# 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:** 7
**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, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/121 "2012-10-12T17:21:44Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Stealing somebody else’s words is the only way he won’t get judged on his own failings. > > Stay stylish, my friend. The reason I posted that info from that website was to show to you men on the board that real professionals share the same outlook on style as I do. Just so you didn’t think I was odd or something. Know what I mean? ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/122 "2012-10-12T17:21:46Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > Dressing down is considered the bum look. Do you like looking like a bum or a million bucks? The choice is yours. If that is true than Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, McKinsey & Co., Microsoft, and JP Morgan Chase, among others, seem perfectly content to let their employees look like bums. And, when many of these employees want to see what a million bucks looks like, they don’t play your little dress up game and then go look in the mirror - they go online and check their bank account balances. So please, either humor us and provide us with some tangible examples of how your refusal to embrace the casual dress code that is currently the norm at many of the most successful and prestigious corporations, law firms, consulting firms, and investment banks has enabled you to achieve an even higher level of success and prestige. Otherwise, stop embarrassing yourself with your unsubstantiated and redundant posts which, as you can see from nearly all of the replies from your fellow dopers (who represent a very diverse range of careers and levels of achievement), have little basis in reality. Maybe your mom thinks that you look handsome and all grown up in your new suit, but keep in mind that it’s her job to say that. Stop letting it go to your head. ---
**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, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/123 "2012-10-12T17:22:39Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > How about you keep it simple. > > Follow your companies dress code. Simple as that. That’s pretty easy. Those that don’t follow their company’s dress code are probably made well aware of that by their company’s management. I have no idea why you think this point has any relevance to your OP. > [@](#): > > If you go to a five star restaurant, dress like you are at a five star restaurant. If the five star restaurant allows casual dress or even shorts and t-shirts than dressing as such **IS** dressing like you are in a five star restaurant. It’s very obvious to others here that your opinion is that they should dress the way YOU think they should, not the way the establishment deems. You might do better to lament over relaxed dress codes by establishments than to try and goad patrons into following your lead. > [@](#): > > Dress the Part. The end. Maybe “the part” isn’t defined the way you choose to define it. > [@](#): > > But it doesn’t hurt to have your own style, if its positive and you look good doing it. If your style is to look like a bad-ass mofo then this advice fails ---
**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, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/124 "2012-10-12T17:30:46Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > The reason I posted that info from that website was to show to you men on the board that real professionals share the same outlook on style as I do. Just so you didn’t think I was odd or something. > > Know what I mean? You are on a message board which endeavors to fight ignorance. Recognizing your sources is highly encouraged here and goes a long way towards assisting your argument. Not providing cites can backfire on you and get you suspected of plagiarizing. That said, your source is sponsored by retail clothiers so you’ll have to forgive us if we think that there is a bias in the article. And I find it funny that the two subjects at the top of the article are dressed business casual and both wearing blue jeans. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/125 "2012-10-12T17:40:29Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > Just so you didn’t think I was odd or something. Horse is outa the barn, dude. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/126 "2012-10-12T17:45:26Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > You sound just like an article from GQ or Maxim. Either you’ve ripped it from one of those rags or you write for them. > > I don’t think you’ll find a very receptive audience here. Those magazines seem to be geared for celebrity-worshipping idiots who need to be told how to dress. He doesn’t even sound like GQ or Maxim though. GQ and Maxim, when they write about fashion, are all about trying to find something to say in a monthly magazine when men’s fashion just doesn’t change that much that rapidly. They announce every couple years that it’s ok to wear sneakers with suits or that seersucker is great this summer even though it’s great every summer. \*\*GQELITE33 \*\* sound like the social media intern for Today’s Man. