Why don't developers dress better?
putthison.com
Why don't developers dress better?
1–10 of 16 posts
Re: Why don't developers dress better?
#2It's repost of a tumblr blog. Lots of discussion on the source article: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3048550
Re: Why don't developers dress better?
#31) Because programming in a suit is uncomfortable.
2) Because companies that have dress codes tend to produce bad software. This correlation turned into "I am not dressed well, therefore I write good software."
Sayth PG: "Dressing up is not so much bad in itself. The problem is the receptor it binds to: dressing up is inevitably a substitute for good ideas. It is no coincidence that technically inept business types are known as "suits.""
Re: Why don't developers dress better?
#4Mostly because geeks in general have no dress sense.
I've made numerous attempts at dressing better, but the result is always "dressed to the appropriate level, but everything clashes or is just plain wrong". Maybe one day when I can afford to go to a mens store and say "Dress me and make me look good. I don't care how much it costs", I'll take another stab at it.
Re: Why don't developers dress better?
#5Interesting. Seems like dressing up is the "right" way and those who dress as they please(without making anyone uncomfortable) are not in the wrong per say, but maybe under achieving. I suppose those in power choose(implicitly) what the right dress is. If developers held all the power would this author be writing wondering why people didn't dress in t-shirts and hoodies to fit in?
Re: Why don't developers dress better?
#6I think people should wear what makes them feel comfortable. Ties work for Jesse, but there are some jobs where a tie is required, and that doesn't work for the wearer. This could explain why people have an aversion to "dressing up." I'm a jeans and t-shirt person when I'm at work because that's what I feel most at ease in.
Re: Why don't developers dress better?
#7You are building the future, so dress like it.
So, jeans, then? A person in a suit isn't dressing like they're building anything. They're dressing like they want to tell other people to build something.
Re: Why don't developers dress better?
#8I was nodding along until I started reading Put This On. Roughly 80% of the clothing pictured suggests "uncomfortable", "impractical" or "I'm a tool". I'll keep my sneakers. :-/
Re: Why don't developers dress better?
#9It's not that we don't know how to dress or don't care how to dress ourselves, it's just that we don't care what you think about what we're wearing. Why would I wear something I feel uncomfortable in? The only time I'll wear a suit or a tie is if I'm going to a wedding or a funeral. What someone wears shouldn't define how "professional" they are.
> You are building the future, so dress like it.
Exactly. I'm trying to build a future where wardrobe isn't a predictor for success.
Re: Why don't developers dress better?
#10Zuck is a horrible example of a guy that doesn't need to impress anyone. He doesn't wear suits for us, he wears suits for the investment bankers.
I don't dress better for a lot of reasons but mostly because it doesn't matter. Charitably, I consider fashion to be little more than an expensive hobby.
Not so charitably, the places I have worked, fashion was always inversely correlated with having a clue. "To some, it’s a secret handshake. It’s a 'my talent supersedes my necessity to follow the guidelines of society.'" This is partly true. Most fashion rules are not guidelines of society, but guidelines of a select few who are so useless and boring they sit around all day worrying about what to wear. The rest of us go for the bare minimum required to keep their mouths shut so we can actually get some work/play done. In that way, ignoring the guidelines is a signal that we're not vapid nincompoops.