Do you wear suit and tie to work? Do you think people should be?

[Alex_Sanders]

I never dress formally, and only ppl here wear like that are either high ranking managers or banker, or salesman. I once dressed all up for a meeting and it turned out I was a rare bird.

And it is really interesting how almost every sales engie wear suit and tie and have their shoes shined. But people use to wear like that in the old days, heck, they even wear top hats. What happened?

 

[genericusrnme]

More people should wear a suit and tie, it looks good, it feels good, it's standard.
Suits are pretty sweet!

I think what happened was people decided to get laid back and became hippies (not that I'd know, I'm not old enough to know about hippies)

 

[Integral]

Never seen anyone here wear a suit. Even the CEO walks around in khakis and a polo shirt.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Never seen anyone here wear a suit.

Except Mormons.

Even the CEO walks around in khakis and a polo shirt.

So true! Or even jeans and sneakers.

 

[Jack21222]

More people should wear a suit and tie, it looks good, it feels good, it's standard.
Suits are pretty sweet!

I think what happened was people decided to get laid back and became hippies (not that I'd know, I'm not old enough to know about hippies)

Wearing a suit feels good? I find that suits are horribly uncomfortable. I wore a business suit when I sold mattresses for 4 years. Whether it looks good is a matter of taste, and "it's standard" is never a justification to do anything.

 

[genericusrnme]

Wearing a suit feels good? I find that suits are horribly uncomfortable. I wore a business suit when I sold mattresses for 4 years. Whether it looks good is a matter of taste, and "it's standard" is never a justification to do anything.

Every suit I've worn has made my posture feel a lot better than it usually does!
When I said standard I just meant that it took the place of some kind of uniform

 

[Hobin]

If anyone ever sees me wearing a tie, feel free to assume that I'm dead and that thing you see is actually a zombie.

I would never wear a tie, if only because they're ridiculously uncomfortable *and* have no function *and* look idiotic (although the last part is obviously a matter of personal taste). As for suits... Meh. I don't hate suits (like I hate ties), but I find it rather ridiculous that some people assume you need a suit to look good.

 

[Evo]

It depends on if you will have customer contact, the industry, etc...

I always had to wear a business suit to work. At one office, if we didn't have client meetings scheduled, we could wear "business casual", but then our VP came through the office and told us that if we weren't wearing a suit that he expected us to have a full suit outfit hanging in our offices, gawd forbid a client might call and want an immediate meeting and we didn't have proper clothes! The last place I worked wouldn't even allow open toe shoes for women, or shoes that exposed too much of the foot. If we wore a sleeveless blouse, the shoulder straps had to be at least 2 inches wide. Occasionally they would bring in fashion consultants to help us build 'proper' business wardrobes.

 

[leroyjenkens]

I do manual labor. I don't think a suit would be a good idea.

 

[Evo]

I do manual labor. I don't think a suit would be a good idea.

Not a trendsetter, eh?

 

[russ_watters]

I have a photo of my great great grandparents and other extended family hiking on a rocky waterfall in the poconos, circa 1890. Or maybe there was a wedding on the other side of the creek, it was hard to tell.

 

[nitsuj]

I missed out on a decent job. The interviewer mentioned to my employement agent that "it was a really tough choice and it came down to who was better dressed." I wasn't the one in a suit.

Sometimes being better dressed gives you a comparative advantage. Oh, and the interviewer was about 55yrs old or so.

That being said, I see the suit more as a tool. Like cologne or hair products.

 

[Integral]

Except Mormons.



So true! Or even jeans and sneakers.

Just back from a company meeting. The CEO wore a button down collar long sleeve shirt and blue jeans.

 

[Antiphon]

I started by attacking "casual friday". On Friday I dressed a little more formally than the rest of the week. A year ago I introduced full-time sport jackets. Soon I'll be adding a tie.

Since my program of reviving formal dress began, I am taken much more seriously by everyone, I'm always ready for unscheduled visitors and my pay has gone up by a full 43%. Really, it did. Once I add the tie there will be only two people wearing one in the building- me and the CEO.

My advice to everyone out there- keep up the casual dress. Going against the grain of your Starbucks attitude is making me buckets of cash.

 

[nitsuj]

Another fine example of the "American Dream".

"Since my program of reviving formal dress began, I am taken much more seriously by everyone, I'm always ready for unscheduled visitors and my pay has gone up by a full 43%. Really, it did."

If it is as you say, then enjoy the fruits of your labour and good on you for earning your keep. It's well deserved.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

I look dashing in a suit.

I agree with Antiphon on reintroducing formal dress. Most people look like slobs nowadays.

