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The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

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Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#51

Post by cmbaus »

philh wrote: post #35
cmbaus wrote: post #3

I just wish more American businessmen would wear decent shoes, such as bluchers or oxfords by Alden or Allen Edmonds, so I don't have to see anymore rubber soled, bicycle toed loafers at the airport: http://instagram.com/p/ZbdZfMsM4G/

"Um, no?" - American businessmen I'm probably overreacting, but your post really reads like "you should wear less comfortable/more expensive footwear because I don't like looking at what you currently own", and that sort of thing kinda pisses me off.

Most shoes sold in the the US are of low quality and made at a low cost and then sold at a huge markup. They don't last very long and aren't serviceable.

Traditionally made welted shoes are neither more expensive over the long haul or less comfortable.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#52

Post by mturmon »

jacquesm wrote: post #47
mturmon wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For tomorrow, perhaps this: "Among other things, Mr. Flusser has led me to discover the value of the male garter for holding up slouchy socks."

KISS: Just get better socks.

No can do. I already purchased garter-buckle polishing paste, so I'm committed.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#53

Post by orangethirty »

marssaxman wrote: post #46
13b9f227ecf0 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I mostly do it because I'm lazy. You do realize that's exactly the impression your habit conveys, right?

Laziness is first of the three great virtues of a programmer ( http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?LazinessImpatienceHubris ), so that's probably a successful example of social signalling.

I had a tough time growing up due to this "virtue". I was always looking for ways to simplify and automate. I even had my computer connected to my alarm clock. So that a basic program I had running on it would automatically wake me up depending on the time I shut it down (which meant I was going to sleep.) But I then had problems waking up before noon, so I connected that little hack to a stereo system with 15-inch speakers. The whole neighborhood could hear my alarm clock to off. It's actually quite funny now that I think about it. Imagine being able to hear a loud beep beep beep two streets over.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#54

Post by DanielBMarkham »

Very nicely done. Benton has a great voice and style. Loved the piece. I also made some additions to my Amazon wish list!

The social engineering aspect of dressing formally was especially interesting. By dressing formally in formal class, then "dressing down" for one-on-ones, he was able to put students much more at ease. (And they also starting emailing him beginning with "Dear Professor" instead of "Hey")

I'm not a suit guy by any means, but in some situations this life choice could make a lot of sense.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#55

Post by pionar »

cmbaus wrote: post #51
philh wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Um, no?" - American businessmen I'm probably overreacting, but your post really reads like "you should wear less comfortable/more expensive footwear because I don't like looking at what you currently own", and that sort of thing kinda pisses me off.

Most shoes sold in the the US are of low quality and made at a low cost and then sold at a huge markup. They don't last very long and aren't serviceable. Traditionally made welted shoes are neither more expensive over the long haul or less comfortable.

But, that's not what your argument was. Your argument was pretty aristocratic. It's like saying, "Stop being ugly, I don't like looking at ugly people". Very dickish to say, as people shouldn't really give a shit some random dude at the airport thinks about his shoes.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#56

Post by Mandatum »

orangethirty wrote: post #40
13b9f227ecf0 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I mostly do it because I'm lazy. You do realize that's exactly the impression your habit conveys, right?

Yes. But I'm the good kind of lazy. I choose to spend my time working on solutions to big problems, rather than working on what shirt to wear tomorrow. I do use different brands with different cuts and styles. Mostly because I grab whatever is available at the store. I also only use name brands, because the last twice as long. It's also a sort of camouflage. I blend in very easily. I like that.

Haha yes, that reminds me of the movie "The Fly" - where the main character gets up in the morning and goes to his closet - with about 20 copies of the same outfit. Waste no thought on nonsense! Or in our case, waste no time on things we don't care about.

Unfortunately however I've bought some new items recently and I keep getting compliments, even from strangers.. That big 'ole head of mine's gonna go spend his next paycheck on new clothes!

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#57

Post by jamesaguilar »

mindcrime wrote: post #15

FWIW, wearing a suit (in the modern "business suit" sense of term) isn't technically "formal" dress. Heck, it isn't even semi-formal. Semi-formal would be a tuxedo (for men), and formal wear would be "morning dress" or "white tie".[1] "Business suits" fall into the category of "lounge suit" which is considered informal dress.[2] [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_wear [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lounge_su…

In the US, black tie is the highest level of formality that most people are ever likely to encounter. This requires a tuxedo (or, on the more casual level of black tie, an all black suit, white shirt, and black tie). Nothing is "technically" formal, since there is no defining body that lays down the specification of the word with the authority to enforce that specification. Like most non-technical language, it is a target that moves with the times. If someone says they went to a formal event in the U.S., most of the time it will mean they wore a tuxedo without tails.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#58

Post by echohack »

> But I found that a higher level of formality improved my students' learning. My larger classes ran more smoothly.

This is the crux of the article, and he provides no proof to back it up.

The article says that this is an "experiment", but how did the professor log his activities? How did he measure the change in his student's perception? How did he isolate the variables of his own bias vs. the impact of new clothes vs. the impact of formal clothes?

My personal opinion is that fashion is a gigantic waste of time. In any and all venues. Clothing should be first and foremost for utility. Part of that utility is creating a personal brand, which the author has stumbled upon here in his "experiment".

While I'm not a fan, Steve Jobs had a great outlook on this, and is well known by his jeans-and-turtleneck look. This is an amazing insight into clothes in my opinion: Jobs found an outfit that worked, and then simplified everything in his life related to clothing. Image how easy laundry, the decision on what to wear for the day, moving, and ownership of clothes would be if you had a single, standard type of clothing to wear? Imagine how much easier it is to standardize social interactions with other people around you? You'll never have to worry about wearing 'nice' clothes again, because ALL your clothes are exactly the same.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#59

Post by mcguire »

bri3d wrote: post #5
[deleted] wrote: post #2

[deleted]

That professor is from Hope College, a private Christian college, so he's subsisting on taxpayer money only insofar as most other nonprofit employees are. I thought the commentary was at least mildly interesting. When I was in the Valley I experienced a strong anti-suit attitude and many I met in the startup industry would vehemently protest any suggestion that dressing formally could be a good idea. It seems like co…

I had to meander down to the troll section of the responses to find the best comment, yours.

"It seems like common sense to me but clothing and appearance are just communication tools the same way body language, tone of voice, and diction are."

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#60

Post by benihana »

guard-of-terra wrote: post #38
13b9f227ecf0 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You may feel that clothing is boring and something you can look past, but you are in a tiny minority. By failing to invest a bit in your appearance you are foolishly forgoing substantial advantages in life.

I don't see how I'm a tiny minority. In my life I bang on keys all the day long, and keys don't care what I wear. What could change?

here's why: http://putthison.com/post/49277992157/professionalism-severa...

The undertaker at the pet cemetery only buries dead animals, why would they care what he wears? The answer is because other people exist.

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