Is the suit relevant in your life?

[PADDY]

Suits can be the new positive revolution in the work place!

Glad the workplace saw 'the suit' as something positive and I agree with what you said about it 'conveying respect' to the company/firm as well.

Plus it's got 'you' noticed in a positive way!

Good to have you back again IOM, it's been too long

Regards, Paddy.

I agree with many of the other respondents that it's becoming quite rare to see suits in the workplace, and mores the pity. It's odd that wearing a suit has become a way to stand out from the crowd.

I wore one of my vintage suits to a job interview at a design firm a couple months ago. It was overtly vintage—1940s with beaded lapels, turned back cuffs, etc.--rather than a style of vintage that could pass as modern. After I began work I was told by many people that my attire was one of the things that made them want to hire me. They liked the mix of respect I showed by dressing up and the “out of the box” thinking (their words, not mine!) shown by choosing vintage. Vintage suits and dresses have become my signature here and it's great to be working with people who appreciate the style.

 

[funneman]

An interesting thing has happend in my workplace.

When I first started at this radio station I was a "jeans and t-shirt" kind of guy, sometimes with a denim jacket because they keep it freezing there.
Overall it was a very casual atmposphere.

Thanks to the influence of the Fedora Lounge and my new obsession with Thrift Stores I have slowly begun to phase in fedoras, blazers, dress pants, neckties and now suits into my daily wear. I get tons of favorable comments about my appearance from co-workers and clients everyday. I now get introduced as "the best dressed buy in Radio".

Now I've noticed the Sales Crew is starting to dress up more as well. We've begun sharing fashion tips, accessories and info on sales at local men's stores. I'm seeing more tweed blazers, more pocket squares and believe it or not, a handful of the men are starting to wear straw and felt dress hats.

Here's me and a co-worker:

 

[ortega76]

I went to visit my grandfather in the hospital this morning before work. Ahead of me were a small group of people arguing with the front desk about exceeding the 2 visitor limit. I was a bit worried since my mother was upstairs with my grandfather and it was my brother and me. Part of it may have been my polite conversation and asking "just to run this up". Part of it may have been my attire- a shirt, tie and jacket. Whatever, it certainly let this guard bend the rules for me.

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

I went to visit my grandfather in the hospital this morning before work. Ahead of me were a small group of people arguing with the front desk about exceeding the 2 visitor limit. I was a bit worried since my mother was upstairs with my grandfather and it was my brother and me. Part of it may have been my polite conversation and asking "just to run this up". Part of it may have been my attire- a shirt, tie and jacket. Whatever, it certainly let this guard bend the rules for me.

They say nice clothes and a clipboard will get you in anywhere. I guess you were dressed well enough to forgo the clipboard!

 

[Lone_Ranger]

I wear suits every day to work. Unfortunately, they have to be black suits, so it gets a bit boring.

Just exactly where do you work?


You'll dress only in attire specially sanctioned by MiB special services. You'll conform to the identity we give you, eat where we tell you, live where we tell you. From now on you'll have no identifying marks of any kind. You'll not stand out in any way. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory with anyone you encounter. You're a rumor, recognizable only as deja vu and dismissed just as quickly. You don't exist; you were never even born. Anonymity is your name. Silence your native tongue. You're no longer part of the System. You're above the System. Over it. Beyond it. We're "them." We're "they." We are the Men in Black.

 

[dostacos]

my first day of work at the Hospital I wore a suit, I knew that I would not be wearing daily do to the nature of my work {making leg arm and body braces for children} the administrator commented on the suit {positive}...and that was the last day I wore a suit

A new administrator came in and demanded that we all wear ties, it took us several months to get him to understand that ties + our floor standing grinders= a very bad thing. One of my dad's employees was repeatedly told to get his hair in a cover {he had a ponytail that almost went to his waist} he caught his ponytail in the router and it scalped him. had it been a tie, he would have been choked to death before we could have freed him.

since I have retired, I have even less need to dress up. Our pastor wears open collars, and the entire congregation is casual. I have been wearing shawl collar sweaters and my newsboy hats and am working my way up to ties and at least a vest. As I sit in a wheelchair I am still not comfortable with how the suit coat looks. Since I have a gray hat coming from Art and a sand color coming from Jimmy Pierce I will need to buck up and get fancy.....

 

[donCarlos]

I may have written here that suit is not really relevant in my life.
That´s not true any more! (Thank God!)
I just got a "part time" (not really a part time) job in a company that mediates accomodation and other services in Prague. As it seems, my duty will consist mainly of meeting people and trying to convince them to choose us, so the suit is absolutely necessary. Well, I´d wear it even if it wouldn´t be necessary, it just makes good impression.

 

[univibe88]

I may have written here that suit is not really relevant in my life.
That´s not true any more! (Thank God!)
I just got a "part time" (not really a part time) job in a company that mediates accomodation and other services in Prague. As it seems, my duty will consist mainly of meeting people and trying to convince them to choose us, so the suit is absolutely necessary. Well, I´d wear it even if it wouldn´t be necessary, it just makes good impression.

