Really? What about jobs where a uniform (work clothing) is necessary and fulfill specific and justifiable functions, such as the above mentioned police, military, medical professions or fire brigade?
And what exactly is dehumanising about being required to wear specific clothes when at work? You can express your individuality via clothing preferences when at home or off-duty. Personally I’m more interested in the person inside the clothing and not the clothing itself but in a work-environment someone who is neat, tidy and well dressed presents a professional appearance which says that you, the customer, are important to them and they’ve made an effort with their appearance to reflect that.
And as above thats part of the reason why an attractive woman in uniform is so appealing, a uniform means someone has gone through significent trials in order to earn the right to wear that uniform. Again the clothing says something about that person and for my own view what that says is complementary, your opinion may differ.
For me, it depends on whether there is still femininity shown. The more the outfit looks like a man’s outfit, the more I need external clues that the person is female. If you can still look feminine actually wearing a male’s dress outfit, it’s one of the hottest outfits you can wear.
However, I feel much differently about professional makeup. For some reason I have a hard time not associating that with a cold, distant person.
Wearing work clothing, WHATEVER the work, means you are there to do a job. You are right, you can express your individuality when at home or off-duty. That is attractive to me! Being shoehorned into a job, however important, useful, etc., is still limiting to the individual. People are not their jobs, typically there is so much more to them. I like the whole package. YMMV.
Jeans, people look best in jeans. Attractive women still look attractive in their business duds but I’d rather see them in comfortable, functional clothing. shrug Product of living in the northwest I s’pose.
Of course, you could have voted as both straight & gay.
:: tosses post back in Gil-Martin’s face ::
Your post was too well-composed and thoughtful to be apologized for. Thank you for sharing it.
Athena accepts your gratitude, with the following correction. Outfits such as you describe actually say “I have a minde. I also have a body. If there’s a problem with that, well, it’s your problem.”
I like to wear suits. In fact I love it. I’m in the minority in my group to feel and/or dress that way, so I can’t imagine how I am being conformist. I wear suits because I like the process of putting an outfit together, of deciding what colors look best on me, what shirt looks best with what tie, what shirt & tie combo look best with what suit (or slacks/blazer combo). How is dressing in a thoughtful way dehumanizing?
You seem to be implying that suits are uncomfortable, which is hardly the case. If a suit is uncomfortable, that means you didn’t put enough effort into choosing it when you bought it (or that you kept it longer than you should have). The same is true of jeans.
I’m not comfortable in a suit even when they fit nicely. If I’m in a setting that requires a suit you can bet I’d rather be elsewhere.
My clothing preferences are rooted in cultural bias. Like I said, I live in the northwest, most folks are wearing jeans.
I don’t like the look of men in suits at all. Real men wear jeans. That’s my knee-jerk prejudice at work and I make a conscious effort to remember that I’m being silly.
shrug It doesn’t matter that suits can be comfortable or that I have a strange bias, it’s a matter of what I find a attractive. Women tend to look good 'cause they’re all woman-shaped but they look REALLY good in jeans.
Personally I don’t think knowingly choosing an occupation which requires uniformity in dress is in anyway limiting your personality or individuality. There are an infinite number of ways to stand out as a unique person whether the person next to you is wearing the same clothes or not.
Straight female and I said it didn’t matter. But the more I think about it, the less I like men in suits and ties. I wouldn’t turn one away that I was interested in, but I’d much prefer them in Levi’s and hiking boots.
Love a man in a suit. Not only do they look better, but smarter. I know that’s not a rational thing, but it’s true for me. For instance, there is a man who comes in to my work several times a week, always in a suit and tie or at the least a blazer and dress shirt without a tie. I find him very attractive. Disturbingly attractive. Then one day he came in on the weekend, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. Not only did I not recognize him, he didn’t look nearly so cute and seemed kind of dumb. No sizzle at all. Next time I saw him in a suit, his attractiveness rating was back to normal. Same thing happened with a cop I know…in street clothes he just didn’t do it for me.
Now my fella…I find him cute and hot no matter what he wears. But when he changes into a suit, I just want to…well, I want to.
Women in suits do nothing for me, but most of the time I think they look nice.
I also get very happy with a guy in well-fitting jeans and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Or a flannel.
while a button down shirt refers to the collar which has buttons to keep it in place ( like this http://www.woodsofshropshire.co.uk/uploads/shop/prod/1603_04.jpg ) ?
If by “button down” you refer to the collar, any reason you prefer it? Do you prefer it to collar stays? This is also a question to others.
Women in business suits? I really don’t have an opinion either way, I guess it depends on the woman and the clothing in question
as a straight male, however, I can say that I HATE mens businesswear, anything with a hangman’s noose…err…tie associated with it makes me irrationally angry and enraged, if it was up to me, when I become dictator of the world, all mens suits, ties, tuxedos and other crap would be collected in a big pile and then a thermonuclear device would be detonated on them
I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing any of that crap, sorry ladies, I value comfort over “looking good”
Have you tried taking collars that are 0.5 to 1 inch larger than your neck, not buttoning up the collar button and using a wide knot (like the full Windsor or Pratt) to hide the that that it’s unbuttoned? I hardly feel the tie when I do that.
It depends. Personally, I like conservative clothing because it reduces the “sexiness,” if I can use that word. I can relate to the woman on a personal level without her using a short skirt or low cut top to supposedly impress men. You’d get further with me with a good meal. Of course, the same can be said with casual clothing, if it’s loose fitting and not meant to attract. However, I don’t like how people treat me differently from when I wear casual (Excuse me, can I get some help?) to business (Can I help you, sir?). So as long as the clothing isn’t supposed to somehow put me off my game or cause me to differently because her cleavage is showing is fine. I say this after taking a female friend shopping today and sitting there saying, “I really don’t get all this clothing. I really don’t.”
P.S. I REALLY REALLY don’t get the make-up thing either.
I am a straight male, and a woman in smart business attire can certainly look more attractive than she would in certain other outfits, but she will almost certainly look less attractive in it than she would in yet others. It can also depend on the woman. Some women look better some ways and others look better other ways.
Business attire tends to look good on an inherently attractive woman more often than not, but not better than anything she might wear, and not for every woman.
Jormangandur - if you ever saw me at dawn, without makeup, you would immediately “GET the makeup thing”. :eek:
Businesswomen and makeup is a whole other category, but I’m reminded of the movie, “Working Girl”, and the Staten Island secretary who, very unprofessionally, showed up at work with big hair and plastered with makeup, including three shades of heavy eye shadow. A business-like appearance is not confined to an Ann Taylor suit and tasteful pumps!
It depends. I’m with the other people who said that it depends on the suit. A cheap, off-the-rack suit can look horrible on either gender, and there are some people (like me) who don’t look good in suits at all because of their figures or some other issue.
I’m also not thrilled with the current style of shorter skirt and no hose. I hate hose just as much as the next sane woman, but they hide a multitude of sins. For whatever reason, many of the women I see who dress this way probably shouldn’t. On the issue of makeup, I’m OK with it as long as it isn’t caked on or whorish.
So my answer would be that I do find people in smart business attire attractive as long as the attire fits well, is flattering, and is worn appropriately.