 

[Jack21222]

... my pay has gone up by a full 43%. Really, it did. ...Going against the grain of your Starbucks attitude is making me buckets of cash.

Correlation does not imply causation. You have provided no evidence that the way you dress is what has lead to your pay increasing, rather than, say, a change in your work ethic or just getting better at your job.

At my university, there seems to be no correlation of how a professor dresses and which professors get tenure, for what it's worth. My anecdote is just as good as your anecdote.

And on a related note:

 

[genericusrnme]

^ oh dear, I sure just lol'd

 

[turbo]

When I was managing an auction division handling antique arms (guns, swords etc) the GM thought it would be a good idea to make me wear dress clothes to work, just in case a customer wanted to meet with me on short notice. I mostly wore jeans and polo shirts, and most of my jeans were stained with gun oil, grease, etc, since I had to handle thousands of guns and swords every year. Believe me, most die-hard collectors of antique arms are down-to-earth people, and though many of them are filthy-rich,they couldn't care less about dealing with a guy in a sport-coat or a suit. They are straight-talking and what they want is to deal with somebody who knows the business and can represent their items fairly, and to best effect. Buyers eventually become sellers, so it's best to have a good all-round relationship with the collectors.

 

[DragonPetter]

I think suits and dress clothes in general are very uncomfortable and not good for working or thinking in. I also hated having my mom iron my work clothes every week when I was at a place that made me dress business casual.

I also am very hesitant whenever I am asked to spend some time with a sales engineer who is dressed up, because more often than not his expensive coat is compensating for his lack of knowledge and just shows me he knows how to sucker insecure people into buying what he's selling, which makes me even more cautious.

Dressing up can be fun, but that's when you're being social . . not trying to get work done.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My advice to everyone out there- keep up the casual dress. Going against the grain of your Starbucks attitude is making me buckets of cash.

In some situations it definitely pays to dress for success; esp if you are trying to work your way up in a big company. Personally, I wear my black ninja long underwear to work.

 

[Antiphon]

At my university, there seems to be no correlation of how a professor dresses and which professors get tenure, for what it's worth. My anecdote is just as good as your anecdote.

You're making my point without knowing it.

How about the cloths on the Dean or the president of the university? College professors are the blue-collar working men of the university world.

 

[Evo]

The most important thing is to know if and when it's appropriate to dress up. I've had clients warn me to wear my hip boots when I come to see them. I got there and they weren't kidding. It was 30 feet of deep mud from the parking area to their front door. I stepped out of the car and instantly my high heeled shoe was sucked off of my foot with a sickening noise. I took off my other shoe and dug the other out of the mud. I made my way to their office in mud over my ankles in my stockinged feet and one muddy hand. We had a good laugh.

 

[Neptulin]

I went to my first job interview wearing tennis clothes and thongs, although that was only at a supermarket.

I changed cities a month ago for university, and here EVERYONE seems to dress in fancy clothes, all the time. I'm getting used to wearing jeans and collared shirts when I go to lectures, but I feel overdressed.

 

[Jack21222]

I went to my first job interview wearing tennis clothes and thongs, although that was only at a supermarket.

I changed cities a month ago for university, and here EVERYONE seems to dress in fancy clothes, all the time. I'm getting used to wearing jeans and collared shirts when I go to lectures, but I feel overdressed.

Are you Australian, by any chance?

"Thongs" means something completely different here in the US.

 

[Alex_Sanders]

Except Mormons.

But they are salesmen you know... door to door style.

 

[D H]

Are you Australian, by any chance?

"Thongs" means something completely different here in the US.

"Thong" means something completely different in the US to the younger folk. Some in the US still call these things "thongs":

http://www.fashionrat.com/images/flip-flop-thong-classic11.jpg

 

[Alex_Sanders]

Are you Australian, by any chance?

"Thongs" means something completely different here in the US.

I say, I'd be thrilled if all my female colleagues wear that to work.

 

[Neptulin]

Are you Australian, by any chance?

"Thongs" means something completely different here in the US.

Yep, I'm Australian. I certainly wouldn't wear THAT to an interview.

 

[collinsmark]

I went to my first job interview wearing tennis clothes and thongs, although that was only at a supermarket.

I changed cities a month ago for university, and here EVERYONE seems to dress in fancy clothes, all the time. I'm getting used to wearing jeans and collared shirts when I go to lectures, but I feel overdressed.

Yes, it's my experience that the particular city where the job is can make a big difference. Where I work now, on the US west coast, it's perfectly fine for engineers/technicians to go to work wearing shorts, sandals and a tank top. On the US east coast, that wouldn't fly. It really depends on where you are (among other things, such as customer interaction that particular day, etc., as others have mentioned).