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/127 "2012-10-12T17:51:13Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > He doesn’t even sound like GQ or Maxim though. GQ and Maxim, when they write about fashion, are all about trying to find something to say in a monthly magazine when men’s fashion just doesn’t change that much that rapidly. They announce every couple years that it’s ok to wear sneakers with suits or that seersucker is great this summer even though it’s great every summer. > > \*\*GQELITE33 \*\* sound like the social media intern for Today’s Man. For example, \*\*GQELITE33 \*\* unwittingly thinks young men should dress like old men because it’s the only way he can feel confident. This month GQ is telling young men to \*deliberately \*dress like old men (geezers as they put it), and the tips include 1) don’t be precious about your suit and 3) Sneakers go with everything. Has anything \*\*GQELITE33 \*\*said implied he would do anything but freak out at the notion that sneakers go with everything and not being precious about wearing a suit? [http://www.gq.com/style/editors-picks/201209/old-man-style-for-young-men#slide=1](http://www.gq.com/style/editors-picks/201209/old-man-style-for-young-men#slide=1) ---
**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, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/128 "2012-10-12T17:53:26Z")
In response to many of you who have attacked me for having an opinion, I would like to add I’ve never see so many people in one place who hate getting dressed up and showering on a daily morning basis. I find it sad that people think its too much work to do that. I Know that I have to give you some slack cause some of you who have replied obviously are in a way , savants. You are very smart in one area, but in many others including a social aspect, you are very ignorant or borderline retarded. I am sorry that I wasted today and yesterday talking about this. I’m obviously beating a dead horse here. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/129 "2012-10-12T17:58:22Z")
You keep bringing up showering. No one has given up daily showering; that’s still the norm. You don’t need to wear a suit in order to shower. Fashions change, and suits aren’t as fashionable (or non-suits as non-fashionable) as they once were. You think they convey a certain image, but to the mainstream, they often convey a different image than you think they do. Wear them if you like, but you’re coming across in this thread and quite possibly in life more as stuffy and behind-the-times than as stylish and fashionable. And no one in the modern world thinks not wearing a suit makes you look like a bum. (Well, except you, of course). Again, fashions change; that’s the nature of it. There’s nothing objectively good-looking about a suit (even though I’m sure you’re about to argue that there is); that just happened to be the traditional attire for certain cultures for a while, and now it’s less so. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/130 "2012-10-12T17:59:11Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > The reason I posted that info from that website was to show to you men on the board that real professionals share the same outlook on style as I do. Do you know what the phrase “No true Scotsman” means? I dress in nice suits very frequently, and I enjoy the quality of a tailored Hickey Freeman or Armani very much indeed. I feel great when I wear nice clothes. However, I do not believe that wearing an expensive suit makes me a leader, or in any way more of a professional than someone who does not. Beauty is skin deep and all that. In my view, to honestly believe that showing off expensive stuff – whether it is suits, watches, cars, or jewelry – actually confers substantive legitimacy on a person is an exceedingly materialistic and narcissistic belief. One need only watch five minutes of reality television about wealthy, well-dressed people (perhaps the Real Housewives or those millionaire real estate shows) to find ample examples of people who are totally vapid and have meager life skills beyond maintaining a bank account, yet genuinely believe that their money and purchases validate everything that they do. I totally get the pleasure of dressing nicely. It’s a luxury that many people simply don’t understand… or care about. But I wouldn’t be so bold to make character judgments (e.g., who is the “real professional” or who is “borderline retarded”) over how highly a particular person values spending money on clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/131 "2012-10-12T17:59:34Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > In response to many of you who have attacked me for having an opinion, I would like to add I’ve never see so many people in one place who hate getting dressed up and showering on a daily morning basis. I find it sad that people think its too much work to do that. I Know that I have to give you some slack cause some of you who have replied obviously are in a way , savants. You are very smart in one area, but in many others including a social aspect, you are very ignorant or borderline retarded. I am sorry that I wasted today and yesterday talking about this. I’m obviously beating a dead horse here. [Moderator Warning] **GQELITE33** , insulting other posters is not permitted in General Questions. This is an official warning. Do not do this again. In any case, since you were evidently more interested in arguing a point of view, this thread was never really appropriate for General Questions. Given your last remarks, I’m going move this to the Pit. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/132 "2012-10-12T18:02:15Z")
Hey OP, how old are you? ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/133 "2012-10-12T18:02:36Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > I would like to add I’ve never see so many people in one place who hate getting dressed up and showering on a daily morning basis. Ok, you’ve done this twice now. What does one have to do with the other? What is the relation between “dressing up” and “showering”? Do you think it’s somehow physically impossible to wear a suit and not be showered? Or that the police will arrest you if you shower and shave nicely and then put on a t-shirt? What’s going on here? > [@GQELITE33](#): > > I find it sad that people think its too much work to do that. Point out anybody in this thread who has supported going out in public without showering. Quote them. I double-dog-dare you. > [@GQELITE33](#): > > I Know that I have to give you some slack cause some of you who have replied obviously are in a way , savants. You are very smart in one area, but in many others including a social aspect, you are very ignorant or borderline retarded. I am sorry that I wasted today and yesterday talking about this. I’m obviously beating a dead horse here. Well I can’t argue with the last sentence. I would like to point out that you still haven’t demonstrated in any way that your opinion on dress is the majority opinion, or even a popular opinion. You personally like to dress up. Fine. You personally like it when others dress up. Fine. So what does that have to do with the rest of us? