The working environment brings many challenges; office politics, hectic schedules, colleague competition. I have had my eyes opened to a new way of living, embarking on a career within an office, however I am surprised most by the attitudes towards clothing than I am compared to anything else.
"I look like your boss... You look like and intern"
The gender ratio in my building is heavily weighted towards women, and being one of only three men in my department of fourteen makes it easy to juxtapose my personal approach to dressing to my male counterparts traditionally formal suit.
The phrase which instigated my interest and investigation into the phenomenon of men in suits. Why do men still wear suits to work? An immediate, and unarguable, sense of authority? Sure, that may have been what originally drew the line between business man and pauper, and I don't deny that a suit still has those abilities. But in our current working climate, where casually attired app designers and scruffy artists are making big bucks in the world of business, perhaps the CEO's out of touch in their corporate three piece.
I have no qualms slipping my legs into black jeans or chinos, with plain t-shirt, roll neck, or jumper. There is most definitely no formal shirt and tie combinations in my work wardrobe! First and foremost they they are incredibly uncomfortable; I would spend most the day squirming around, loosening then tightening the tie over and over until a can't take the neck strangulation anymore. There is, however, a reason closer to my heart which explains why I don’t conform to this social stereotype. I know full well that my clothes bare no reflection on my ability to complete tasks. I do my job well, wearing a suit would not have any more of a positive affect on my competency.
The remark from my male colleague, "I look like your boss... You look like and intern”, I’m sure was an attempt at asserting authority, not just an opportunity to remind me how he feels more superior in his (frankly terrible) striped shirt and matching tie. Fortunately I have a strong head for fashion, and have spent many years deciding what my personal style is. I have confidence in my ability and even more confidence in my fashion, and (I think) that's evident in the way I work and hold myself as a person when wearing clothes I'm comfortable in.
According to Princeton psychologist Janine Willis (Link) it takes a tenth of a second to form a first impression; using this to our advantage makes business sense. I understand that my opinions go against the grain of social norms, and in fact wearing a suit does undeniably give the impression of power and ability, so wearing a suit to an interview for example would be a good idea. So much of a good idea that I did just that, and in fact got the job I was hoping for. I even extended this courtesy to my first day in the office, but from then on I chose my clothes without such formality.
Am I a hypocrite? I certainly hope not. However I am using social ideas to try and get ahead of the competition in the working world.
Do we really still judge the ability of men in the office by the clothes they wear to work?
Silvia Bellezza, of Harvard Buisness School, has been studying the link between accomplishment and informality. ‘The red sneaker effect’ published in the Journal of Consumer Research, explains how high flyers such as Facebook’s Marc Zuckerberg, Apple’s Steve Jobs and Google’s Sergey Brin have defied the norm and managed to maintain high powered jobs in jeans and a t-shirt. In certain circumstances nonconformity is seen as a sign of higher status, noting that academics who dressed down for a conference had stronger research records. Furthermore students perceived casual tutors as being more respectable and of higher status, reflecting that the confidence to break social norms has a surprising effect on those we work with. Perhaps there is just as much reason to dress down as there is to dress up.
These examples are just the forefront of men who are taking their career and image into their own hands, casting aside the assumption that successful men wear suits. Something I hope continues to gain publicity.
There is definitely a time and a place for suit, but this place, I feel, should be less associated with work. Allowing guys the same freedom and comfort of expression through dress that women are granted.
On my morning commute to work I look down the platform and see a sea of ties, shirts and pin stripe trousers. A collection of the worst leather ‘work shoes’ shuffle on to the carriage and I’m squeezed in like a sardine, jostled about by suit jackets to the left and briefcases to the right. If I’m not completely invisible to the working masses I bet they think I am an intern, or a student. But I won’t be turned.
My colleague continues to slip in cutting remarks about my ‘casual attire’, cunningly disguised as jokes and ‘banter’, but I feel confident in my clothes, boosted by a comment once made by my manager;
"I liked the way you dressed at your interview, you looked different, you stood out, and that matters"
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