The Measure of a Man...as in Inseam:)
Aug. 13th, 2004 09:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrdreamjeansI spent most of the day in Houston yesterday. I had a business appointment with a close friend who is also my investment advisor and then met with a delightfully crazy actor friend who makes me laugh. Just what the doctor ordered:)
I’ve been feeling kind of low for a couple of aimless days, so I decided to do something about it. Now, most of the time, I’m a shorts and tee-shirts or jeans and boots kind of guy, but I also like to dress up. To lighten my mood, I decided to put on a suit and tie for the meeting and spend the remainder of the day, shopping, eating, running errands.... in the suit. I might add that the weather cooperated and we hit a high of 86 degrees which is really cool for Southeast Texas in August.
What was interesting and different was how I was treated throughout the day. I can only attribute it to people responding to the clothing. (Navy suit, navy and white pinstripe shirt, emerald green and navy tie... but with my boots... it is Texas after all:)
When I went to the bank, every single employee asked me if I had been helped; at the restaurant, service was prompter than usual and the visits back to the table were more frequent by the wait staff. At the mall, total strangers nodded and the level of service in the stores was extraordinary, even the way the sales staff addressed me.
My friends were honored that I had dressed up to see them. Obviously, I felt good about myself in the clothing. But the day also underscored the adage “dress for success”; it reinforced the notion that people will respond positively to careful grooming.
It certainly made me aware of why profiling by police and other authorities occurs. My oldest nephew, who looks like Shaggy in the Scooby Doo cartoons, had a difficult time getting through Customs and Immigration when I took him to Canada last year. When I shopped some of the very same stores last week in a tee-shirt and jean shorts, I was mostly ignored by the staff.
I have to ask myself... how much was their change in response due to my change in appearance or was I responsible....sending out different signals, projecting more power and confidence due to the choices I had made in clothing. It is a mostly rhetorical question on my part, but it does make you wonder just how much clothing contributes to the measure of a man.
I’ve been feeling kind of low for a couple of aimless days, so I decided to do something about it. Now, most of the time, I’m a shorts and tee-shirts or jeans and boots kind of guy, but I also like to dress up. To lighten my mood, I decided to put on a suit and tie for the meeting and spend the remainder of the day, shopping, eating, running errands.... in the suit. I might add that the weather cooperated and we hit a high of 86 degrees which is really cool for Southeast Texas in August.
What was interesting and different was how I was treated throughout the day. I can only attribute it to people responding to the clothing. (Navy suit, navy and white pinstripe shirt, emerald green and navy tie... but with my boots... it is Texas after all:)
When I went to the bank, every single employee asked me if I had been helped; at the restaurant, service was prompter than usual and the visits back to the table were more frequent by the wait staff. At the mall, total strangers nodded and the level of service in the stores was extraordinary, even the way the sales staff addressed me.
My friends were honored that I had dressed up to see them. Obviously, I felt good about myself in the clothing. But the day also underscored the adage “dress for success”; it reinforced the notion that people will respond positively to careful grooming.
It certainly made me aware of why profiling by police and other authorities occurs. My oldest nephew, who looks like Shaggy in the Scooby Doo cartoons, had a difficult time getting through Customs and Immigration when I took him to Canada last year. When I shopped some of the very same stores last week in a tee-shirt and jean shorts, I was mostly ignored by the staff.
I have to ask myself... how much was their change in response due to my change in appearance or was I responsible....sending out different signals, projecting more power and confidence due to the choices I had made in clothing. It is a mostly rhetorical question on my part, but it does make you wonder just how much clothing contributes to the measure of a man.
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Being one who does both
Date: 2004-08-13 08:35 am (UTC)Even when in jeans, my penny loafers and a turtleneck on cooler days serves me fine, or a nice polo or something similar in warmer weather.
Often when cooler, a blazer is added to the ensemble and I think it says something about how I present myself. The fact that I took the time to dress neatly and stylishly makes an impression in and of itself.
When I do wear a suit, I've have guys eye me, even if on the sly but I do notice it. Also, I've been mistaken for an employee when dressed in a shirt and tie at the very least.
My theory is it's both us and the clothes. A good dark business suit, white shirt and a red tie indicates power, gives off an impression that the person is in charge. Also, I believe it's how we react when dressed up. When we are casual, our demeanor is also relaxed, casual. When in a suit lets say, our demeanor is less relaxed, more business like in many respects.
Also, some of us have more of a "stiff" personality than others and so for us, more formal/business type clothing fits us best most days.
I do agree that this phenomenon does make one think.
Thanks for sharing.
P.S. I enjoy a good 3pc suit whenever I can.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-13 09:46 am (UTC)My partner and I are a study in contrasts. He has a very athoritarian air that gives the imppression that he's in a suit, even when he's in T-shirt a jeans. He finds it rather irksome that people assume he's an employee of a store when he's out shopping, when it's obvious that he's not in the Company Uniform. I, on the other hand, have the appearance of an unmade bed, even when in a tux. I have to work twice as hard to look half as good.
I don't know about boots with your suit, tho. My partner has done some business with high-ranking businessmen from Texas who laugh derisively at Yankess trying to "fit in" by wearing boots with their business suits. Obviously, this worked for you, and I don't doubt that you looked fine, but, you may find that it works against you once you reach a certain level.
That said, I firmly believe, and you seem to have proven, a maxim I learned from the movie "Working Girl"; to paraphrase Melanie Griffin, "If you want to be taken seriously, you need serious clothes".