Exactly. When you refer to someone as a “suit” it is not usually a complement.
Blame the Baby Boomers!
No more Sunday-Going-To-Meeting-Clothes for us!
I remember reacting with a lot of angst when my mother would insist that we kids put on good clothes to go downtown to do the shopping.
" What would the neighbours think? ". Harumph, I say.
So when we became all growed up and those over 30 faded away we just wore what we always wanted.
As an aside, you’ll notice a vast array of hairstyles and lengths; nobody cares as long as you are clean and don’t pollute your natural bodily essences!
If I go out and spend money on nice clothes, I am gonna wear them. Get my moneys worth out of them. Then I will go out and buy some new clothes that are nice, and wear those as much as I can.
If I invest money into something, I don’t want it sitting in a closet for months on end. I will make sure to wear them when I can. If I go to a steakhouse where the waiters are in tuxes, that tells me that wearing a suit is more than acceptable. Why would you own dress clothes and not wear them? When you invest money into something, get your moneys worth out of them. Thats they way I look at it. Find places where you can go to do this.
Thats why when I go out , I go to nice places. Cause I invest money into slacks, dress shirts, and suits.
You don’t want to open your closet and see that moths ate holes in your clothes do you? Also let me tell ya something.
Why in the world do people find that dressing up is hard work? If looking sharp is hard work or uncomfortable, then that is really bazarre to me… Just my two cents.
Clothing is much less expensive and less functional now.
I work in IT in Seattle. This isn’t true in any company I’ve worked at. In fact, in my first professional position, I usually out-dressed the CEO. (And I was just wearing normal business casual attire.) The boss I most respect wore blue jeans and torn concert t-shirts from 15 years ago, every day.
It’s not the 60s anymore.
You are from the northwest. You won’t find that to be true in New York.
Ok, so that works for you.
Why should that mean it works for everybody else?
Rather than the question you originally asked, you are explicitly stating, “Why don’t other people share MY values and what’s wrong with THEM?”, which is an entirely different kettle of fish.
Doesn’t it make you feel good to hop in a hot shower, have a nice shave, put on some deodorant and maybe a little mens fragrance like Clubman, and then throw on a nice outfit ? I mean who in their right mind wouldn’t like that? Get out of bed and throw on sweats and gym shoes and a t-shirt when you are going out for dinner? You don’t have to wear a suit, but atleast groom yourself well and wear a pair of slacks and a polo. When people dress like they just got out of bed, that tells me “I don’t really have that much confidence in myself to pull off a suit or a really nice outfit.”
For me? Sure.
Why does that mean it works for everybody else? You never really answered that, other than implying it’s self-evident (hint: it’s not).
Again, you seem to be answering a different question than your original one. You are no longer asking about the main factors in why people dress the way they do (which have been given by other posters) and are now asking why people have different values than yourself.
If you want to know why other people have different values and contend those values are a “bad” thing, that’s more of a debate topic, rather than a question with factual answers.
Well, more commonly around these parts, likely the guy in the suit is either a security guard or insurance/investment salesman.
Heck, even politicians seems to be wearing more business casual nowadays
When they are campaigning in blue collar communities. In the White House they will always be dressed in a suit.
Just between me and you, how the heck does a person go out of their house without a fresh shower and shave? Its the same thing as how does a person wake up in the morning without having a cup of coffee, water, or juice.
Its odd.
A lot of people apparently. Unless you’re seriously arguing that all the kids these days are literally not in their right mind?
Why? Because some old codger disapproves of me; because I don’t meet their personal grooming standards?
Meh. I don’t have to impress you, or anyone else in my life. (At least not with my clothing.)
Really, I’d stand out as rather eccentric if I did wear a suite every day. In academia, slacks + shirt with buttons counts as “dressing up” when giving a talk at a big time international conference.
I purposefully put my location in the post because:
- Nobody/few other people are
- This question is very region-specific
Because you’re right: the East Coast is full of companies who have dress codes, require suits, etc. The West Coast is altogether more casual.
Which is why I live here and love it so much.
Wait, wait.
Either you’re talking about wearing casual clothing, or you’re talking about basic hygiene such as showering and shaving. They are not the same thing.
I find that to be true in New York.
Ok, we’ve gone off the rails here.
What about wearing casual clothing implies bad grooming? Do you think that because I wear blue jeans and a button-up shirt to work, I must have awful BO and crazy Einstein hair? There’s no connection between the two things.
But to answer your question:
No. Not really. I don’t have whatever quirk of personality that would make throwing on a nice outfit enjoyable.
Confidence? Ridiculous. Confidence is demonstrated by what you do, not how you look. Maybe I’m not dressed as nicely as my colleague, but he took months to write some Ruby code that took 20 hours to execute, I wrote code to do the same thing in 3 days and it executes in 6 minutes. And I don’t even like Ruby.
I know I’ve got the skills. That’s confidence. It has nothing to do with what I’m wearing.
It’s pretty complicated but my understanding is that it goes something like this: they wake up, they get dressed, they open the front door, (now here comes the tricky bit) they go out the door, turn around and close it, and be about their way.
Also, what makes a shower fresh? Are there people taking stale showers? How does a shower go off anyway?
Um, no.
Basic hygiene is still expected.
Wearing a suit is not.
Waking up without the need for juice, coffee, or water is also not.
Again, you seem to be addressing a different point about values and customs, rather than about casual vs formal clothing.
My wife would leave me if I put on a “little mens fragrance.” Ugh. I think the pushback you’re hearing is that for many of us, dressing up seems to be unnecessary if we’re confident already. Maybe even a bit pretentious. Certainly not worth the effort.
I was at a fancy restaurant two nights ago. Dinner and wine for four of us exceeded $600. The three men at the table were all wearing jeans. ( I was also wearing tennis shoes, very comfortable) We had a very nice dinner.