# Good news/Bad news... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 24, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440 "2005-01-24T18:19:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/21 "2005-01-24T19:40:31Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > If you’ve got to wear a tie, make sure you buy your shirts with a neck size 1/2 to 1 size too big. That way even when it’s buttoned you’ll still be able to breathe, won’t overheat, can move, etc. There are pitfalls here, though. American-cut shirts already are big enough to accommodate a basketball-sized gut, so when buying off the rack, getting a large collar is apt to mean that the whole shirt is huge on you, especially if you are in any kind of good shape at all. If I were the OP I’d explore any and all potential options for wearing the suit without the tie, as outlined above. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/22 "2005-01-24T20:21:03Z")
Yay, Sam! Out of law and into IT, eh? I am thrilled to hear that news - it’ll make me happy all day. Hope the new job won’t cut into your posting time, though. ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/23 "2005-01-24T20:24:08Z")
fabric paint is your friend. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/24 "2005-01-24T20:55:49Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > And unless I lose 10% of my bodyfat and turn 250 pounds of bulk muscle into 220 pounds of pretty muscle overnight, I don’t think it will work either. Oh, and my wife might even have a problem with it, but as long as I’m getting paid she might be able to ignore it :eek: It worked for Chris Farley… ---
**Author:** ![OleOneEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f14d63/32.png) [@OleOneEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OleOneEye)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/25 "2005-01-24T21:12:46Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > > [@Lamar Mundane](#): > > > > Please do the world a favor by not buying short-sleeved shirts. > > I was thinking of actually buying a bunch of them, just to punish them for their dress policy. Knowing how awful it would look, I refuse to do it. I don’t get it- do you have furry gorilla arms? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/26 "2005-01-24T21:26:08Z")
> [@OleOneEye](#): > > I don’t get it- do you have furry gorilla arms? 😕 You think that a short-sleeved shirt and a tie would look good? I most certainly don’t, and I’ve never seen anyone who could pull it off. Falling-down dress style just isn’t me. Sam ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/27 "2005-01-24T21:41:32Z")
> [@pugluvr](#): > > Yay, Sam! Out of law and into IT, eh? I am thrilled to hear that news - it’ll make me happy all day. > > Hope the new job won’t cut into your posting time, though. Thanks Puggy. If I haven’t properly thanked you for the help you provided me a few months ago, then here it is again-Thank you so very much, even if it didn’t work out! I’m going back to where I’m most comfortable, IT. Back to where my career started, and to where I’ve been trying to get back to since then. Sam ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/28 "2005-01-24T21:56:08Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > Good news- New job. With Benefits. Hour lunches, even. Pay: about 16 or 17K more than I’m currently making. > > Bad news- New job dress requirements: Dress professional. A shirt and…Ack! a tie? WTF? Oh shit! > > I’m really happy that 4 years of searching has yielded me a job I’ll probably love and that pays, too. I’ll no longer just be scraping by(after I buy a new fucking wardrobe, that is), but a _ **SHIRT AND TIE???** _ :eek: > > AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhh! > > Ok, I’ll shut up now. > > Sam Go find the most confortable dress shirt you can buy. It may be pricey but at least you won’t be squirming like a slug in the sun. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/29 "2005-01-24T22:06:04Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > You think that a short-sleeved shirt and a tie would look good? I most certainly don’t, and I’ve never seen anyone who could pull it off. Falling-down dress style just isn’t me. > > Sam Well if you change your mind and _do_ go the Falling Down route, don’t forget to change that plate to “DFense”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/30 "2005-01-24T22:08:37Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > You think that a short-sleeved shirt and a tie would look good? I most certainly don’t, and I’ve never seen anyone who could pull it off. Falling-down dress style just isn’t me. > > Sam The fact is, unfortunately–and strictly IMHO–is that _no_ dress shirt and tie combination looks good at all, unless you’re wearing the jacket. With the whole suit on you can cut a dashing figure, like James Bond or Roger Thornhill. But take the jacket off…then with a white shirt and tie you look like a store clerk. Long sleeves are marginally better IMO, but still. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/31 "2005-01-24T22:42:09Z")
Will you be fixing printers or anything with moving parts? Tell them that you love to wear ties but it’s a safety hazard. Wouldn’t want to get your tie caught in the machinery and all, you know. Congrats on the new job! I think if you’re tech support you should be forced to wear white short sleeve shirt with a boring, unfashionable tie. Or a “too interesting” kind of tie. This announces your “technical superiority” to the workforce. 😉 Ok, seriously, you can get decent, not too expensive collared shirts at Costco or Sam’s Club. If they don’t fit just return them. Heck, return them just because you can. Get some decent dark slacks there, too, while you’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/32 "2005-01-24T22:43:41Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > [San Jose, CA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose,_California) (From Wikipedia)At your 3 month review, if you’ve become a valuable asset to the company, tell your boss/supervisor you’ll continue wearing the tie as acknowledgement of that hefty raise they’re going to be putting in your paycheck. Either that, or tell them you’ll be coming in that following Monday wearing half a dress. I think that you missed the point. He’s making 17k more than his last job, not 17k total. That should buy a few nice cravats, even in that area. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/33 "2005-01-24T23:20:32Z")
