The Year of Dressing Formally (2008) • Hacker News Board

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#21

Post by 13b9f227ecf0 » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:11 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #7

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/

People wear all kinds of silly fashions here in Italy, which is pretty much the fashion capital of the world. Some of them may be well made, name-brand silly fashions, but they certainly look odd 5 years out from when they were 'in'. I'm with Zuckerberg, and Jobs with his 'uniform' on this one: most of that junk is a complete waste of your time. The only winning move is not to play. You don't have to wear just sweats…

I think the failure of so many in the software/IT business to dress and groom to professional standards has important consequences. The perception of the social prestige of the occupation is lowered in the broader society. This in turn invites the misguided pointy-haired-boss managerial approach to developers. In the eyes of many, software people appear to be some sort of lower level technicians like the guys who stock the soda machines, because that's how they're dressed. Ergo software development must be commodity labor like the soda machine guys. We should outsource!

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#22

Post by 13b9f227ecf0 » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:15 PM UTC

orangethirty wrote: post #19

I dress the same every day. Black t-shirt with no logo, jeans, and sneakers. If its cold, I put on my black hoodie. That's all you will see. Nice ocassions? My wife takes care of that. Otherwise, it's my uniform. Clothing costs have gone down, I save time and money by not having to pick what to wear of having to wash things in differen loads. But, I mostly do it because I'm lazy.

> I mostly do it because I'm lazy.

You do realize that's exactly the impression your habit conveys, right?

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#23

Post by mturmon » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:15 PM UTC

atourgates wrote: post #14

"One day you put on a tie, the next day you are driving a Hummer and voting Republican." My official nomination for quote of the day.

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."

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#24

Post by zwieback » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:16 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #16

jsnk wrote: post #10

I wish I can dress nicely in suits, but I don't do it for two reasons. No one dresses in suits in technology sector. Not even CEO. Only team that dress up in our company is legal, and even they are on the more informal side compared to what real formal is. Good suits that look good are expensive. I don't want to wear daddy tier suits, but good looking suits I've seen run well over $500.

I once worked at a place that required me to rack servers in a 3 piece suit. Once.

I worked for a client once (a very large logistics firm) where everyone who isn't union had to wear suit and tie, this included all vendors. We were testing some new equipment we built in a sorting facility without any climate control. In July. In Orlando.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#25

Post by keiferski » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:17 PM UTC

guard-of-terra wrote: post #18

Clothing is boring. It's something you have to do, as opposed to what you want to be doing. Unless it's a T-shirt with some image that relates to your personality. I'll pay for a service where I can dump my clothes and they'll produce identical new and fitted items.

Or you know, it's an art and a hobby that people other than you enjoy.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#26

Post by mturmon » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:18 PM UTC

orangethirty wrote: post #19

I dress the same every day. Black t-shirt with no logo, jeans, and sneakers. If its cold, I put on my black hoodie. That's all you will see. Nice ocassions? My wife takes care of that. Otherwise, it's my uniform. Clothing costs have gone down, I save time and money by not having to pick what to wear of having to wash things in differen loads. But, I mostly do it because I'm lazy.

I gave that up because it got too boring (for me). The crack in the dam came when I added in a selection of monochromatic (non-black) tees. It was all downhill from there.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#27

Post by onemorepassword » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:18 PM UTC

jsnk wrote: post #10

I wish I can dress nicely in suits, but I don't do it for two reasons. No one dresses in suits in technology sector. Not even CEO. Only team that dress up in our company is legal, and even they are on the more informal side compared to what real formal is. Good suits that look good are expensive. I don't want to wear daddy tier suits, but good looking suits I've seen run well over $500.

Or you could just do that. I once had a junior dev that showed up in a suit (okay, no tie) every day.

And this in an Amsterdam broadcasting and advertising company, the kind of place that makes the way people dress in tech start-ups look conservative.

After two weeks, people would stop making remarks. After a month, people stopped consciously registering it. It was just the way he dressed.

It takes balls and requires your coworkers not to be total dicks, but people can pull it off.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#28

Post by devindotcom » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:18 PM UTC

guard-of-terra wrote: post #18

Clothing is boring. It's something you have to do, as opposed to what you want to be doing. Unless it's a T-shirt with some image that relates to your personality. I'll pay for a service where I can dump my clothes and they'll produce identical new and fitted items.

Worth noting that not everyone is of your opinion, and many are interested in clothing (and extensions of it, such as watches and jewelry) as a form of expression.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#29

Post by zwieback » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:19 PM UTC

jsnk wrote: post #10

I wish I can dress nicely in suits, but I don't do it for two reasons. No one dresses in suits in technology sector. Not even CEO. Only team that dress up in our company is legal, and even they are on the more informal side compared to what real formal is. Good suits that look good are expensive. I don't want to wear daddy tier suits, but good looking suits I've seen run well over $500.

Our lawyers don't even dress very nicely. The only people ever wearing a tie are candidates interviewing for jobs.

Re: The Year of Dressing Formally (2008)

#30

Post by 13b9f227ecf0 » Tue, May 28, 2013, 9:20 PM UTC

guard-of-terra wrote: post #18

Clothing is boring. It's something you have to do, as opposed to what you want to be doing. Unless it's a T-shirt with some image that relates to your personality. I'll pay for a service where I can dump my clothes and they'll produce identical new and fitted items.

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.