# The main factors in why people dress down much more today compared to previous generations? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 11, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447 "2012-10-11T19:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/181 "2012-10-12T20:33:39Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > For a summer, I worked as an editor for Weird Tales. My boss was a former lieutenant colonel. He looked like Happy of the seven dwarves in khakis and a button down shirt. Besides exuding confidence and giving gentle guidance, when you really screwed up that man could be terrifying. I firmly believe he had the power to make marines wet themselves and could turn away a pack of wolves. He would be similarly inspiring or intimidating regardless of what he wore. \ The Scithers one? I had picked up a bunch of them, and finally got around to reading them. They were awesome, and I don’t even like horror much. \ ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/182 "2012-10-12T20:33:56Z")
Please just admit that you’re only wearing that suit to try and look more attractive to women. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/183 "2012-10-12T20:38:12Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > \ > The Scithers one? I had picked up a bunch of them, and finally got around to reading them. They were awesome, and I don’t even like horror much. > \ Yep, that’s the one! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/184 "2012-10-12T20:40:43Z")
Huh, it didn’t even occur to me the GQ in the OP’s name stood for or had any connection to “general questions”. I assumed he saw himself as a “Gentleman’s Quarterly Elite”, considering how many times that magazine has been invoked in this thread. Anyway, I always figured if one had class, one dressed and behaved as the environment called for, to avoid making people around you uncomfortable. Thus, if wearing a suit is appropriate, fine. If wearing jeans and a t-shirt is appropriate, fine. If buying rounds of drinks is appropriate, fine. If _not_ buying rounds of drinks is appropriate, fine. If one finds that that one’s attire or behaviour is generating a negative response, the _classy_ thing to do is adapt or depart, not blame the discomfited locals. In this particular case, the locals (well, many of them) _like_ to mock pompous newcomers, so there’s no _immediate_ pressure to adapt, but it’ll wear thin quickly and if the OP is thinking about staying on this board for any length of time, he should either settle down or become a lot more entertainingly wacky, like Starving Artist wacky. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/185 "2012-10-12T20:44:30Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > What I am saying is that there are certain places where people get offended if you are spending too much money and making it look like you are throwing that in their face. > > I remember one time I was in a little place and the bartender told me “Can you tone it down a little bit? Our customers don’t have a lot of money and you are making them feel uncomfortable buying them round after round.” > > This was after I bought the 4 people total in the place 3 beers. This never happened. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/186 "2012-10-12T20:45:01Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > Do you ever see James Bond wear t-shirts and jeans? That answers my question. First of all, yes. Daniel Craig wears [jeans and a black t-shirt](http://www.ihavenet.com/images/Quantum-of-Solace-Movie-review-James-Bond-movie--Quantum-of-Solace-Daniel-Craig.jpg) as Bond in “Quantum of Solace.” James Bond certainly doesn’t need any monkey suit to feel confident and can wear what he damn well pleases. Including, and perhaps especially, [nearly nothing](http://www.thelifeofadventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/daniel_craig_james_bond.jpg). Still no word on whether a vagina disqualifies you from looking like GQ man in a suit! I’m waiting… … oops, did I offend gramps by using the word vagina? ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/187 "2012-10-12T20:47:42Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > This never happened. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/188 "2012-10-12T20:54:43Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > A bit metrosexual, are we? I was going to say Armenian. That’s how they dress around here. ---
**Author:** ![GQELITE33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@GQELITE33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GQELITE33)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/189 "2012-10-12T20:57:46Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > This never happened. Yes it did cause no one in the place knew me. They thought I was throwing my money around in their face. Making them feel uncomfortable. That is what I was told. Also you know what? These people that think just because I dress nice, there is something wrong with that? I will dress how I want, and I will wear my expensive clothing. I will do it whenever I want. When people can’t afford to drink a beer , I will gladly order the most expensive drink in the place and then go out for a Steak Dinner. I am who I am and no one is gonna stop me. Its not my fault they can’t do what I do or dress the way I do. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/190 "2012-10-12T21:08:26Z")
Stay classy, 33. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/191 "2012-10-12T21:16:55Z")
According to [Forbes Travel Guide](http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/11/forbes-names-new-five-star-hotels-restaurants-spas/565504/1) there are only 25 five-star restaurants in all of America. NYC has all of six. And none of them are steak places. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/192 "2012-10-12T21:34:32Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > …and if the OP is thinking about staying on this board for any length of time… Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/193 "2012-10-12T21:53:02Z")
