryer onto hangers and that was it.

Trying to dress well has come to me late in life. I appreciate the knowledge you all share here.
 

TennesseeWill

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Short answer, yes.

However, in a city that prides itself on having a penchant for nerdy books over good looks (Washington, DC), as a corporate lobbyist, I find myself caught between an exciting bespoke suit and a 25-year old Legislative Director making a pittance who is thinking "this f**king guy."

I still wear the suit, but skip the monogramed shirts, cufflinks, and watches I can't hide under a shirt cuff. Best to save that for weddings, galas, social functions, and the occasional "eh, why not" moments on the town with the wife.

COVID really did a number, though. Six months into COVID, I walked into Lululemon and picked up the stretchy pants. Have to say, it's hard to give up the stretchy pants.
 

Despos

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This thread is making me wonder about the mind set of those questioning the motive/resoning of someone wearing somewhat conventional business clothes. Suit, jacket or even a simple tie.
How/why did the paradigm switch norms?
Besides the impact of tech and Silicon Valley on business attire because the mindset has crossed into most fields of business.
 

Gil_Pender

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I think @dieworkwear made a good point in the "Are neckties going to go the way of the bowtie" thread. It takes a cultural impetus to bring about the change. As he pointed out, Mad Men caused a small shift to ties and suits 10+ years ago. Celebrities and employment markets (tech) the youth of today are interested do not come close to more formal clothing (and here more formal would be a sport coat and trousers at best).

Casual has become the rule from what I see. Unfortunately, casual, now mean poorly fitting sportswear. Comfort above all else I suppose.
 

Aquafortis

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This thread is making me wonder about the mind set of those questioning the motive/reasoning of someone wearing somewhat conventional business clothes. Suit, jacket or even a simple tie.
How/why did the paradigm switch norms?
Besides the impact of tech and Silicon Valley on business attire because the mindset has crossed into most fields of business.

I work (or at least used to work daily) in San Francisco, which is arguably ground-zero for the tech de-formalizing of business attire (not to mention genesis in the 60's counter-culture movement). I was near-certain Covid work from home was going to put the final nails in the sartorial coffin (at least in SF) until this week while down in the financial district I saw a number of gents wearing well fitting, smart suits (sans ties I believe). And these were not hotel doormen.

So this was a glimmer of hope. Still, I think grasping the post-Covid workplace dress is just really unpredictable, but no question the boundaries of the spectrum of what will be tolerated have been stretched even further. I'm hoping that greater flexibility will encourage those of us who enjoy finer attire to indulge as we see fit, even if it means more questions from coworkers about being "so dressed up".
 
Last edited:

jdgershbein

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Short answer, yes.

However, in a city that prides itself on having a penchant for nerdy books over good looks (Washington, DC), as a corporate lobbyist, I find myself caught between an exciting bespoke suit and a 25-year old Legislative Director making a pittance who is thinking "this f**king guy."

I still wear the suit, but skip the monogramed shirts, cufflinks, and watches I can't hide under a shirt cuff. Best to save that for weddings, galas, social functions, and the occasional "eh, why not" moments on the town with the wife.

COVID really did a number, though. Six months into COVID, I walked into Lululemon and picked up the stretchy pants. Have to say, it's hard to give up the stretchy pants.
I'm with 'ya. I love stretchy pants.
 

Nigel Scott-Williams

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To the original question, yes.

I think the reality is most of us who have gone down this rabbit hole will probably be the best dressed in most environments

This week I had the pleasure of attending a new parents evening for my Sons new school. Due to Covid restrictions the even was held outdoors in the beautiful quad. Probably 200 guests. I was dissapointed to note I was probably the best dressed man there. I was wearing my usual SF sports coat type ensemble. I saw so many bad shoes, skinny trousers, no thought jacket and shirt combinations.

View attachment 1635930

I would say I saw maybe 3-4 ok looking outfits and no good ones. One might of expected better in such an environment.

Tonight I am at a private members club (as a guest) in St James for birthday celebrations with some of my cigar friends. I expect the dress standards to be good.

Appoligies if this all sounds a bit snobby, this is not my usual week.
"Skinny trousers" are presumed to be NOT 'proper attire'? Didn't all suits come with skinny trousers in the past few years? One would need to do custom to get anything else......
 

monkey66

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"Skinny trousers" are presumed to be NOT 'proper attire'? Didn't all suits come with skinny trousers in the past few years? One would need to do custom to get anything else......
Possibley but I saw a lot of odd trousers (not suits), skin tight on middle aged men. It is not a good look.
 

tilesomoole

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Casual is actually getting more fitted.

Yes, I'd concur - there actually seems to be a blurring of the lines on both the casual and formal ends of the spectrum, each toward the other.

For example, sneakers with dress shoe uppers, sweat pants that are tapered, cropped, and otherwise shaped to look more like dress pants, or these drawstring wool trousers (if you love them, wear them - to each his own, but I find them absolutely ridiculous.....since when is zipping a pair of pants too much work? and who wants to dress up in a suit and tie with a superfluous contrasting bowtie hanging around his crotch?....ok....rant over). . It seems to be a general phenomenon of putting casual and formal styles in the blender and seeing what comes out.

Like most trends, I expect a few nice things to emerge and be added to the traditional menswear canon, but 95% of it will fall by the wayside and eventually be recognized as regrettable.
 

josepidal

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Not drawstring wool dress pants, but I do appreciate some of these trends enough to try a piece or two. For example, I was thinking of a slimmer pair of drawstring shorts in terry or jersey cloth for the summer, and it's a welcome alternative to baggy sweatpants and might be an interesting change to the usual cotton or linen shorts.

Even t-shirts in normal stores seem to be getting better, with thicker cotton and sturdier collars.
 

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