My wife finally convinced me that clothes are important. They tell people who don't know us who we are, and what we think of ourselves. A while back I was going for a job interview. I knew people there wore business casual, so I was going to wear the same. After some warmly heated discussion with my wife and son (a company executive), I agreed to wear a suit and tie. I got the job. I'm sure the suit helped. A year or so later, I interviewed with the same manager for the same job, only this time it was a permanent position. I wore the same conservative navy blue suit. Again, I got the job. When I went through OTS some 50 years ago, they drilled into us the importance of looking sharp, which had precise definitions. Insignia, just so. Name tag, just so. Medals and ribbons, just so. Gig line - one straight line deviating not one millimeter at the belt buckle, which had to be shined to a mirror surface (shoes, too). You see the indoctrination worked as I remember it after all these years. The oft-repeated refrain "Look sharp. Feel sharp. Be sharp." still echoes in my mind. I don't know if clothes make the man (or woman), but they are certainly important. But, I'm with you on brands. I don't own any L.L.Bean, but wearing good quality, functional clothing makes a lot of sense to me. I enjoy my Patagonia vests and winter jacket.
Bob, it's hard to disagree with "Look sharp. Feel sharp. Be sharp," but I do have a problem with excluding the color red. I think today that behavior would not be tolerated, but on the other hand, there are standards of professionalism and how we should comport ourselves that make a lot of sense.
I agree with you on wearing red. I occasionally wear red on Fridays. We started following that tradition years ago when we noticed many of the morning mall walkers were wearing red. My wife asked one of them why, and she said it was to memorialize veterans and service people who had been wounded or killed. Since my Bible Study group meets on Friday, I added that it commemorates Jesus' cruel beating and crucifixion. I also wear red on Pentecost Sunday (50 days after Easter). It symbolizes the Holy Spirit descending and entering each person, much like tongues of fire. I'm not sure I would wear it in a corporate workplace, but if someone did, I doubt it would cause much of a stir. I wonder what happened to the woman manager who wore red. I hope she's still wearing red when she feels like it. I'm reminded of the Red Hat Society, though they wear purple dresses. I wonder if any show up to work dressed like that.
Jill, this was such a thoughtful and relatable reflection. I found myself nodding the whole way through. So many of us have wrestled with the balance between fitting in and showing up as ourselves. Your story is a beautiful reminder that what we wear should reflect our worth, not define it.
Good for you, you showed your independent character and it is a pity the firm you are/were at didn't appreciate your independence from the herd. There is a serious lack of imagination in some people and misperceptions abound. Judging someone for the clothes they wear is about as intelligent as judging someone for their skin color, gender, or a whole host of other things. I enjoyed reading your article and thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading and adding your comments. I think "lack of imagination" is a good root cause for the reality I faced, though I didn't mind Mike telling me because he spoke the truth and then I found mind :)
The old saying that you only get one chance to make a first impression is certainly true. If you dont fit the image of those around you, you dont fit in, period. People are very shallow and want to put you in a box or category so that they dont have to think that much about you again. Only think about how you relate to them. Because I raised cattle, I had one twenty something tell me that she imagined me sitting around a campfire drinking coffee out of a tin cup. I assured her that I had never done that and that my coffee was imported and I kept it in the freezer to keep it fresh before I ground it. LOL.
Thanks for making me laugh and for speaking such true words.
You’ve diagnosed the reason precisely. We like to define people in a way that makes it comfortable for us and then we can get to the business of business… even if by doing, we have maybe shorted some people and what they bring.
My wife finally convinced me that clothes are important. They tell people who don't know us who we are, and what we think of ourselves. A while back I was going for a job interview. I knew people there wore business casual, so I was going to wear the same. After some warmly heated discussion with my wife and son (a company executive), I agreed to wear a suit and tie. I got the job. I'm sure the suit helped. A year or so later, I interviewed with the same manager for the same job, only this time it was a permanent position. I wore the same conservative navy blue suit. Again, I got the job. When I went through OTS some 50 years ago, they drilled into us the importance of looking sharp, which had precise definitions. Insignia, just so. Name tag, just so. Medals and ribbons, just so. Gig line - one straight line deviating not one millimeter at the belt buckle, which had to be shined to a mirror surface (shoes, too). You see the indoctrination worked as I remember it after all these years. The oft-repeated refrain "Look sharp. Feel sharp. Be sharp." still echoes in my mind. I don't know if clothes make the man (or woman), but they are certainly important. But, I'm with you on brands. I don't own any L.L.Bean, but wearing good quality, functional clothing makes a lot of sense to me. I enjoy my Patagonia vests and winter jacket.
Bob, it's hard to disagree with "Look sharp. Feel sharp. Be sharp," but I do have a problem with excluding the color red. I think today that behavior would not be tolerated, but on the other hand, there are standards of professionalism and how we should comport ourselves that make a lot of sense.
I agree with you on wearing red. I occasionally wear red on Fridays. We started following that tradition years ago when we noticed many of the morning mall walkers were wearing red. My wife asked one of them why, and she said it was to memorialize veterans and service people who had been wounded or killed. Since my Bible Study group meets on Friday, I added that it commemorates Jesus' cruel beating and crucifixion. I also wear red on Pentecost Sunday (50 days after Easter). It symbolizes the Holy Spirit descending and entering each person, much like tongues of fire. I'm not sure I would wear it in a corporate workplace, but if someone did, I doubt it would cause much of a stir. I wonder what happened to the woman manager who wore red. I hope she's still wearing red when she feels like it. I'm reminded of the Red Hat Society, though they wear purple dresses. I wonder if any show up to work dressed like that.
Bob, you teach me so much. Had no idea what red could mean in different contexts. Thank you!
Jill, this was such a thoughtful and relatable reflection. I found myself nodding the whole way through. So many of us have wrestled with the balance between fitting in and showing up as ourselves. Your story is a beautiful reminder that what we wear should reflect our worth, not define it.
Thanks George. There are so many ways we wrestle with fitting in, and clothes is definitely one of them.
Good for you, you showed your independent character and it is a pity the firm you are/were at didn't appreciate your independence from the herd. There is a serious lack of imagination in some people and misperceptions abound. Judging someone for the clothes they wear is about as intelligent as judging someone for their skin color, gender, or a whole host of other things. I enjoyed reading your article and thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading and adding your comments. I think "lack of imagination" is a good root cause for the reality I faced, though I didn't mind Mike telling me because he spoke the truth and then I found mind :)
The old saying that you only get one chance to make a first impression is certainly true. If you dont fit the image of those around you, you dont fit in, period. People are very shallow and want to put you in a box or category so that they dont have to think that much about you again. Only think about how you relate to them. Because I raised cattle, I had one twenty something tell me that she imagined me sitting around a campfire drinking coffee out of a tin cup. I assured her that I had never done that and that my coffee was imported and I kept it in the freezer to keep it fresh before I ground it. LOL.
Thanks for making me laugh and for speaking such true words.
You’ve diagnosed the reason precisely. We like to define people in a way that makes it comfortable for us and then we can get to the business of business… even if by doing, we have maybe shorted some people and what they bring.