> [@Lamar Mundane](#): > > Please do the world a favor by not buying short-sleeved shirts. Let’s see here. This is the Pit, right? Good – bite me, **Lamar**. I can buy a short-sleeved dress shirt on sale for $10 or $15. Now, let’s see what it costs to get a long-sleeved dress shirt with 38-inch sleeves that doesn’t fit me like a tent. It’s either custom-made, or it comes from a Big and Tall shop that charges a serious premium: $50 on a good day, $60 more often. I’m not going to pay four times as much for a shirt to satisfy somebody else’s sense of fashion. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/34 "2005-01-24T23:28:23Z")
Wombat- Exceptions can be made, of course. Unfortunately, Short sleeves+tie=car salesman in my mind… Now, I have in the past had to buy from a big & tall store. Not because I am big. Not because I am tall. No, it was because most stores didn’t carry 20 inch neck shirts. I was literally puny compared to the people shopping there. The shirts I DID find, were long enough to come to my knees. The one or two ties I DID buy there were “long”. Have you ever seen a fucking “long” tie? It’s so fucking long you could jump rope with it. So I DO share your frustration as I have had the misfortune of shopping at some of the same kinds of places you have. I still don’t think many people can pull off short sleeves and ties, but that is JMHO… Sam ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/35 "2005-01-24T23:32:30Z")
If you don’t take off your suit jacket, or if you take off the tie whenever you take off the jacket, a short-sleeved shirt won’t look bad with your suit. (I doubt that anybody will really be scrutinizing your jacket cuffs to see if you have shirt cuffs visible underneath them.) IMHO, “boyishly-cute” looking kind of guys can also get away with a (solid color) short-sleeved shirt with a bow tie, in a kind of amusing dorky-cum-Pinocchio effect. Take a really careful look in the mirror before you walk out of the house with it, though. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/36 "2005-01-25T00:44:29Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > If you’ve got to wear a tie, make sure you buy your shirts with a neck size 1/2 to 1 size too big. That way even when it’s buttoned you’ll still be able to breathe, won’t overheat, can move, etc. > > To me, nothing is more uncomfortable than a tight collar. Ugh. I feel your poain, **GaWd** , and second this advice. I absolutely hate wearing ties, but if it can’t be avoided, use that extra 1/2" to give yourself some breathing room. If you have to have them fitted so they’re not overly large around the belly, it’s worth it. A good shirt will last a long time. I don’t wear ties very often now, but when I had to wear them, I’d buy Nordstrom’s brand-- they really aren’t that expensive, and they’re well made. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/37 "2005-01-25T02:40:47Z")
Congrats on the new job. Making 17K more than you used to should ease the annoyance over ties - I hate them too, but I don’t have to wear them. nyah nyah nyah. Get good shirts. They will fit better, be more comfortable, and last longer. Don’t do short sleeves, they look like the Falling Down guy. What I used to do was leave the top button of the shirt open, and leave the tie a little loose. I hate tight collars. You can always cinch it up if you have to for a big meeting. If the ties are a bit long, tie a double Windsor knot. It “uses up” more of the length and give a good symmetrical look. Don’t do a short sleeve shirt with a bow tie, unless Less Nessman is your idol 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/38 "2005-01-25T04:36:42Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > If you have to have them fitted so they’re not overly large around the belly, it’s worth it. Look for shirts that say “athletic cut” - pick your correct neck size, or go ahead and give yourself that extra 1/2 inch. This cut is tapered-in at the waist a bit, and it’s slightly shorter in length than the same size shirt would be at a Big & Tall place. Basically, they’re shirts made for guys with wrestler-type bodies. Congrats on the job, and when you DO get that raise in six months, go bespoke and get some really classy shirts custom made for you! (PS: In the meantime, and don’t laugh, if you send me your mailing address I will send you five extremely nice ties - my husband just started a no-tie job for the first time in forever!) ---
**Author:** ![mcott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@mcott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcott)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/39 "2005-01-25T04:54:30Z")
Well, I for one happen to like ties. Since this is the Pit, they’re the only way I can make a statement in my fucking job. A burst of colour does ya good, ya know. Actually, this is two suggestions: 1. Search on EBAY, especially for “Save the Children Ties”. Very nice, and dirt cheap. 2. Check out [Infectious Awareables](http://www.iawareables.com) for interesting neckwear. I for one, would love an [Anthrax](http://www.5clickstore.com/iawareables/images/Productzoom/1700AnthraxTieOld3AJPEG.jpg) tie, or a [Breast Cancer](http://www.5clickstore.com/iawareables/images/Productzoom/2501Breast_CancerTie7AJPEG.jpg) tie. They have all sorts of other diseases and clothing options too. Note: I am in no way affiliated with Iawareables, I just love the ties. ---
**Author:** ![MrFantsyPants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MrFantsyPants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFantsyPants)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440/40 "2005-01-25T13:37:28Z")
Congrats on the new job, Sam. Next time I’m in the bay area, let me buy you a beer, mkay? (would it be considered shitting in this thread to mention that I get to go to work wearing sweats and sometimes a t-shirt?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-bad-news/286440.md?page=3)