Congrats on the new gig :eusa_clap

 

[flat-top]

Just exactly where do you work?


You'll dress only in attire specially sanctioned by MiB special services. You'll conform to the identity we give you, eat where we tell you, live where we tell you. From now on you'll have no identifying marks of any kind. You'll not stand out in any way. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory with anyone you encounter. You're a rumor, recognizable only as deja vu and dismissed just as quickly. You don't exist; you were never even born. Anonymity is your name. Silence your native tongue. You're no longer part of the System. You're above the System. Over it. Beyond it. We're "them." We're "they." We are the Men in Black.

Ah...if it were only that cool! I work at Macy's where the dress code is all black all the time!
I can wear whatever shirt and tie I want, but black suits are required.

 

[Feraud]

Better a black suit than a mandatory polo shirt.

 

[flat-top]

Better a black suit than a mandatory polo shirt.

You ain't kidding!

 

[ortega76]

Better a black suit than a mandatory polo shirt.

How about a mandatory tee-shirt and cargo shorts? I had to suffer that for 4 years!

 

[ortega76]

Ah...if it were only that cool! I work at Macy's where the dress code is all black all the time!
I can wear whatever shirt and tie I want, but black suits are required.

It still leaves a little room for personal style in your wardrobe.

 

[ortega76]

They say nice clothes and a clipboard will get you in anywhere. I guess you were dressed well enough to forgo the clipboard!

I'd say it's more like nice clothes and a smile.

 

[Choeki]

When I was in Japan, it was required for my line of work but not explicitly stated in a dress code. Since I've returned to the US I managed to secure a position at a Japanese company, but the official dress code is "no jeans or sandals" for the week, with the exception being "casual Friday." In spite of this, I wear a suit every day except Friday (I wear some combination of dress shirt, tie, pressed trousers, slip-on dress shoes and sweater that day) as I feel abnormal in a professional environment otherwise. Since it is especially cold out at the moment I usually wear an an odd vest with my suit, but I maintain the full tie bar/cuff links and pocket square along with a small pattern tie outfit that I wore since I started in August. I have to admit though that I also didn't wear a hat until it got to 40-degrees Fahrenheit, but it went over well with management when they noticed I wore one. However, other than the people in sales and the branch manager I'm the only person on the entire floor of my office that wears a suit or even has any interest in vintage style.

Nevertheless one detraction was that many co-workers didn't understand the "odd vest" concept at first (more than a few people asked me why my vest didn't match my suit), and one of the sales people jokingly referred to me as "Burl Ives" because of the very same issue. Overall though, I suppose it provided me with some distinction with the "people upstairs" since I managed to survive three rounds of layoffs in the last three months... [huh]

 

[Feraud]

How about a mandatory tee-shirt and cargo shorts? I had to suffer that for 4 years!

A mandatory anything can be a bummer and some worse than others. T-shirt and cargo shorts are one of the "others"!

 

[DBLIII]

Matt - I have absolutely no business use for a suit whatsoever. In fact, a sportcoat is somewhat of an oddity. I work in the firearms industry, where everyone tends to wear khaki pants of some type and polo shirts or logo shirts from Winchester or some other manufacturer. Generally, it's no jeans, but that's about as far as a dress code goes. And, I have a waiver from the company's owner so I wear Wrangler jeans with fancy cowboy boots and bizarre retro 1940s cowboy shirts to work most all of the time. Occasionally, I will wear a sportcoat, at which time I am looked at like I just grew three heads.
Personally, I think it's too bad. If the guys wore suits, they might act a bit more professional and create a better impression with vendors and clients. Our biggest dress "code" is to carry a fancy expensive handgun. I fail in that, too, as I pack around a lowly Glock.
I cannot recall seeing anyone in a suit in over 10 years, and that includes manufacturer's representatives.
Hope this helps.

 

[imoldfashioned]

Thanks Paddy, that means alot to me. It's good to be back.

Glad the workplace saw 'the suit' as something positive and I agree with what you said about it 'conveying respect' to the company/firm as well.

Plus it's got 'you' noticed in a positive way!

Good to have you back again IOM, it's been too long

Regards, Paddy.

 

[ortega76]

Ah...if it were only that cool! I work at Macy's where the dress code is all black all the time!
I can wear whatever shirt and tie I want, but black suits are required.

I stopped in at Macy's this weekend. I saw a few male associates smartly dressed. They made great use of shirt and tie patterns to create a good look with their black suits. Most just seemed. . . boring. I think I counted 2 wearing solid black shirts and solid black ties with their black suits.

 

[flat-top]

I stopped in at Macy's this weekend. I saw a few male associates smartly dressed. They made great use of shirt and tie patterns to create a good look with their black suits. Most just seemed. . . boring. I think I counted 2 wearing solid black shirts and solid black ties with their black suits.

I have a vast collection of vintage ties, so I can still have some fun putting together shirt/tie combos. I know others really view it as a uniform and add no personal touches.