On ‘over-dressing’

[Phileas Fogg]

you resurrected a dead thread and this is your contribution?

 

[TomTom]

Well now that the tread has been resurected let me add my two cent to the fascinating topic. A man should always dress for the occasion and the space he is working in. This mean that a factory worker should wear overalls as they are the most practical, same for a hard hats and high viz jackets on building sites, white overcoats in labs and waterproofs and rubber boots if you are a fisherman. That also means that if you work in an office where the dress code is business wear you should dress accordingly. I started following this forum a long time ago and have started my sartorial path in my mid 20s when I started working in the City of London. I worked for one of the biggest insurance companies in the world and I had to wear a suit and a tie every day, even Fridays. It is then I decided that if I have to wear this to work I will wear what I really lilke. SO I satrted buying better shirts, better shoes, nicer silk ties, better quality suits and sportscoats and so on. It was not overnight and it was a long process but I will always buy what I could afford (Tm Lewin, CT, Roderick Charles , Suit Supply , Ede And Ravenscroft and now bespoke.)

I have been managing teams in some of the FTSE top 50 companies and best law firms in the UK and US. I have never been in trouble for dressing up in nice fitting suits, quality shirts and shoes. All I ever got even from the CEO's was positive feedback and the bemoaning of the general low standard of dress in their companies.

You wearing a pin stripe suit will not offend anyone or rub anyone the wrong way as long you carry yourself with professionalism and respect to others maketh the man . All I ever of my team members is that they wear clean, well fitting clothes that show respect to their work and the the people they work with. I don't care about brands or materials but I have to say that a lot of them have started dressing better because I always wear a suit , a tie or jacket. Not for them but for me.

 

[Sam H]

Mt. Vambrace:

Dear Mr. Vambrace: Thank you for your comments. We weren't aware that Goldman had abandoned propriety and proper business attire. Be that as it may, if so, it's sad and tragic. Goldman was once a bastion of correctness. You say that suit and tie are symbols of "danger and intimidation" ???? I think not. To WHOM are they "dangerous" ?? Fad (sloppiness) is not style..never will be. I'm American..born and bred, but I've travelled extensively, as perhaps have you. You'll notice that in many parts of the world, Europe , Great Britain..etc. many businessmen and people in general maintain proper standards of dress, conduct, dining etc. It is tragic that so much in my country...USA, has sunk to such depths. Quick story. One day recently, my secretary was walking down a street in Boston on her way back to the office. There was a girl (in her '30's), wearing ripped jeans ..T-shirt...unkempt hair etc. ..in other words a complete slob... leaning up against a building, playing with a stupid plastic cellphone, as if she were a zombie My secretary, (who knew exactly what she was doing), pulled out a $ 10 bill and offered it to the girl, saying .."May I help you to get a meal"? The girl was nonplussed. My secretary said, "Clearly you need help...just look at how you are dressed..you must be destitute ". The girl replied "I just paid $ 200 for these jeans" !!!. My secretary withdrew immediately her $ 10 bill and said.. " You don't need my $10...you have more money than brains". I was so proud of my girl! This is all best summarized by the phrase "Do not lower your standards to please those beneath you. Make THEM raise their standards to yours".

I used to troll the fidget spinner subreddit with similar “stories”. I hope this post is as fake and purposely out of touch as my spinner posts were.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

I used to troll the fidget spinner subreddit with similar “stories”. I hope this post is as fake and purposely out of touch as my spinner posts were.

you know as soon as someone says “quick story” it will be anything other. But I do admire the use of the term nonplussed. Pretty good for trolling. Perhaps a recalcitrant English major.

 

[horseman40]

you resurrected a dead thread and this is your contribution?

I used to troll the fidget spinner subreddit with similar “stories”. I hope this post is as fake and purposely out of touch as my spinner posts were.

Nothing at ALL fake in my post. How dare you make such a stupid comment?

 

[horseman40]

you resurrected a dead thread and this is your contribution?

