Comments on: To dress up, or not to dress up

By: juwell

juwell — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:22:09 +0000

I dress all the time and i think everybody should do it because it is the best thing to do

By: lili

lili — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 14:04:43 +0000

evey day i get up i stay in my P.Js when i go to work i eat my brefast there.

By: Al Abut

Al Abut — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:55:58 +0000

To quote Paul Graham, “suits impress the wrong people”. I’ll take it even further with some flamebait – the more dressed up you are, the more it’s to hide how little real work you’re doing.

That doesn’t mean that everyone that’s dressed down is a hard-working machine – did you ever hear the expression that “all poodles are dogs but not all dogs are poodles?” – but it does apply to those that genuinely want to get stuff done that involves building something rather than landing some kind of deal.

By: Jason Coleman

Jason Coleman — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 03:22:10 +0000

One thing to think about is if there is a chance of an impromptu face-to-face meeting.

Are some of your clients and business partners near by? Do they ever call you up and ask to meet you at Starbucks in an hour? If so, you might want to at least take a shower and maybe shave. That way, if you do have to run out of the house and look presentable it won’t take as long.

By: Ken Savage

Ken Savage — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 16:09:31 +0000

I’ll get up and put on jeans and a tshirt and even shoes to just work at home. Makes me feel like I need to really work rather than just sit on the couch and loaf.

By: Gmon

Gmon — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 02:24:40 +0000

I’m a huge fan of the casual work attire. However, when I put on a suit (NO TIE) I absolutely feel more confident and sharp. There is a crispness to the look that allows my full swagger to come forward and almost always causes deals and meetings to turn out the way I want. I feel like I can command attention easier and gain the power needed to take the situation to the right place. It’s not superficial though, I don’t do it because I want other people to think I look good. Everyone could think I look terrible, but it wouldn’t affect the way I felt… which is in control.

By: Foofy

Foofy — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 18:50:58 +0000

You mean we’re supposed to wear clothes? Oh.

By: Dave Good

Dave Good — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 17:56:09 +0000

I honestly believe that the more comfortable that you are the better it is for creativity. I have some arthritis in my knees, and a slipped disk in my back, and if it requires that I wear more that a pair of khakis, a golf shirt, and my running shoes, I’m not interested. Currently I work from an office, but me and the other IT guy are shunted off in the hinterlands of cubeville. That being said, a requirement of the job is being able to move in and around desktop workstations, some of which are located in a wharehouse environment, and that is not something I would even remotely feel comfortable doing in a $200 dollar pair of slacks, an oxford cloth shirt of equal quality, and a pair of florsheim imperials. There are times when one has to “dress to impress”, but I have gotten to the point in my life where I am more interested in finding a position where my merits are based more on my skills and work ethic, than my particular sartorial flair.

By: Constance Reader

Constance Reader — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 15:52:11 +0000

I agree, casual is better. Not just for comfort, though.

When I have a meeting with a business associate and they show up in a suit, it makes a negative first impression on me, because I do not perceive it as professionalism of any higher degree. I perceive it as an associate whose first order of business was an attempt to impress me by purely superficial means that bear no relationship whatsoever to their skill, knowledge, competence or experience. Any idiot can walk in Men’s Warehouse and buy a suit.

I’ve also found that casual/business casual associates are easier to work with because lack of formal costume indicates that external formalities can be dropped. You can get right to the work at hand and not sweat over parsing every word that comes out of your mouth for whether it’s “professional” or “diplomatic” enough. Too many workers nowadays are incapable of getting their meaning across because they are either unwilling or unable to speak clearly for concern over appropriateness. You can’t work together effectively if you can’t clearly understand each other.

By: LivNLet

LivNLet — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 15:23:47 +0000

Like many web workers, I’ve been in both extremes. The last job I had it seemed like there was an unsaid contest for how casual one should try to dress. People came to work in flip-flops & ragged shorts, holy shirts, etc. Comfortable is important but that was just plain untidy and bad taste.
On the other hand, I’ve been in situations where I was made to wear stuffy business clothing even though I was only working/seeing four other developers who were made to wear the same thing.
I do agree that in certain cases getting dressed up helps boost my confidence level and wearing that kind of clothing is appropriate. There are some days or phases in a project where a lot of meetings occur, naturally. These are times when I try to be careful about what I’m wearing. I do this because obviously, not all business people have the same philosophy about the working environment and wearing something that is more neutral I think creates a better feeling. I might be wrong but that is just my experience.
:)