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/134 "2012-10-12T18:16:02Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Last time I went to a funeral, around 8 years ago, there were plenty of people in suits, including myself. Has this changed? Depends on the attendees, I suspect. The last funeral I attended was this past spring, for the father of a friend of mine. There were probably 100 people in attendance, most of them the contemporaries of the deceased (which meant they were in their 70s and 80s). He lived in the far southwest suburbs of Chicago – not the city, but not truly rural, either. I would have expected that most men in that age group would still own a suit, but if they did, they didn’t wear them – other than the immediate family of the deceased, i was the only man in a suit. Most of the men were wearing sport shirts and slacks. My father, who worked in the business world in the 1960s and 1970s, where a suit was simply the norm, and then worked in academia and as a business consultant for another 20 years, is now retired, and does not own a suit at all. ---
**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, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/135 "2012-10-12T18:19:32Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > In response to many of you who have attacked me for having an opinion, I would like to add I’ve never see so many people in one place who hate getting dressed up and showering on a daily morning basis. There you go with the shower thing again. People weren’t attacking you. They were expressing their opinions just as you were. > [@](#): > > I find it sad that people think its too much work to do that. None of my arguments in response concerned “too much work”. You have repeatedly avoided addressing my statements. Are you incapable of refuting them? > [@](#): > > I Know that I have to give you some slack cause some of you who have replied obviously are in a way , savants. You are very smart in one area, but in many others including a social aspect, you are very ignorant or borderline retarded. Well the good news is that this was moved to the pit where your condescending bullshit is allowed but easily identified as the tool of a somebody unable to adequately defend their argument. > [@](#): > > I am sorry that I wasted today and yesterday talking about this. I’m obviously beating a dead horse here. Maybe you can salvage some of it by parading around in front of your employees while pretending that you have class because you wear different clothes than they do. Seems to work for a you. Then tonight you can beat off while thumbing your way through some back issues of GQ. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/136 "2012-10-12T18:20:10Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Although more often than not, I see people wearing what I call “Deloitte casual friday”. Black dress pants and a blue or white dress shirt from Brooks Brothers or Thomas Pink or wherever. Which is still pretty casual when compared to Wall Street of old. And of course, in my old hometown’s Main Street, that get-up is not even considered very “casual”. Dress the part \*and \*dress the _place_. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/137 "2012-10-12T18:23:42Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > The reason I posted that info from that website was to show to you men on the board that real professionals share the same outlook on style as I do. Just so you didn’t think I was odd or something. The best way to show that others have the same outlook as you is to say, “Hey, others have the same outlook as me, here’s a link to some of their opinions”. Just posting their opinions unattributed makes it seem like they are your own (until someone does 10 seconds of googling). ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/138 "2012-10-12T18:25:14Z")
22 and female here. I own a pantsuit. It is for job interviews and court appearances. Nice classy dresses are for weddings, funerals and sometimes holiday parties. The rest of the time, it’s strictly jeans, tshirts and work boots. I have a blue-collar job and don’t go out to a lot of fancy restaurants, though. My old man looks good in a suit and I appreciate him wearing it, if the occasion warrants it. Fancy clothes are for fancy occasions. If you wore a three-piece suit everyday, the specialness would wear off. Weirdly enough, the only people I know who wear suits everyday are borderline-homeless street musicians. Helps em stand out from the pack and there’s a certain fascination with old-timey hobo stuff right now. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/139 "2012-10-12T18:40:08Z")
> [@GQELITE33](#): > > In response to many of you who have attacked me for having an opinion, I would like to add I’ve never see so many people in one place who hate getting dressed up and showering on a daily morning basis. I find it sad that people think its too much work to do that. I Know that I have to give you some slack cause some of you who have replied obviously are in a way , savants. You are very smart in one area, but in many others including a social aspect, you are very ignorant or borderline retarded. I am sorry that I wasted today and yesterday talking about this. I’m obviously beating a dead horse here. Don’t go away mad. That was a clever 25 posts you had. Please come back and start another thread. You set the bar high with this one though. I’ll be expecting something way out there - filled with cut and paste bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-main-factors-in-why-people-dress-down-much-more-today-compared-to-previous-generations/637447/140 "2012-10-12T18:42:40Z")
Anybody else picturing [this?](http://governor-andrew-neveu.site88.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/barney-stinson-suit-up.jpg) [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=6) [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=8)