Obozo ?? Eloquent?? That fool is nauseating.

 

[DapperPhilly]

I don't get dressed with anyone else's opinion in mind. I wear the stuff I like. I don't care what other people think.

I used like to think of myself as, you know, reasonably cultured. Not terribly refined, but at least I knew what knife to use, what wine to serve with fish, that sort of thing. Turns out I was deluded and can't be cultured, because I live in the wrong place. And, obviously I do care what people think because I was crushed. Crushed.

Anybody who wears a DB custom made suit to the local ACE hardware is A-OK by me

 

[DapperPhilly]

People who think they're superior because they wear suits are assholes.

People who think they're superior because they don't overdress are also assholes.

If I overdress wearing suits and at other times under dress am I a double asshole?

 

[Andy57]

 

[comrade]

Two comments:

The Brits can be depended upon to discuss class. Ever since college
when one of our professors in a Politics course on Western Europe,
explained to a largely American class the concept of the Establishment
in the UK , I have been fascinated by this. My own experience included
a stint in the Foreign Service so these ideas actually had practical implications.
As did the lecture on Les Grandes Ecoles for France.

Some of us buy and wear clothes because we like them. My taste
certainly reflects my socialization, how my father dressed, where I went
to college, my early career. However, for the past thirty years I have
worked in Silicon Valley where most of my peers have no idea why
I am so "dressed-up" at times. I'm sure Andy57gets this.When I am
complimented it is usually from women.

 

[TheChihuahua]

I've literally been told to take off a tie during an interview.

might want to rethink the long term prospects of a job like that. Maybe it’s a good opportunity, I don’t know. But any employer who insists that their employees go Caj, it would make me think about the company culture and perhaps their desire to make their employees complacent in a world of corporate drones and middle management as the ceiling.

 

[TheChihuahua]

Here is something I don’t understand about “wearing a suit to work would make some people uncomfortable” line that is repeated here.

ok, maybe full suit and tie, sure…

but say you just wore a suit without tie, and then much of the day your suit jacket is on your valet in the office anyway, so at that point isn’t it just a nice pair of trousers and a button down shirt? And you can wear nice shoes, and I bet you would not be the only other person in leather shoes at work.

so besides the tie, why would wearing a suit ever feel over dressed? Are people working in places where t-shirts and jeans are the norm and anybody in a collared shirt and normal pants are consideredout of place?

same with sports coat and dress trousers. Much of the time the sports coat is on a hanger, so essentially you are dressed the same as everyone else. Just when you step outside you have a sports coat on instead of a fleece or a wind breaker?
And this would go for social occasions too. It’s essentially the same thing as most people are wearing, but your jacket option is a wool jacket with 2 buttons instead of something synthetic with a zipper. Not really a big deal.

I used to always opt for a sports coat in the fall or spring socially. Never once felt over dressed.View it like it’s just a jacket.

 

[Mirage-]

If you only use it as a coat might as well buy a coat, which can be much warmer and you won't even look really dressed up if that's a concern, as coats, even if dressy, have the advantage of being much more practical than a blazer and thus almost never really feel out of place (if the weather is right naturally).

 

[TheChihuahua]

If you only use it as a coat might as well buy a coat, which can be much warmer and you won't even look really dressed up if that's a concern, as coats, even if dressy, have the advantage of being much more practical than a blazer and thus almost never really feel out of place (if the weather is right naturally).

soorts costs are better. You can wear them at the club and such.

and generally a well made piece of tailored clothing is more comfortable. Like anybody who says jeans are more comfortable than tailored wool trousers, I shake my head. Jeans might be more durable and easier to maintain and you can wear them 5 days a week. But a nicely woven wooo is far more breathable and flows better and more comfortable.

 

[Andy57]

However, for the past thirty years I have
worked in Silicon Valley where most of my peers have no idea why
I am so "dressed-up" at times. I'm sure Andy57gets this.

I do.