[Source: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/minor_differences5]

 

[Astronuc]

I wear business casual, but if a visit a clients office, I might wear a suit and tie.

I don't like hard leather shoes so I wear a black shoe (New Balance) that's more like a sneaker.

Around the office, these days I wear sandles, but as long as I'm in my office I prefer not to wear shoes.

When the weather gets warm, I'll wear short-sleeved dress shirts of T-shirts with pockets.

 

[lisab]

At my work, if you showed up wearing a suit, people would assume you're going to "take a long lunch" so you can go to a job interview.

 

[Danger]

As Leroy and Evo mentioned, it entirely depends upon what your job is. In my 17 years as a locksmith and my 6 years of working in a sign shop with both screen printers and die-cutting on an antique printing press, I removed my wedding ring and even my Medic Alert bracelet in case of injury; a tie could have proven fatal.
Nitsuj, here in Canada those shoes were always called "thongs". It disturbed us greatly when the Yanks started using that term for "butt floss". I'm 56 and would be more inclined to hire you than the dude in the suit as long as all other qualifications were equal. More casual dress, if it's clean and neat, implies to me a higher level of self-confidence and a more lateral-thinking approach to things. I consider both to be admirable qualities in a colleague.
In the bar, the dress was neat-casual. If you happened to wear a tie by choice for something like New Year's Eve, it was a clip-on. That's so that someone that you are ejecting can't strangle you with it.

 

[collinsmark]

Sometimes I wear a suit if my laundry is backed up and I've got nothing else to wear.

It beats digging out old Halloween costumes, which is sometimes the only other option.

 

[Danger]

Sometimes I wear a suit if my laundry is backed up and I've got nothing else to wear.

That's what I keep a spare birthday suit for.

 

[Mororvia]

I like ties because they're a means for some individuality in a world (government workers) where most everyone is white shirt/black pants or blue shirt/khaki pants. Rarely do I need to wear a full suit though.

 

[phoenix:\\]

That's what I keep a spare birthday suit for.

Lol.

Wearing a robe is much better than a suit. Suits are a bit restrictive.

 

[Hobin]

I like ties because they're a means for some individuality in a world (government workers) where most everyone is white shirt/black pants or blue shirt/khaki pants. Rarely do I need to wear a full suit though.

I genuinely laughed when reading this. Ties a means for some individuality... I hadn't heard that one before.

 

[turbo]

I genuinely laughed when reading this. Ties a means for some individuality... I hadn't heard that one before.

Really! Spend $20 on a silk tie to be an "individual"?

 

[phoenix:\\]

Since when did ties start costing $20? Ties generally cost around $60/tie.

 

[Hobin]

Since when did ties start costing $20? Ties generally cost around $60/tie.

You just have to know https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050NGUP6/?tag=pfamazon01-20.

 

[ThomasT]

I never dress formally, and only ppl here wear like that are either high ranking managers or banker, or salesman. I once dressed all up for a meeting and it turned out I was a rare bird.

And it is really interesting how almost every sales engie wear suit and tie and have their shoes shined. But people use to wear like that in the old days, heck, they even wear top hats. What happened?

I wear a suit, or sport jacket, and tie a lot. But I'm 65. I wouldn't expect young people today to dress that way in lots of situations where I do.

 

[turbo]

Since when did ties start costing $20? Ties generally cost around $60/tie.

I haven't bought any ties for decades. But they still can be had for less than $20.

http://www.thetiebar.com/

 

[turbo]

A business suit and tie (here in Maine) is jarring when you want to do some business with the wearer. Too formal. If you want to put someone at ease, even when proposing very large transactions, dress neatly and let your attitude and personality carry the day. I have negotiated auction consignments worth over $1M with consignors and never wore a tie or a sport coat.

One guy (very large collection of flags and antique firearms) drove up here to seal the deal and said "My wife wants to meet you." I had spoken to her several times on the phone, usually just asking for her husband, and she was in the car. I was wearing my typical get-up at the time (polo-shirt and khakis), and later her husband called me and said how much she trusted me to handle their collection. That collection (liquidated) was their retirement money, so she was right to be attentive to the details, including who would catalog and promote the collection to buyers.

She was acting on intuition, BTW. She got out of that Caddy, and held her hand out. I gave her a gentle hand-shake and said that I was happy to finally meet her in person, and we exchanged a couple of pleasantries. Probably less than 30 seconds in total. In the end, we got about 50% more for their collection at auction than I had estimated, because of the high quality and rarity of some items.

No tie. No jacket, and certainly no suit.