Is this that ask the pick up artist guy? He recommended leather jackets and gold chains, too. He was also quite sure strangers were impressed with his swagger. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/194 "2012-10-12T21:56:04Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > Yes it did cause no one in the place knew me. They thought I was throwing my money around in their face. Making them feel uncomfortable. That is what I was told. Sounds almost like the local clientele preferred not to owe rounds (and, by implication, face time) to the insufferable fop they suddenly found in their midst. Because - and you can trust me on this - nobody is impressed that you could afford to buy a whole 12 beers. > [@](#): > > These people that think just because I dress nice, there is something wrong with that? Nothing wrong with that. Be your own bad self. Dress it up with all the gold chains you can fit around your neck. But the self-pity is a little misplaced when you started telling others that they’re wrong for dressing down. > [@](#): > > When people can’t afford to drink a beer , I will gladly order the most expensive drink in the place… Weren’t you blabbing about badly wanting to be the alpha male? Because I can tell you this much: Someone who’s comfortable with their status in the pack order the drink they want, not the one that the bartender made up to fleece those with more money than confidence. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/195 "2012-10-12T21:57:24Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > According to [Forbes Travel Guide](http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/11/forbes-names-new-five-star-hotels-restaurants-spas/565504/1) there are only 25 five-star restaurants in all of America. NYC has all of six. > > And none of them are steak places. I thought that sounded weird. Steak is nice and all, but high-flying luxury cuisine it ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/196 "2012-10-12T22:04:54Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > People wear what they want to wear, and are less affected by peer pressure than people in the past were. It’s that simple. Its the changes in peer pressure that has allowed for the changing norms. There is still a dress code, its just more diverse and frankly tougher to figure out than it used to be. Until the mid to late 1990’s I was expected to wear a suit to work every day. In fact it was customary to put on my jacket and button my top button if I was going to talk to a more senior attorney. I was ABSOLUTELY expected to to wear a suit to any meetings where clients were going to be present. Then in the mid 1990’s clients started showing up without jacket and tie then they started showing up in polo shirts and khakis. You could almost tell who the richest people were in the room by how badly they dressed. This was especially true during the dot-com boom. At some point the bankers stopped wearing suits to these meetings (venture capitalists had long abandoned suits in favor of rolled up sleeves and comfortable footwear) and lawyers slowly followed suit. Now you are expected to keep a suit in your closet at work for client meetings but these days I only put on a suit for foreign clients (who still expect their lawyers to look the part. You still shouldn’t wear jeans, sneakers, flip flops or sweats (I can’t believe we have to remind young lawyers of this), but jackets and ties are no longer expected. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/197 "2012-10-12T22:32:54Z")
I’m going to make some educated guesses about the OP: He’s an MBA. Middle management. Not particularly good at his job, just sufficiently competent to avoid getting fired. He’s widely detested by his direct reports, likely because what advancement he’s had has been through taking credit for his underlings ideas. He’s never actually produced anything of value in his professional life. He can spend all day redesigning an org chart, and is convinced that he’s done something useful. How do I know this? He described himself as an “alpha dog.” Bad news for you, OP: No one in history who has described themselves as an alpha dog has ever actually been an alpha dog. People don’t do what you say because they respect you, or fear you. They do what you say because there’s someone above you who they’re genuinely impressed or intimidated by, and that person has found it useful to loan you a little bit of his authority. You’re not an alpha dog. You’re just somebody’s bitch. All the fancy suits and tacky jewelry in the world isn’t going to hide that fact. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/198 "2012-10-12T22:39:16Z")
I have considered wearing a suit when I fly anything but Southwest these days, on the chance that it’s slightly more likely I’ll get a free upgrade to first class. Hey, it worked the last time I had to fly wearing a suit. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/199 "2012-10-12T22:49:38Z")
I once wore a suit on the Log Flume ride at Disneyland. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/200 "2012-10-12T23:05:39Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’m going to make some educated guesses about the OP:… I think you missed on this one. I got him as a semi-professional drone who is all about his clothes and his “staff” is the clerical pool which he has some marginal leverage over. Like you said, the self titled alpha dog comment was a give away to a the fact that he’s really a wannabe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447.md?page=11)